Workday Analyst, Payroll

Summary

Wasserman is a company operating at the intersection of sports, music, and entertainment, serving various stakeholders globally. The Workday Analyst - Payroll is responsible for supporting and improving the Workday Payroll module, focusing on technical analysis, configuration, and ensuring payroll accuracy in a high-volume environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a payroll-side functional and technical subject matter expert for the Workday Payroll module
• Support Workday Payroll configuration related to earnings, deductions, pay components, pay groups, payroll inputs, payroll calculations, retro pay, tax setup, garnishments, direct deposit, and payroll business processes
• Analyze complex Workday Payroll issues and identify root causes related to configuration, data, integrations, business processes, upstream HR data, time inputs, absence data, benefit deductions, tax elections, or payroll calculations
• Diagnose and help correct payroll-impacting issues in real time during active payroll processing cycles, including urgent issues that could affect payroll accuracy, timeliness, or compliance
• Partner with HRIS, IT, Payroll, Benefits, HR Operations, Finance, Accounting, and external vendors to design, test, and implement payroll system solutions
• Build, maintain, and validate Workday payroll reports, audit reports, dashboards, exception reports, calculated fields, and ad hoc payroll data outputs
• Support Workday EIBs, payroll data loads, mass updates, and related validation activities
• Support payroll-related integrations, vendor files, interface monitoring, error resolution, and data reconciliation
• Participate in Workday release management, including impact assessment, regression testing, UAT, configuration testing, and post-release validation
• Support adjacent Workday modules that impact payroll, including Time Tracking, Absence, Benefits, Core HCM, Compensation, and Finance/Accounting integrations
• Translate payroll requirements into system requirements, test scripts, reporting needs, control points, and process documentation
• Identify opportunities to improve automation, reduce manual payroll intervention, strengthen controls, improve reporting, and increase payroll accuracy
• Maintain documentation for payroll configuration, system processes, testing results, issue resolution, controls, and standard operating procedures
• Support payroll-related projects, including acquisitions, new entity setup, new state/province setup, pay group changes, policy updates, payroll process redesign, and Workday enhancements
• Support payroll cycles through analysis, validation, audit review, variance research, exception reporting, and issue resolution
• Review payroll results and identify discrepancies related to earnings, deductions, taxes, retro pay, garnishments, benefits, time entries, absence entries, employee master data, and payroll configuration
• Perform gross-to-net validation, payroll balancing, reconciliation support, variance analysis, and pre-payroll/post-payroll audit review
• Research and help correct payroll issues affecting U.S. and Canada payroll, including exempt and non-exempt employee populations in a high-volume environment
• Support multi-state, multi-entity, multi-pay group, and multi-jurisdiction payroll environments
• Assist with analysis related to off-cycle payrolls, adjustment payrolls, retroactive corrections, bonus payrolls, commission payrolls, and termination pay
• Support payroll reconciliations, GL-related payroll reporting, labor costing validation, payroll funding review, benefit deduction audits, garnishment audits, and year-end payroll validation
• Help ensure payroll data and payroll results are accurate, timely, compliant, and audit-ready

Skills

• 3-5 years of combined payroll, HRIS, payroll systems, or Workday Payroll experience
• Hands-on Workday Payroll module experience is required
• Experience supporting Workday Payroll in a functional, analytical, or technical capacity
• Experience with U.S. and Canada payroll environments, or direct U.S. payroll experience with strong ability to support Canada payroll requirements
• Experience supporting payroll for exempt and non-exempt employee populations
• Experience working in a high-volume payroll environment
• Experience with multi-state payroll and multi-entity or complex organizational structures
• Strong understanding of payroll concepts, including earnings, deductions, taxes, garnishments, retro pay, benefit deductions, direct deposits, off-cycle payrolls, and termination pay
• Ability to diagnose and correct payroll-impacting issues in real time during payroll processing cycles
• Experience analyzing payroll results, researching payroll discrepancies, validating gross-to-net calculations, and supporting payroll audits
• Experience creating, running, validating, or maintaining Workday payroll reports or payroll audit reports
• Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, formulas, reconciliations, and large data analysis
• Ability to troubleshoot payroll system issues and distinguish between configuration issues, data issues, integration issues, upstream HR data issues, and processing issues
• Strong analytical, documentation, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work independently as a technical individual contributor while partnering cross-functionally with Payroll, HRIS, HR, Benefits, Finance, Accounting, IT, and vendors
• High attention to detail and ability to maintain confidentiality with sensitive employee and payroll data
• Workday Time Tracking and Absence experience
• Experience with Workday EIBs, calculated fields, custom reports, advanced reports, dashboards, or payroll audit reports
• Experience with Workday Payroll configuration support
• Experience with Workday release testing, regression testing, UAT, and post-release validation
• Experience supporting payroll integrations, vendor files, or interface troubleshooting
• Experience with payroll tax vendors or systems such as ADP SmartCompliance, OSV, or similar platforms
• Experience with GL payroll reporting, labor costing, payroll accounting, payroll funding, or payroll reconciliations
• Experience supporting acquisitions, new entity setup, new state/province setup, payroll conversions, payroll standardization, or Workday enhancement projects
• Workday training or certification related to Payroll, Reporting, Time Tracking, Absence, or HCM

Qualifications

Must Haves

• 3-5 years of combined payroll, HRIS, payroll systems, or Workday Payroll experience
• Hands-on Workday Payroll module experience is required
• Experience supporting Workday Payroll in a functional, analytical, or technical capacity
• Experience with U.S. and Canada payroll environments, or direct U.S. payroll experience with strong ability to support Canada payroll requirements
• Experience supporting payroll for exempt and non-exempt employee populations
• Experience working in a high-volume payroll environment
• Experience with multi-state payroll and multi-entity or complex organizational structures
• Strong understanding of payroll concepts, including earnings, deductions, taxes, garnishments, retro pay, benefit deductions, direct deposits, off-cycle payrolls, and termination pay
• Ability to diagnose and correct payroll-impacting issues in real time during payroll processing cycles
• Experience analyzing payroll results, researching payroll discrepancies, validating gross-to-net calculations, and supporting payroll audits
• Experience creating, running, validating, or maintaining Workday payroll reports or payroll audit reports
• Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, formulas, reconciliations, and large data analysis
• Ability to troubleshoot payroll system issues and distinguish between configuration issues, data issues, integration issues, upstream HR data issues, and processing issues
• Strong analytical, documentation, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work independently as a technical individual contributor while partnering cross-functionally with Payroll, HRIS, HR, Benefits, Finance, Accounting, IT, and vendors
• High attention to detail and ability to maintain confidentiality with sensitive employee and payroll data

Nice to Haves

• Workday Time Tracking and Absence experience
• Experience with Workday EIBs, calculated fields, custom reports, advanced reports, dashboards, or payroll audit reports
• Experience with Workday Payroll configuration support
• Experience with Workday release testing, regression testing, UAT, and post-release validation
• Experience supporting payroll integrations, vendor files, or interface troubleshooting
• Experience with payroll tax vendors or systems such as ADP SmartCompliance, OSV, or similar platforms
• Experience with GL payroll reporting, labor costing, payroll accounting, payroll funding, or payroll reconciliations
• Experience supporting acquisitions, new entity setup, new state/province setup, payroll conversions, payroll standardization, or Workday enhancement projects
• Workday training or certification related to Payroll, Reporting, Time Tracking, Absence, or HCM

Benefits

• Professional Development: Take advantage of our learning and development programs, mentorship opportunities, and career advancement support.
• Generous Time Off: Enjoy generous paid time off and holiday allowances to recharge and spend time with loved ones.
• Parental Leave: We provide paid parental leave to support your family during important life events.
• Retirement Plan: 401k plan including contribution matching.
• Healthcare: Medical, dental, vision, FSA/HSA, life and disability coverage options.
• Ancillary: Critical illness, identity protection, pet insurance, 529 plans and more
• Commuter Benefits: Access support for travel and commuting needs, where available