Senior Workday Applications Specialist

First Sentier Group; Sydney; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

First Sentier Group in Sydney is seeking a Senior Workday Applications Specialist to lead design, configuration and ongoing optimisation of Workday across multiple modules. You will drive complex enhancements, manage production support and ensure robust governance while aligning solutions with the group’s operating model.

The role partners with People & Culture, Technology and payroll teams worldwide to deliver scalable, compliant Workday solutions.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience configuring and supporting Workday across multiple functional areas.
• Leading complex Workday enhancements from requirements through testing and deployment.
• Strong knowledge of business processes, reporting, security and cross‑functional configuration.
• Experience with releases, regression testing and feature adoption.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex Workday enhancements from requirements and solution design through testing and deployment.
• Provide production support, incident handling and ongoing optimisations.
• Strengthen platform governance, change controls and documentation practices.
• Partner with People & Culture, Technology, payroll and business stakeholders to deliver scalable Workday solutions.
• Configure and review Workday components including security, reporting and calculated fields.
• Coach and mentor Applications Specialists and build team capability.

Skills

Workday configuration

Workday enhancements

Analytics & reporting

Security & access

Integrations

Governance & controls

Stakeholder leadership

Testing & deployment

Change management

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Workday

Workday Integrations

Job description

The Senior Workday Applications Specialist provides functional leadership and advanced expertise for the design, configuration and ongoing optimisation of Workday. The role leads complex enhancements and production support, strengthens platform governance and controls, and partners with global People & Culture, Technology, payroll and business stakeholders to deliver scalable solutions aligned with the organisation's operating model.

About you

• Extensive experience configuring and supporting Workday across multiple functional areas, with deep expertise in at least one key module.
• Proven experience leading complex Workday enhancements from requirements and solution design through testing, deployment and ongoing support.
• Strong knowledge of business processes, advanced reporting, calculated fields, security and cross-functional configuration.
• Experience assessing Workday releases, coordinating regression testing and recommending feature adoption.
• Experience with integrations, payroll and downstream systems, including troubleshooting end-to-end data and process issues.
• Experience establishing platform governance, design standards, change controls and documentation practices.
• Experience providing functional leadership, mentoring colleagues and building team capability.
• Experience within a global, regulated or financial services environment is highly desirable.
• Strong solution design, analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to assess risks, controls and downstream impacts.
• Ability to lead workshops, translate business needs into clear requirements and influence stakeholders across regions and functions.
• Strong understanding of access, segregation of duties, privacy, auditability and sensitive employee data.
• Excellent planning and delivery skills across operational support, system releases and project change.
• Act as a senior functional specialist for Workday, providing guidance on complex incidents, configuration decisions and platform capabilities.
• Lead discovery and design for complex enhancements, ensuring solutions align with global design principles, governance standards and business priorities.
• Configure and review business processes, security, reporting, calculated fields, notifications and other Workday components, including peer review of higher‑risk changes.
• Lead root‑cause analysis of complex or recurring production issues and coordinate resolution across functional, technical, payroll and vendor teams.
• Own or coordinate Workday release impact assessment, regression scope, feature evaluation and deployment readiness for assigned domains.
• Provide functional leadership for testing, cutover and post‑implementation support, ensuring evidence and approvals meet change‑control requirements.
• Partner with stakeholders to manage demand, clarify priorities and promote scalable, employee‑centred solutions.
• Strengthen platform governance through configuration standards, documentation, access controls, audit support and proactive risk management.
• Monitor service performance and trends, using insights to recommend improvements.
• Coach Applications Specialists and support consistent capability across the global team.
• Support roadmap planning and broader People Technology initiatives.

First Sentier Group is a global asset management group providing high quality, differentiated and relevant investment capabilities aiming to deliver exceptional investment performance for our clients and profitable growth for our shareholder.

We do this through our independent teams of active, specialist investors who share a common commitment to responsible investment principles. We are a global asset management business and the home of investment teams AlbaCore Capital Group, FSSA Investment Managers, Igneo Infrastructure Partners and RQI Investors. All our investment teams – whether in‑house or individually branded – operate with discrete investment autonomy, according to their investment philosophies.

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I)

We value the different experience, ideas and perspectives that our people bring to the work they do. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable culture where diversity can thrive. We believe this leads to better outcomes for our people and our clients, and it’s the right thing to do.
We provide equal employment opportunities to applicants regardless of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, family status, or any other category protected by law.

If you require any adjustments throughout the recruitment process or as part of the role, please let us know so we can support you.

The Workday Applications Specialist supports the reliable, secure and effective operation of Workday across the employee lifecycle. The role partners with People & Culture, Technology, payroll and business stakeholders to configure, maintain and continuously improve Workday, while delivering responsive support and protecting data quality and system controls.