Finance Director – Workday ERP Transformation
Guidehouse · Remote · Chicago, United States +2 · 1d ago
Job Family:
Finance Planning & Analysis
Travel Required:
Clearance Required:
What You Will Do:
The Finance Director – Workday ERP Transformation will serve as the lead subject matter expert for the Workday Financial Management ERP tool in the Finance department. This highly visible role will drive the design and use of the Workday ERP tool within the organization, ensuring that business and control requirements translate into scalable Workday design decisions, and leverage the tool’s capabilities effectively. This leader will guide the organization, and the finance department through the implementation, deployment, stabilization, and optimization of the Workday ERP tool and ensure alignment with associated business processes.
The Director will partner across Finance, Accounting, Technology, Data, Procurement, Human Capital, Operations, Internal Audit, and implementation teams to align Workday capabilities with enterprise processes and reporting needs. The successful candidate will bring deep Workday Financials expertise, including, ideally, knowledge of the PSA module. Guidehouse is seeking a high-energy, hardworking leader who is deeply committed to and passionate about our mission, approaches colleagues and clients with humility and integrity, and thrives in a collaborative environment.
Key Responsibilities:
- Serve as the lead finance architect for the transition to Workday Financial Management, defining target-state, transition-state, and post-deployment architecture.
- Lead end-to-end solution design across the Workday Financials platform, including the Foundation Data Model, general ledger, accounting, revenue, customer accounts, supplier accounts, procurement, expenses, projects, assets, banking, settlements, budgeting, reporting, and analytics.
- Translate finance strategy, business requirements, accounting policies, internal controls, and reporting needs into scalable Workday configurations and architecture decisions.
- Assess the current environment, including chart of accounts, master data, workflows, customizations, interfaces, reports, controls, and downstream dependencies, and determine the appropriate disposition for each capability.
- Own finance data conversion strategy, including data profiling, cleansing, mapping, transformation, reconciliation, historical data retention, cutover, and post-migration validation.
- Provide architectural oversight for integrations, banking, payroll, tax, procurement, expense, billing, planning, data warehouse, reporting, and other enterprise platforms.
- Establish finance design principles, documentation standards, governance forums, decision rights, and controls to maintain consistency across functional and technical workstreams.
- Lead design reviews and resolve complex ERP issues involving process standardization, localization, security, segregation of duties, data quality, performance, scalability, auditability, and regulatory compliance.
- Guide system integration testing, user acceptance testing, finance reconciliation, conversion validation, cutover planning, deployment readiness, hypercare, and stabilization.
- Partner with implementation vendors and internal teams to manage scope, dependencies, risks, issues, milestones, and architecture deliverables.
- Develop the post-implementation operating model, enhancement roadmap, release governance, support processes, and continuous improvement agenda for Workday Financials.
Role Expectations:
- Operate as a hands-on architect who can move effectively between enterprise strategy, detailed finance process design, system configuration, data, integrations, controls, testing, and issue resolution.
- Build trusted relationships with finance executives, accounting leaders, technology teams, business owners, and external implementation partners.
- Challenge unnecessary customization and promote standardized, sustainable processes while accounting for critical business and compliance requirements.
- Communicate complex architecture decisions, risks, trade-offs, and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Anticipate cross-functional ERP impacts and drive timely resolution of issues that could affect close, reporting, controls, business continuity, or implementation milestones.
- Maintain strong documentation, decision discipline, quality standards, and accountability throughout the transformation.
- Bring high energy and a strong work ethic to the transformation, demonstrating sustained commitment to and passion for Guidehouse’s mission while maintaining humility, integrity, and accountability.
- Foster a highly collaborative environment by actively listening, sharing credit, welcoming diverse perspectives, and partnering across functions to achieve collective outcomes.
What You Will Need:
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Information Systems, Business, or a related field.
- 12+ years of progressive finance, ERP, finance transformation, or enterprise systems experience, including leadership of complex implementations.
- Deep expertise in Workday architecture, configuration, business processes, security, reporting, integrations, and deployment methodology.
- Demonstrated experience serving as a Workday Financials architect or lead solution designer for a large-scale implementation or transformation.
- Required Workday ERP background with strong understanding of Workday finance processes, data structures, configuration, integrations, reporting, controls, and legacy-system dependencies.
- Workday Financial Management certifications or equivalent advanced implementation credentials.
- Proven experience transitioning from Peoplesoft or another complex legacy ERP to Workday, including architecture, data conversion, integration, testing, cutover, and stabilization activities.
- Broad understanding of ERP issues across accounting, financial reporting, planning, revenue, billing, procure-to-pay, order-to-cash, projects, expenses, assets, banking, tax, payroll, master data, security, and controls.
- Strong knowledge of finance operating models, U.S. GAAP, internal controls, segregation of duties, audit requirements, and data governance.
- Experience leading cross-functional design workshops, architecture reviews, issue resolution, and executive decision-making.
- Exceptional analytical, program leadership, stakeholder management, written communication, and presentation skills.
What Would Be Nice to Have:
- Experience with Workday Accounting Center, Adaptive Planning, Prism Analytics, Extend, Studio, Enterprise Interface Builder, web services, or related integration capabilities.
- Finance or accounting credential such as CPA, CMA, or MBA.
- Experience in a large, global, publicly traded, professional services, or other complex multi-entity organization.
- Experience leading ERP operating-model redesign, finance process transformation, change management, adoption, and benefits realization.
What We Offer:
Guidehouse offers a comprehensive, total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and a flexible benefits package that reflects our commitment to creating a diverse and supportive workplace.
Benefits include:
Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus
Parental Leave and Adoption Assistance
401(k) Retirement Plan
Basic Life & Supplemental Life
Health Savings Account, Dental/Vision & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
Student Loan PayDown
Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning Opportunities
Skills Development & Certifications
Employee Referral Program
Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach
Emergency Back-Up Childcare Program
Mobility Stipend
About Guidehouse
Guidehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer–Protected Veterans, Individuals with Disabilities or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.
Guidehouse will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law or ordinance including the Fair Chance Ordinance of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
If you have visited our website for information about employment opportunities, or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Guidehouse Recruiting at 1-571-633-1711 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@guidehouse.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodation.
All communication regarding recruitment for a Guidehouse position will be sent from Guidehouse email domains including @guidehouse.com or guidehouse@myworkday.com. Correspondence received by an applicant from any other domain should be considered unauthorized and will not be honored by Guidehouse. Note that Guidehouse will never charge a fee or require a money transfer at any stage of the recruitment process and does not collect fees from educational institutions for participation in a recruitment event. Never provide your banking information to a third party purporting to need that information to proceed in the hiring process.
If any person or organization demands money related to a job opportunity with Guidehouse, please report the matter to Guidehouse’s Ethics Hotline. If you want to check the validity of correspondence you have received, please contact recruiting@guidehouse.com. Guidehouse is not responsible for losses incurred (monetary or otherwise) from an applicant’s dealings with unauthorized third parties.
Guidehouse does not accept unsolicited resumes through or from search firms or staffing agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of Guidehouse and Guidehouse will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.