Payroll Consultant

Role Description

We’re expanding our Workday practice and looking for an experienced Workday Payroll Consultant who thrives in complex environments—especially those involving union and public sector payroll structures. In this role, you’ll support and optimize high-impact Workday Payroll implementations for public sector clients, helping them ensure accurate and compliant payroll processing. You’ll offer advisory support on payroll systems and regulations, helping to improve payroll efficiency and controls. This is a high-visibility, high-impact consulting role with room to grow, innovate, and help shape the future of our Workday practice.

Responsibilities

• System Configuration & Testing
  • Apply deep expertise in the Workday Payroll product across customer engagements.
  • Partner with customers to elicit, clarify, and document business requirements.
  • Configure Workday Payroll to align with customer needs and operational realities.
  • Document solution decisions clearly so customers can support and sustain their environment after go-live.
• Production Support
  • Lead Workday post-production support services for Payroll, a portfolio of clients.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact and strategic advisor for client stakeholders, addressing escalations, resolving complex issues, and guiding clients through system updates and enhancements.
  • Manage day-to-day support activities: triage tickets, troubleshoot issues, and oversee timely resolution in alignment with SLAs.
  • Own Workday release management: analyze feature updates, assess client impact, and coordinate testing and deployment with client teams.
• Client Engagement & Solutioning
  • Partner with clients to understand complex benefits structures, including union, non-union, and retiree populations governed by state and local policies.
  • Identify opportunities to improve client processes and system configuration for efficiency, accuracy, and compliance.
  • Provide end-user training and support during implementation and post-implementation phases.
  • Lead collaborative discovery sessions to document requirements and translate them into effective, compliant Workday configurations.
• Implementation Methodology & Framework Alignment
  • Apply Meridian’s internal Workday Delivery Framework (MDF) and Workday Delivery Implementation Methodology (WDIM) across all phases.
  • Maintain project documentation, RAID logs, and deliverable quality in accordance with internal governance and QA checkpoints.
  • Support risk identification and mitigation planning in partnership with the Practice Director and Project Manager.
• Best Practices & Optimization
  • Provide expert guidance on Workday Payroll best practices, ensuring configuration aligns with delivered functionality and avoids unnecessary customization.
  • Participate in internal knowledge-sharing sessions and contribute to the Practice’s continuous improvement and innovation repository.
• Compliance & Policy Interpretation
  • Maintain a strong understanding of public sector-specific reporting and compliance requirements.
  • Translate policy requirements into compliant configuration and business process design.
  • Serve as the internal SME for interpreting union-related benefits rules and ensuring configuration meets legal and contractual obligations.

Qualifications

• Active Workday certification in Payroll and Core HCM required.
• Active Workday certifications in Time Tracking and/or Absence highly desirable.
• 1+ years Public Sector consulting experience within state or local agencies.
• 2+ years of Workday Payroll experience, including configuration, deployment and post-production of Payroll and related modules.
• 1+ years of post-implementation support experience with Workday Payroll, and preferably Time Tracking, and/or Absence modules.
• 1+ years of experience with leading the troubleshooting, optimization, and maintenance of the Workday Payroll, and preferably Time Tracking, and/or Absence modules.
• Bachelors' Degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Ability to work standard East Coast hours.

Requirements

• Full-time, salaried position.
• 100% Remote - must reside within the United States.
• Up to 30% domestic travel.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship, now or in the future.

Benefits

• A collaborative, people-first culture.
• Generous time off and flexible remote environment.
• 401(k) with company match that immediately vests.
• Comprehensive benefits including medical/dental/vision, caregiver/adoption support, financial coaching, EAP.
• Company-paid life insurance.