Senior Financial Systems Analyst

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior Financial Systems Analyst based in the United States.

This is a high-impact opportunity for an experienced financial systems professional to shape how finance and sponsored research operations use technology and data.

You’ll serve as a functional leader for Workday Financials and Grants Management, partnering with Finance, Research Administration, and other stakeholders.

The role combines systems optimization, business process design, reporting, analytics, and continuous improvement.

You’ll help translate complex operational and regulatory requirements into intuitive, scalable, and well-governed solutions.

Your work will strengthen financial controls, data integrity, compliance, reporting, and decision-making across a complex, grant-funded environment.

You’ll also contribute to implementations, enhancements, testing, integrations, training, and ongoing user support.

This role is ideal for a collaborative and solutions-oriented Workday expert who enjoys solving complex problems and improving systems that enable meaningful research and innovation.

Accountabilities:

• Serve as the functional lead for Workday Financials and Workday Grants Management, partnering with Finance & Accounting, Grant and Contract Services, Research Administration, and other stakeholders.
• Analyze, design, optimize, and govern financial and grants management processes and Workday configurations using industry best practices.
• Ensure Workday solutions support sponsor requirements, institutional policies, accounting standards, and regulatory obligations.
• Support the full sponsored research lifecycle, including award setup, budgeting, amendments, cost sharing, facilities and administrative costs, billing, revenue recognition, and closeout.
• Support core financial processes across General Ledger and Financial Reporting, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Procurement, Assets, Cash Management, and Financial Planning & Analysis.
• Lead requirements gathering, business process mapping, gap analysis, and future-state design for financial and grants workflows.
• Translate complex operational requirements into clear functional specifications and effective Workday configurations.
• Coordinate system testing, user acceptance testing, issue resolution, implementations, upgrades, enhancements, and optimization initiatives.
• Support integrations between Workday and other institutional systems and applications.
• Design and maintain standard, custom, and composite Workday Financials and Grants reports.
• Develop dashboards, KPIs, and analytical solutions supporting financial management, research administration, grants oversight, audit readiness, and leadership decision-making.
• Establish reporting standards, data governance practices, and analytics priorities in partnership with Finance, FP&A, Grants, and Research Administration leaders.
• Provide ongoing functional support to Workday users and resolve complex system and process issues.
• Develop user guides, training materials, and process documentation while coordinating end-user training.
• Support internal and external audits, compliance reviews, and sponsor inquiries.
• Identify opportunities to improve system usability, productivity, data quality, and the overall user experience.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience supporting financial systems.
• At least 5 years of hands-on experience with Workday Financial Management, including implementation, configuration, administration, and production support.
• Demonstrated experience with Workday Grants Management and sponsored research processes.
• Strong experience developing Workday Financials and Grants reports, including custom and composite reporting.
• Experience working within or closely supporting higher education, research institutions, or other grant-funded organizations.
• Proven ability to gather requirements, conduct gap analyses, map business processes, and design effective system solutions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a high level of attention to data accuracy, quality, and integrity.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across diverse functional and technical stakeholder groups.
• Strong understanding of financial processes, controls, reporting, and compliance requirements.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work collaboratively in a complex, decentralized environment.
• An MBA or other advanced degree is preferred.
• Workday Financial Management and/or Workday Grants certifications are preferred.
• Experience supporting complex, decentralized organizations is an advantage.

Benefits:

• Annual base salary range of $128,560-$168,003, with actual compensation determined by experience, qualifications, skills, internal equity, and market conditions.
• Comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees.
• Opportunity to work remotely in a high-impact financial systems role.
• Professional growth and development opportunities.
• Exposure to complex Workday Financials and Grants Management environments.
• Opportunity to influence financial processes, data governance, reporting, and sponsored research operations.
• Collaborative environment with cross-functional partnerships across Finance, Research Administration, Grants, and Information Systems.
• Opportunity to contribute technology and systems expertise within a mission-driven research and innovation environment.