Financial Systems – Workday Architect

William & Mary and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Baltimore (MD); Hybrid; USD 95,000 - 112,000; Full time

Job summary

William & Mary and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science seeks a senior Workday Architect for comprehensive financial systems oversight. This role leads architecture, configuration, and governance for Workday Financials, partnering with Finance, IT, Audit, and Payroll to ensure secure, scalable, and compliant financial operations.

The position emphasizes strategic advisory support, data governance, and ongoing evaluation of Workday features to meet institutional financial objectives with a

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Information Systems, Business Administration, or equivalent.
• Extensive experience configuring Workday Financials in a complex organizational environment.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, financial controls, audit readiness, and compliance.
• Experience designing end-to-end business processes and cross-functional solutions.
• Ability to translate complex systems and technical concepts into clear guidance for senior leadership.
• Proficiency with Excel and Word, automated accounting systems, enterprise applications, and reporting tools.
• Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills; collaborative team player.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with competing priorities and tight deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Acts as architectural owner for Workday Financials design and optimization across modules.
• Designs governance for security roles, controls, and audit readiness.
• Resolves complex system issues across cross-module dependencies.
• Partners with Integration and Reporting teams to optimize finance data flows.
• Documents Workday architecture and key design decisions.
• Leads data governance and continuous improvement initiatives to ensure accuracy.

Skills

Workday Financials

Accounting principles

End-to-end processes

Cross-functional collaboration

Data governance

Audit readiness

Excel

Word

Communication skills

Project management

Independence with priorities

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Workday

Reporting tools

Job description

Job Requisition:

JR101773 Financial Systems - Workday Architect (Open)

Job Posting Title:

Financial Systems - Workday Architect

Department:

CC00449 WM001 | WMUO | Financial Systems & Data Control

Job Family:

Staff - Fiscal Administration

Worker Sub-Type:

Regular (benefited)

Job Requisition Primary Location:

Mount Vernon Offices

Primary Job Posting Location:

Posting Location - William & Mary

Job Description Summary:

The Financial Systems Workday Architect serves as the senior functional and solution architect for Workday Financials, providing strategic oversight, system design, and operational leadership to ensure Workday effectively supports financial operations, payroll accounting, grants, and compliance activities.

This role functions as the primary architectural authority for Finance related Workday configuration, integrations, reporting, data governance, and feature adoption. The Architect partners closely with Finance leadership, Financial Operations, Budget, Payroll, Supply Chain Services, Internal Audit, and IT to ensure the Workday platform is secure, scalable, compliant, and aligned with institutional financial strategy.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, InformationSystems, Business Administration, or an equivalent combination of education, experience, and training.
• Extensive experience configuring, supporting, and maintaining WorkdayFinancials in a complex organizational environment.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles,financialcontrols, audit readiness, and compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated experience designing end-to-end business processes and cross-functional solutions.
• Ability to translate complexsystemsand technical concepts into clear guidance for senior leadership.
• Proficiency with a variety of software applications, including advanced use of Microsoft Excel and Word, automated accountingsystems, enterprise applications, and reporting tools.
• Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively as a team player.
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to work independently while successfully managing multiple projects with competing priorities and tight deadlines.
• Strong work ethic and demonstrated commitment to high performance in a collegial, team-oriented workplace.
• Customer-focused mindset with a strong service orientation.
• Demonstrated consensus-building skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and exercise sound professional judgment in carrying out assigned responsibilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or equivalent combination of education, experience, and training.
• Experience in higher education, research administration, or similarly regulated environments.
• WorkdayFinancialManagement certification(s).
• Experience leading enhancement roadmaps, change management efforts, and small project teams.

Conditions of Employment:

• This position requires additional hours beyond the typical work week, at times, to meet the business objectives.

Duties:

30% - Business Process Administration & Workday:

• Serves as the architectural owner for WorkdayFinancials business process design, configuration, and optimization across record-to-report, projects, grants, fixed assets, and related modules.
• Designs and governs complex business processes, approval frameworks, security roles, and financialcontrols to ensure audit readiness, segregation of duties, and compliance with accounting standards.
• Resolves complex system issues involving business process framework (BPF), accounting impacts, workflow failures, and cross-module dependencies.
• Partners with Integration and Reporting teams to design and optimize Finance-related fintegrations and data flows.
• Documents Finance Workday architecture, configurations, controls, and key design decisions.

20% - Data Domain &FinancialReporting:

• Maintains deep expertise in WorkdayFinancials data structures, business objects, and the Foundation Data Model (FDM).
• Monitors and resolves data quality issues, balancing discrepancies, and reporting errors in partnership with Finance and IT.
• Advice on financialreporting solutions, including dashboards, composite reports, and analytics supporting leadership, audit, and compliance.
• Ensures financialdata governance, integrity, and consistency across transactions, reporting, and integrations.

15% - Functional & Strategic Finance Support:

• Serves as the Finance Workday Operations representative, ensuring Finance needs and risks are represented in cross-platform operational discussions.
• Maintains expert knowledge of the WorkdayFinancials roadmap and evaluates upcoming features for operational, compliance, and accounting impact.
• Prepare clear recommendations and decision support materials for Finance leadership and governance bodies.
• Acts as a strategic advisor, aligning Workday capabilities with institutionalfinancialobjectives and regulatory requirements.

10% - Client Success & Consultation:

• Serves as the primary Workday Finance consultant and liaison to Finance, Payroll, Budget, Supply Chain, Internal Audit, and IT.
• Leads requirements definition, solution design, and business case development for Finance enhancements and initiatives.
• Provides leadership on change management and training strategy for Finance modules to support adoption and operational readiness.
• Escalates enterprise-level risks, decisions, and conflicts to governance and executive forums.

10% - Workday Community & Continuous Improvement:

• Manages the intake, prioritization, and tracking of Finance enhancement requests in partnership with Finance leadership.
• Leads small enhancement initiatives from design through deployment and post-implementation validation.
• Actively participates in Workday Community; evaluates best practices, peer use cases, and brainstorm opportunities.
• Communicates enhancement progress, outcomes, and continuous improvement opportunities to stakeholders.

5% - Testing & Quality Assurance:

• Owns functional quality for Finance-related Workday solutions, including test scenario development, regression testing, and validation.
• Leads and participate in sandbox and implementation testing to ensure accounting accuracy, reporting integrity, and process stability.

5% - Feature Release & Service Updates Management:

• Evaluates biannual feature releases and weekly service updates for Finance impact.
• Coordinates risk mitigation and recommend roadmap adjustments to Finance leadership and the Workday Governance Team.

5% - Named Support Contact:

• Serves as a designated Workday Named Support Contact for Finance functionality, coordinating vendor support and escalations as needed.

Hiring Range:

$95,000 - $112,000 commensurate with experience

Remote: Hybrid

Essential : No

Additional Job Description:

Benefits Summary Statement

William & Mary offers our employees a full array of benefits including retirement, health insurance with options for expanded dental and vision along with group and optional life insurance with coverage for spouse and children, flexible spending accounts, and an EAP (Employee Assistance Program).

Our employees enjoy additional university benefits such as educational assistance, professional development, wellness benefits, and a robust holiday schedule. All employees have access to fitness facilities on campus. Staff members also have access to the university libraries, and much more. To learn more, go to: https://www.wm.edu/offices/hr/currentemployees/benefits/index.php

Job Profile:

JP0017 - Financial Specialist II - Exempt - Salary - S13

Qualifications:

Compensation Grade:

S13

Recruiting Start Date:

2026-05-28

Position Restrictions:

Continuing E&G funded position and not term-limited

EEO is the Law. Applicants can learn more about William & Mary’s status as an equal opportunity employer by viewing the "Know Your Rights" poster published by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. https://www.eeoc.gov/know-your-rights-workplace-discrimination-illegal

Background Check: William & Mary is committed to providing a safe campus community. W&M conducts background investigations for applicants being considered for employment. Background investigations include reference checks, a criminal history record check, and when appropriate, a financial (credit) report or driving history check.

Remote Work Disclaimer: Remote work eligibility is not guaranteed and is subject to approval. Employee eligibility depends on the likelihood of the employee succeeding in a remote work arrangement and the supervisor’s ability to manage remote workers. Departments and/or Human Resources may amend, alter, change, delete, or modify eligibility.