Workday Solutions Specialist

picknpay; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Pick n Pay is seeking a Workday Solution Specialist to own both functional and technical aspects of the Workday environment. The role partners with People, HR Shared Services, IT and external Workday partners to translate requirements into scalable solutions and to configure and troubleshoot across the platform.

The ideal candidate will have 3–5 years' hands-on Workday experience, Workday Pro Certification or equivalent, and strong problem-solving skills to drive continuous improvement in HR

Qualifications

• 3-5 years' experience in an HRIS/HCM platform environment with strong Workday experience.
• Hands-on experience configuring Workday business processes and functionality.
• Experience with Workday security, testing, release management and complex issue resolution.
• Experience translating HR/business requirements into system solutions.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain Workday configuration across implemented modules, including business processes, workflows, notifications and calculated fields.
• Translate People and business requirements into scalable Workday solutions.
• Assess the impact and downstream implications of proposed configuration changes.
• Provide technical advice to Functional Leads and challenge requirements where alternatives improve efficiency or employee experience.
• Design, configure, test and implement new functionality and changes to existing Workday processes.

Skills

Workday configuration

Workday security

Workday reporting

HR technology

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Information Systems, HR, Business or related field

Tools

Workday Certification

Job description

It's fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they're doing! The Workday Solution Specialist provides functional and technical ownership of Pick n Pay's Workday environment, ensuring that the platform is stable, secure, effectively configured and continuously improved to support the organisation's People processes and employee experience.

Working in close partnership with People functional leads, HR Shared Services, IT and external Workday partners, the role translates business requirements into scalable Workday solutions and provides hands‑on configuration and technical problem solving across the platform. The role is accountable for Workday configuration, business processes, security, testing, release management, reporting, data and integration coordination, technical governance and complex issue resolution.

As Pick n Pay's dedicated internal Workday technical capability, the role is expected to operate with a high level of independence and technical judgement, proactively identifying opportunities to simplify, automate and optimise People processes rather than operating only as a reactive support resource.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Relevant Bachelor's degree, diploma or equivalent qualification in Information Systems, Human Resources, Business, Technology or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Workday Pro Certification and/or relevant Workday certification/accredited training.
• Workday training or certification across relevant areas such as HCM, Recruiting, Talent, Learning, Absence, Compensation/Benefits, Security, Reporting or Workday Extend would be advantageous .
• A dditional qualifications or training in HR technology, systems analysis, data, project management or change management would be advantageous .

Minimum Experience:

• 3-5 years' experience working in an HRIS/HCM platform environment, with strong hands‑on Workday experience.
• At least 3 years' practical experience configuring Workday business processes and functionality.
• Demonstrable experience in Workday security, testing, release management and complex issue resolution.
• Experience translating HR/business requirements into system solutions.
• Experience working with HR data, reporting and inbound/outbound interfaces or integrations.
• Experience operating independently in a specialist HR technology or Workday role.

Technical Skills:

• Advanced Workday functional configuration and business process knowledge.
• Workday security configuration and access governance.
• Workday reporting, dashboards and calculated fields.
• Release management, regression testing and UAT.
• Strong understanding of HR data structures, interfaces and integration dependencies.
• Root‑cause analysis and complex technical troubleshooting.
• System documentation, configuration governance and change control.
• Strong understanding of the employee lifecycle and core HR processes.
• Strong understanding of Workday leading practices and the ability to identify , assess and implement relevant Workday solutions within the Pick n Pay environment.

Competencies:

• Analysis & Attention to Detail
• Judgement & Decision-Making
• Problem Solving
• Drive, Ownership & Solution Mindset
• Innovation & Continuous Improvement
• Stakeholder & Partnership Leadership
• Customer Service Orientation .
• Influencing
• Verbal & Written Communication
• Planning & Organising
• Learning Agility
• Knowledge Management

Key Responsibilities:

• Workday Functional & Technical Ownership
• Act as the primary internal functional and technical specialist for the Workday platform.
• Own and maintain Workday configuration across implemented modules, including business processes, workflows, notifications, calculated fields and related system setup.
• Translate People and business requirements into appropriate , scalable Workday solutions.
• Assess the impact and downstream implications of proposed configuration changes before implementation.
• Provide technical advice to Functional Leads and challenge requirements where alternative solutions may improve efficiency, control or employee experience.
• Solution Design, Configuration & Continuous Improvement
• Design, configure, test and implement new functionality, enhancements and changes to existing Workday processes.
• Review existing configuration and business processes to identify opportunities for simplification, standardisation and automation.
• Partner with People teams to improve manager and employee self-service and reduce unnecessary manual administration.
• Support the Workday optimisation roadmap and implementation of future Workday capabilities and modules.
• Maintain awareness of Workday functionality, product developments and leading practices through Workday Community and relevant networks.
• Incident, Problem & Technical Support
• Provide specialist escalation support for complex Workday issues that cannot be resolved through first-line or functional support.
• Diagnose system issues, conduct root‑cause analysis and implement sustainable solutions that prevent recurrence.
• Manage te