SEMCO - Senior Workday Payroll Analyst

AltaGas•Port Huron, MI

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Workday Payroll Analyst is responsible for the end-to-end execution, support, and continuous improvement of US payroll operations in Workday. This role sets priorities across payroll operations and system optimization, provides subject matter expertise on payroll design and issue resolution, and partners closely with HRIS, Finance, and Digital to deliver accurate, compliant, and efficient outcomes.

Requirements

7+ years of payroll experience with at least 5 years in Workday Payroll, time tracking, and absence management.
Expertise in Workday configuration, including payroll calculations and business process frameworks, with a solid understanding of Workday data structures and how employee, payroll, time, and financial data elements interrelate.
Experience using Workday integrations (EIB, Core Connectors, Studio preferred).
Strong hands-on experience executing payroll within Workday, including issue resolution and operational support.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Knowledge of payroll compliance requirements and applicable regulations.
Experience supporting audits and maintaining strong internal controls.
Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation.
Experience in regulated industries such as utilities.
Familiarity with financial systems (e.g., Oracle Fusion, PeopleSoft, and JD Edwards) and ERP integrations.
Experience working in a shared services or support environment, including handling payroll inquiries and ticket-based issue resolution.
Experience supporting more than one pay group, unionized and non-unionized workforce, and multiple jurisdictions.

Responsibilities

Identify configuration opportunities and advise on the ongoing optimization of Workday Payroll, including earnings, deductions, taxes, and payroll calculations.
Design, maintain, and test payroll-related business process frameworks within Workday.
Execute full-cycle payroll processing within Workday, including validation, reconciliation, and post-payroll activities, while ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with regulatory requirements.
Provide first-line (Tier 1) and escalated (Tier 2) support for payroll-related system issues, inquiries, and defects.
Troubleshoot payroll system issues, identify root causes, and partner with HRIS to implement sustainable solutions and enhancements.
Investigate and resolve data discrepancies by analyzing how payroll, time tracking, absence, and worker data elements interact within Workday.
Monitor and validate inbound/outbound payroll data flows (e.g., time, benefits, GL, banking, tax providers), ensuring data integrity across systems.
Support and maintain integrations between Workday and internal applications such as the general ledger as well as third-party vendors (e.g., benefits, banking, tax providers).
Leverage reporting and data analysis to proactively identify payroll issues, trends, and improvement opportunities.
Lead cross-functional coordination with Finance and IT on payroll system enhancements, upgrades, and projects.
Support audit requests by providing documentation, data validation, and control evidence.
Partner with HRIS to shape the Workday release roadmap and lead payroll impact analysis, testing coordination, and deployment readiness.
Lead identification of automation and process improvement opportunities within payroll operations.
Learn, map, and document current-state payroll processes to support issue resolution, process improvement, and future system changes.
Document processes, troubleshooting steps, and known issues to support knowledge sharing and operational excellence.