Workday Financials Functional SME

Workday Financials Functional SME (2 vacancies)
POSITION DETAILS

The City University of New York (CUNY) seeks two highly skilled Workday Financials Functional Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to play a critical role in managing and optimizing the Workday Financials functional areas. These positions are part of the Office of Budget and Finance (OBF) and work closely with the Computing & Information Services (CIS) department to ensure the effective and efficient operation of the University’s financial system.

These roles will also involve collaboration with finance professionals at OBF and across all CUNY campuses to maximize the use of Workday Financials within CUNYWork, the University’s transition from its legacy People Soft ERP system to a modern SaaS-based platform. The incumbents will report to the University Director of Decision Support and Operations and contribute to the ongoing optimization of Workday Financials.

Key duties include, but are not limited the following:

• Develop and serve as the senior subject matter expert in key Workday Financial functional areas, including Financial Accounting, Budgets, Adaptive Planning, Banking and Settlement, Gift and Endowment Accounting, Investments, Revenue and Customer Accounts, Grants Management, Procurement, Supplier Accounts, Expenses, Business Assets, and Capital Projects; SMEs will provide strategic insights to ensure these areas are effectively implemented and optimized while maintaining flexibility to support other functional areas as needed.
• Manage cross-functional collaboration with Finance, IT, HR, and other stakeholders to gather business requirements and translate them into efficient Workday Financials solutions.
• Serve as the subject matter expert (SME) for Workday Financials, providing guidance and support to end-users while troubleshooting system issues to ensure smooth operations.
• Develop and manage Workday Financials configurations – including Business Processes, Account Posting Rules, and security assignments – in collaboration with Finance, Accounting, and Budget teams, and troubleshoot issues to ensure seamless system performance.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance financial processes and create scalable, repeatable solutions that support finance teams across CUNY.
• Monitor system performance and manage troubleshooting efforts to ensure Workday Financials operates efficiently; evaluate feature releases (upgrades) and service updates, and address issues proactively to maintain smooth system operations.
• Develop and deliver training programs to ensure finance professionals and end-users across campuses are proficient in Workday Financials; provide ongoing support to enhance system utilization.
• Collaborate with other departments (HR, Procurement, etc.) to integrate Workday Financials with other CUNY systems, streamlining financial operations and improving cross-departmental collaboration.

NOTE:

Until further notice, this position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule.

Minimum:

Bachelor’s degree and six years’ related experience required.

Preferred:

• A degree in computer science, business administration, finance, accounting, or a related field; at least two years of experience working with Workday Financials.
• Comprehensive hands‑on expertise across multiple Workday Financials areas – such as accounting, budgeting, grants, procurement, and capital projects – with proven ability to deliver strategic solutions in complex environments, ideally supported by Workday certification.
• Direct experience in the Public Sector or Higher Education is highly preferred, with a strong understanding of fund accounting, compliance, and reporting requirements.
• Experience with large‑scale system implementations, particularly with SaaS‑based solutions like Workday.
• Proven ability to collaborate with cross‑functional teams, including Finance, IT, and Human Resources professionals, to drive system improvements.
• Excellent problem‑solving and analytical skills, with the ability to address complex system issues.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to lead training initiatives and support users…