Workday Time & Payroll Consultant

Title: Senior Workday Time & Payroll Consultant (US & Canada)
Location: San Ramon, CA / Remote within USA for exceptional candidates
Employment Type: Contract
Industry: Retail
Experience: 7+ Years

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Senior Workday Time & Payroll Consultant to support, configure, and optimize Workday Time Tracking, Absence Management, and Payroll solutions for retail operations across the United States and Canada.

The ideal candidate will have strong hands-on expertise in Workday payroll processing, timekeeping, workforce scheduling, payroll integrations, and labor compliance. This role will partner closely with HR, Payroll, Store Operations, Finance, and IT teams to ensure accurate payroll processing, effective workforce management, and compliance with U.S. and Canadian payroll and labor regulations.

Experience supporting large hourly workforces, multiple retail/store locations, shift-based employees, and high-volume payroll environments is highly preferred.

Key Responsibilities Workday Time Tracking & Labor Management

• Configure and support Workday Time Tracking for retail store, distribution center, and corporate employees.

• Maintain time entry codes, time calculations, overtime rules, shift differentials, meal/rest break rules, and premium pay calculations.

• Configure and manage scheduling and workforce management requirements for hourly employees.

• Support complex retail pay rules, including:

  • Shift premiums

  • Holiday pay

  • Split shifts

  • Overtime and double-time calculations

• Configure and maintain absence plans, PTO accruals, sick leave, and leave programs for U.S. and Canadian employees.

• Troubleshoot and resolve time-capture discrepancies affecting payroll and labor reporting.

Payroll Processing US & Canada

• Configure and support Workday Payroll for large multi-state and multi-province employee populations.

• Support payroll activities including:

  • Regular payroll

  • Off-cycle payroll

  • Bonus payments

  • Retroactive adjustments

  • Final pay processing

• Manage payroll components including earnings, deductions, garnishments, taxes, benefit deductions, and wage attachments.

• Ensure compliance with U.S. federal and state payroll regulations and Canadian provincial payroll requirements.

• Support year-end payroll activities, including W-2 and T4 processing.

• Support payroll reconciliation and payroll tax compliance.

• Experience with ADP SmartConnect is highly desirable.

Integrations & Data Management

• Support integrations between Workday and:

  • Workforce Management systems

  • POS systems

  • Scheduling applications

  • Benefits providers

  • Tax vendors

  • Banking institutions

• Monitor and maintain payroll and time-data integrity across integrated systems.

• Troubleshoot integration failures and data discrepancies.

Reporting & Analytics

• Develop and maintain Workday reports and dashboards supporting:

  • Labor costs

  • Payroll reconciliation

  • Overtime analysis

  • Compliance reporting

• Develop calculated fields, custom reports, and composite reports.

• Provide payroll and workforce analytics to business and retail leadership teams.

Testing & Workday Releases

• Lead testing activities for Workday enhancements, releases, updates, and payroll tax changes.

• Develop and execute:

  • Unit testing

  • Integration testing

  • Regression testing

  • User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

• Coordinate release validation with Payroll, HR, IT, and Store Operations teams.

Production Support

• Provide Tier 2 and Tier 3 support for Workday payroll and time-tracking issues.

• Investigate and resolve payroll calculation issues, integration failures, and employee payroll inquiries.

• Maintain system documentation, configuration workbooks, and support procedures.

• Participate in payroll cycles and critical payroll support activities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Information Systems, Business, Finance, or a related field.

• 7+ years of Workday experience, including hands-on experience with:

  • Workday Time Tracking

  • Workday Payroll US and/or Canada

  • Workday Absence Management

• 3+ years of retail industry experience supporting large hourly employee populations.

• Strong understanding of:

  • Retail workforce management

  • Multi-state U.S. payroll

  • Canadian/multi-province payroll

  • Payroll taxation and compliance

  • Labor laws and wage requirements

• Experience supporting payroll environments with 5,000+ employees is preferred.

• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate across Payroll, HR, Finance, IT, and business teams.

Preferred Qualifications

Workday Pro certifications in one or more of the following areas are preferred:

• Workday Time Tracking

• Workday Payroll US

• Workday Payroll Canada

• Workday Absence Management

Additional preferred experience includes:

• Retail store and distribution center environments

• SOX controls

• Payroll audits

• Labor cost management

• Workforce planning

• High-volume payroll environments

Technical Skills

Workday Modules:
Workday HCM, Time Tracking, Payroll US, Payroll Canada, Absence Management, Compensation, Benefits

Workday Configuration:
Business Processes, Calculated Fields, Custom Reports, Composite Reports, Dashboards, Security Configuration

Integrations:
EIB, Core Connectors, API Integrations, ADP SmartConnect

Payroll Expertise:
Multi-State Payroll, Multi-Province Payroll, Payroll Taxation, Garnishments, Retro Payroll, Payroll Reconciliation, W-2/T4 and Year-End Processing

Key Skills for ATS Search

Workday Payroll, Workday Time Tracking, Workday Absence Management, Workday HCM, Payroll US, Payroll Canada, Multi-State Payroll, Multi-Province Payroll, ADP SmartConnect, EIB, Core Connectors, Workday Integrations, Calculated Fields, Composite Reports, Payroll Tax, W-2, T4, Retail Payroll, Workforce Management, Labor Compliance, Payroll Reconciliation