HRIS (Workday) Implementation Project Specialist (26-252)

Workland; Eastern Ontario; On-site; CAD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Cornwall is seeking an HRIS (Workday) Implementation Project Specialist to lead planning, deployment, and stabilization of the Workday HRIS across HR, payroll and finance functions. You will coordinate with IT, vendors, and senior leadership to ensure compliant implementation aligned with municipal policies.

Ideal candidates bring several years of project management experience, expertise in Workday or HRIS, and strong change management and stakeholder skills to drive successful

Qualifications

• Minimum five to seven years of progressively responsible project management experience.
• Experience with enterprise systems, HRIS, payroll transformation, or Workday implementation is preferred.
• Knowledge of data governance, privacy, and compliance in a municipal/public-sector context.

Responsibilities

• Lead the full lifecycle Workday implementation, including planning, discovery, design, configuration, integration, testing, training, deployment and stabilization.
• Develop and manage project plans, schedules, milestones, deliverables, budgets, dependencies, risks and resources.
• Coordinate cross-functional activities with HR, Payroll, Finance, IT, vendors, consultants, and senior stakeholders.

Skills

Project management

Workday

HRIS

Change management

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Process design

ERP integration

Payroll experience

Public sector experience

Education

Post-secondary education in HR/Business/IT

Workday certification (asset)

Tools

Workday HCM

Payroll systems

Job description

Job Title: HRIS (Workday) Implementation Project Specialist
Bargaining Unit: Non-Union
Language Requirement: English Essential
Vacancy Status: New position – fixed term contract

Cornwall is a beautiful community with a population of 47,000 situated on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Eastern Ontario. The city offers a wide array of urban amenities, making it an excellent place for a career and raising a family. With a growing economy, expanding population and fantastic quality of life, there has never been a better time to start the next phase of your career with the City of Cornwall! Cornwall is a diverse and progressive community where residents and partners feel safe, welcomed, and enjoy a high quality of life supported by access to financially responsible and sustainable municipal services and infrastructure.

Position Summary

The HRIS (Workday) Implementation Project Specialist leads the planning, coordination, implementation, testing, deployment, and stabilization of the organization’s Workday Human Resource Information System. The role serves as the central project contact between Human Resources, Payroll, Finance, Information Technology, vendors, implementation partners, business units, and senior leadership, supporting the delivery of various HR functions in alignment with organizational goals while ensuring compliance with labour laws, collective agreements, municipal policies, and best practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the full lifecycle Workday implementation, including planning, discovery, design, configuration coordination, integration, testing, training, deployment, and post-go-live stabilization.
• Develop and manage project plans, schedules, milestones, deliverables, budgets, dependencies, risks, issues, and resource requirements.
• Coordinate cross-functional activities with HR, Payroll, Finance, IT, software vendors, implementation consultants, business units, and senior stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary project contact for implementation decisions, escalations, stakeholder communications, and project status reporting.
• Facilitate requirements gathering, business process reviews, workflow documentation, and process redesign across HR, payroll, finance, time, attendance, benefits, position management, reporting, and approvals.
• Oversee data preparation, cleansing, conversion, validation, migration, reconciliation, and quality assurance in partnership with Payroll and Finance.
• Support the integration of Labour Relations requirements into the HRIS platform by assisting with the planning, development, and implementation of related protocols, policies, programs, procedures, workflows, and data requirements aligned with organizational goals.
• Coordinate integrations between Workday and related enterprise platforms, including payroll, finance, timekeeping, identity management, reporting, and document management systems.
• Maintain project governance tools, including steering committee updates, decision logs, risk registers, action trackers, dashboards, and implementation documentation.
• Lead change management activities, including stakeholder engagement, communications, training coordination, readiness assessments, adoption support, and go-live support.
• Coordinate testing activities, including unit, integration, user acceptance, payroll parallel testing, defect tracking, and issue resolution.
• Ensure the implementation supports legislative, collective agreement, policy, audit, privacy, accessibility, records management, and data security requirements.
• Identify risks, resolve barriers, elevate issues, and support post-implementation evaluation, lessons learned, optimization, and transition to steady-state operations.

Leadership of Others

• N/A

Position Requirements

Education & Certifications

• Post-secondary education in Human Resources, Business Administration, Information Technology, Computer Science, Finance, Project Management, or a related discipline.

Experience

• Minimum of five to seven years of progressively responsible project management experience, preferably including enterprise system, HRIS, payroll transformation, or Workday implementation.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional projects involving HR, Payroll, Finance, IT, vendors, consultants, and senior stakeholders.
• Strong working knowledge of HR processes, labour relations, payroll administration, financial processes, software implementation, IT systems, integrations, data management, reporting, security, and business process design.
• Experience preparing, validating, reconciling, or transforming Payroll and Finance data for enterprise system implementation, integration, reporting, or migration.
• Experience with Workday HCM, Workday Payroll, Workday Financials, or related modules is strongly preferred.
• Experience with HRIS integration, ERP implementation, payroll systems, or enterprise software modernization in a municipal, public-sector, or federal employer environment is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of collective agreements, job evaluation, compensation, benefits, time and attendance, and compliance requirements is an asset.
• PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, Prosci Change Management, Workday certification, or equivalent training/certification is considered an asset.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate business requirements into practical system, process, and reporting solutions.
• Ability to bridge functional, technical, operational, and compliance requirements across HR, Payroll, Finance, IT, and vendor teams.
• Strong communication, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Sound judgment, political acuity, professionalism, and ability to build trust with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Commitment to data accuracy, privacy, accessibility, security, audit readiness, service excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Proficiency with project management tools, Microsoft Office applications, collaboration platforms, reporting tools, and enterprise software environments.

Working Conditions

• Work is performed primarily in an office, with minimal travel may be necessary for training or meetings.
• Cognitive demands include a high level of concentration and attention to detail.
• Physical demands include extended periods of sitting and looking at a computer screen, as well as some lifting of documents and operating office equipment.
• Standard business hours, Monday to Friday, with occasional flexibility needed during peak payroll and accounting periods.

If selected for this role, you will need to provide:

• Successful reference check (two work-related references, with a minimum of one being a direct supervisor)
• Satisfactory Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check
• Proof of certifications

Additional Information:

The Corporation of The City of Cornwall strives to promote and demonstrate the values of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. We are committed to reflecting the diversity of the community we serve and encourage qualified candidates of all backgrounds and abilities to apply. Accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process as required. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for interviews will be contacted. Information collected will be handled in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The City of Cornwall is an equal-opportunity employer committed to an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment and selection process. At the City, we respect, encourage and celebrate our diversity. The City of Cornwall is committed to providing accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodation, please notify us and we will work with you to meet your needs.