Senior Workday Systems Analyst, Payroll

Location: 3401 Walnut Street B/C Wing - 2nd Floor

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Job Profile Title

Business Systems Analyst Senior

Job Description Summary

Information Systems & Computing (ISC) is the University of Pennsylvania’s central IT organization, providing the core network, data, voice, video, and enterprise application infrastructure and services upon which Penn’s numerous Schools and Centers build their unique tools and capabilities.

ISC’s 300-plus employees work closely with the University’s IT organizations in order to create, deliver and support products and services that help Schools and Centers operate efficiently and effectively. We strive to be easy to work with, and to serve as a trusted advisor to Penn’s IT community, faculty, staff and students in support of an environment of discovery and progress.

ISC’s focus on customer service and the high-quality, cost-effective, reliable implementation of modern IT solutions advances the mission of the University, as well as that of each individual School and Center. At Penn, technological freedom and departmental autonomy represent dearly held core values. ISC supports those ideas by providing foundational services and cogent counsel, empowering individuals and departments to employ their distinct strengths in support of their goals.

Learn more about us by visiting https://www.isc.upenn.edu/about on www.linkedin.com/company/penn-information-systems-computing/.

The Senior Workday Analyst serves as a senior functional expert responsible for the configuration, support, optimization, and continuous improvement of Workday Payroll and a backup for Time configuration as well as related processes. Working closely with Payroll, Human Resources, Benefits, Finance, and IT partners, you will lead system enhancements, implement new functionality, support payroll operations and compliance requirements.

Job Responsibilities

• Serve as the functional co-lead for the Workday Payroll module, overseeing end-to-end configuration, maintenance, and ongoing optimization.
• Provide backup functional support for the Workday Time Tracking module.
• Partner with the Payroll Office, Workday functional leads, and business stakeholders to identify opportunities for process improvement, automation, and enhanced utilization of Workday functionality.
• Analyze business requirements and translate them into effective system configurations, business processes, reports, and functional solutions.
• Configure and maintain payroll-related business processes, earnings, deductions, payroll calculations, tax setups, audits, validations, and integrations supporting U.S. payroll operations.
• Configure and maintain payroll account posting rules and support the accurate recording and reconciliation of payroll liabilities within the University’s accounting structure.
• Design, develop, and maintain payroll reports, dashboards, and analytics using Workday reporting tools to support operational efficiency, data accuracy, and informed decision-making.
• Support payroll processing by executing audit reports, troubleshooting system and processing issues, conducting root-cause analyses, and implementing sustainable solutions.
• Lead functional testing for payroll enhancements, tax updates, regulatory changes, integrations, and Workday biannual releases to ensure system accuracy and operational readiness.
• Ensure Workday Payroll configurations and processes comply with applicable federal, state, and local payroll regulations, as well as University policies and procedures.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned