Workday Financial Applications Specialist

City of Kansas City; Joplin (MO); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

KCUniversity (KCU) seeks a Workday Financial Applications Specialist to partner with Finance and Accounting in resolving system and process challenges end-to-end. The role emphasizes translating accounting requirements into effective solutions and coordinating cross-functional teams through implementation and adoption.

The position requires strong accounting knowledge, reporting acumen, and governance awareness.

Qualifications

• The role requires a strong understanding of accounting processes and ability to translate business needs into system solutions.
• Experience with or knowledge of financial processes including procurement, expenses, budgeting and reporting is preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accounting, Finance, Information Systems or related field; Master’s is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Finance and Accounting to resolve system and process challenges end-to-end.
• Lead solution design and implementation, coordinating cross-functional stakeholders.
• Develop and deliver reports, dashboards, and analytics for management.
• Evaluate Workday capabilities and advise on potential enhancements or activations.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and governance across systems and processes.

Skills

Accounting basics

Business processes

Requirements gathering

Stakeholder communication

Analytical skills

Excel proficiency

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Finance or Accounting

Tools

Workday

Job description

Job Type:

Staff

Job Description:

The Workday Financial Applications Specialist serves as a strategic partner to the Finance and Accounting organization, leveraging strong accounting and business process expertise to drive the end-to-end resolution of operational and technology-related challenges, primarily through Workday. This role identifies, analyzes, prioritizes, and leads the delivery of solutions for business process and system issues, serving as the project lead by coordinating cross-functional stakeholders from problem identification through implementation, adoption, and ongoing improvement. The position provides business process expertise, system strategy, governance, and project leadership to ensure solutions align with business objectives and evolving organizational needs. Workday experience is not required; a strong understanding of accounting processes and the ability to translate business requirements into effective system and process solutions are key to success in this role.

*** This is an onsite position. Remote work is not available for this role. **

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Cultivate partnerships with business units to research optimal solutions and address concerns relating to business processes, reporting, and data integrity
• Develop and modify reports, metrics and dashboards for management and business partners, in addition to providing analytical insight to stakeholders
• Participate and lead recurring meetings with project teams to discuss progress and issues to be resolved
• Own the end-to-end resolution of complex problems by identifying root causes, resolving process deficiencies and unexpected results, and driving solution design and implementation to meet business and operational requirements
• Provide subject matter expertise on key business process decisions, business requirements and functional specifications, developing testing strategies, conducting acceptance testing and implementing solutions
• Evaluate functionalities of Workday that may not be activated today and recommend solutions that meet business needs while fitting into overall operating strategies
• Research, recommend, and communicate system related releases, upgrades and enhancements
• Monitor business processes, establish and maintain a record of departmental procedures, and analyze monthly reports to measure risk and maintain governance
• Ensure that all systems and proposals meet, or exceed, regulatory compliance, University policies and standards

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a Business Administration, Education, Accounting or Finance, Human Resources, Information Systems or Computer Science. Master’s degree a plus
• 3-5 years of business experience, of which at least 2 years supporting or working with core operational support systems
• Strong understanding of Financial business processes and disciplines including procurement, expenses, accounting, budgeting, and financial reporting
• 2 years of Workday experience including Financial Accounting, Expenses, or Procurement strongly preferred
• High level of professionalism and confidentiality in dealing with data, business information and initiatives
• Demonstrated ability to successfully deploy significant projects, building rapport, and influencing decisions while working in a consultative role with the business and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to work effectively independently as well as collaboratively in a team environment
• Requires high attention to detail and excellent analytic skills with a demonstrated understanding of the concepts and issues unique to the management of data
• Strong understanding of core business processes, disciplines, and operations
• Ability to prioritize and work on multiple projects at a time; and the ability to work on many projects with a sense of urgency without sacrificing quality
• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Excel, PowerPoint and Word)

Physical Requirements

• Physical dexterity sufficient to use hands, arms, and shoulders repetitively to operate a keyboard and other office equipment, use a telephone, access file cabinets and other items stored at various levels, including overhead
• Ability to speak and hear well enough to communicate clearly and understandably with sufficient volume to ensure an accurate exchange of information in normal conversational distance, over the telephone, and in a group setting
• Ability to continuously operate a personal computer for extended periods of time (4 or more hours)
• Mental acuity sufficient to collect and interpret data, evaluate, reason, define problems, establish facts, draw valid conclusions, make valid judgments and decisions

Equal Opportunity Employer

KCU is committed to promoting an equal employment opportunity workplace. Equal opportunity is and shall be provided for all employees and applicants for employment on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, genetic information (GINA), physical or mental disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial status, ancestry, military and/or veteran status, and/or any other status protected by applicable Federal, state or local law.

Annual Security Report

KCU is committed to providing a safe campus for students, faculty, and staff. Our annual campus security report lists campus crimes and statistics for the campus and public areas around campus for the last three years, in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

Thank you for your interest in a career at KCU!