Sr. Management Analyst - Payroll

Sr. Management Analyst - Payroll

Salary

$56.23 - $65.54 Hourly

Location

Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Ave., Seattle, WA

Job Type

Classified Civil Service, Regular, Full-Time

Remote Employment

Flexible/Hybrid

Job Number

2026-01149

Department

City Finance

Opening Date

09/08/2026

Closing Date

9/22/2026 4:00 PM Pacific

• Description
• Benefits
• Questions

Position Description

The Office of City Finance (OCF) OCF is responsible for the financial operations of the City of Seattle. While working closely with the Citys Budget Office. OCF oversees the Citys financial control functions and enterprise reporting responsibilities and supports the goals set by the Mayor and the City Council by providing financial information and expertise. The Office of City Finance champions race and social justice and works progressively to realize the Citys vision of racial equity by participating in the Race and Social Justice - RSJ, which requires fostering a relational culture and an openness to learn and apply new ideas and skills through an equity lens.

The OCF is seeking to hire a Senior Management Analyst-Payroll (Sr. MSA) in Payroll serves as the City's lead functional expert for Workday Time Tracking, Absence, and Payroll, driving enterprise-wide configuration, governance, and operational reliability. This position is responsible for evaluating system performance, interpreting complex labor contracts affecting pay, coordinating cross department payroll operations, and ensuring timely, accurate, compliant compensation for City employees.

This role provides advanced functional analysis, leads design and testing for Workday updates, manages enterprise payroll, time and attendance and absence inputs for configuration, and partners closely with HR, Payroll, ITD, and departmental stakeholders across the organization. It provides influential leadership, training, and project guidance across decentralized teams and plays a critical role in maintaining a stable, audit ready Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) environment.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead strategic system configuration, governance, and performance evaluations for Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, Absence, and Compensation, ensuring alignment with policy, labor standards, and compliance requirements.
• Translate complex labor contract requirements into scalable, compliant system configurations while overseeing business processes, integrations, retro processing, audit controls, and payroll-related EIB data accuracy.
• Direct requirements gathering, prototyping, analytics-driven performance reviews, and testing governance for Workday configuration updates, releases, and weekly service changes to enhance usability, reliability, and efficiency.
• Conduct root-cause analysis and apply advanced reporting and analytics to detect anomalies, identify trends, support audits, and drive system improvements across payroll and HCM functions.
• Lead cross-functional solution design, stakeholder alignment, and citywide readiness efforts through coordination with HR, Payroll, Information Technology (ITD), Workday Subject Matter Expert (SMEs), developers, reporting analysts, and privacy/security teams.
• Provide clear communication, operational continuity, and issue resolution for decentralized departmental payroll teams while maintaining documentation standards and serving as backup support for payroll staff and leadership.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in business, Information Systems, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 3 years advanced experience supporting or configuring Workday Payroll, Time Tracking or Absence.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex analysis, testing, or configuration work in a large organization.
• Experience interpreting labor or complex contract pay impacting rules, pay policies, or compliance requirements.
• Robust analytical and problem-solving skills using reporting tools or data analysis.
• Experience coordinating cross functional work in IT, HR, payroll, or financial environments.

(Or a combination of education and/or training and/or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class.)

While not required, the desired qualifications below reflect the experience, skills, and abilities that support effective performance in this role.

• Workday HCM certification(s) or equivalent experience.
• Experience supporting public-sector payroll operations and process development and mapping.
• Experience with multi-union environments and complex labor contract interpretation.
• Familiarity with enterprise testing governance or release management.
• Experience developing Workday dashboards, custom reports, or Enterprise Interface Builder (EIBs).

Additional Information

PAY

This civil-service position is classified as a Management Systems Analyst, Senior (Sr. MSA). The full pay range for this step-progression position is $56.23 to $65.54 per hour. New employees begin at Step 1 of the pay progression, which is $56.23 hourly. Current City employees' starting rate of pay will be based on Personnel Rules regarding promotions.

Work Environment

This position offers the flexibility of a hybrid work schedule . Employees are expected to be in-office three days per week. Individual schedules will be based on agreement between the employee and their supervisor and are subject to change. Collaborative, inclusive team environment.

Application Process:

Applications are reviewed after the posting closes. You must submit the following items to be considered for this position no later than 4:00pm Pacific Time on the scheduled closed date.

• Completed NEOGOV online application.
• Cover letter describing how your skills and experience align with the stated job responsibilities and qualifications.
• Current resume indicating relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and education.

Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the relevant information in the application. Cover letters and/or resumes are not accepted in lieu of a completed application. Applications and/or Supplemental Questionnaires that state "see my resume" or "see my personnel file" are considered incomplete and will not be accepted.

PLEASE NOTE: This job advertisement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Background Check: Applicants must successfully pass a background check, which will be conducted in accordance with Seattle's Fair Chance Employment Ordinance, SMC 14.17. Applicants will be given a chance to explain or correct background information and provide verifiable information of good conduct and rehabilitation.

Why work at the City of Seattle? The City of Seattle recognizes every City employee must play a role in ending institutional and structural racism. Our culture is the result of our behavior, our personal commitments, and the ways that we courageously share our perspectives and encourage others to do the same. To cultivate an antiracist culture, we seek employees who will engage in the Race and Social Justice Initiative by working to dismantle racist policies and procedures, unlearn the way things have always been done, and provide equitable processes and services.

Benefits: The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holidays, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents. More information about employee benefits is available on the Citys website at: https://www.seattle.gov/human-resources/benefits.

Who May Apply: This position is open to all applicants that meet the minimum qualifications. The City of Seattle values diverse perspectives and life experiences. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The city encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with diverse life experience.

The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents.

More information about employee benefits is available on the Citys website at:

Benefits - Human Resources | seattle.gov

01

Each applicant must complete this supplemental questionnaire as a part of the application screening and selection process. The information you provide will be reviewed and used to determine your eligibility to move forward in the selections process. Incomplete responses, false statements, omissions, or partial information may result in disqualification from the selection process. Do you agree to answer each supplemental question truthfully and that your responses can be verified from information included within the application?

• Yes
• No

02

Answers to the following questions will help us determine whether candidates meet the minimum requirements of the position. Indicating "see resume" or "see application" are not sufficient responses to the supplemental questions. A complete and accurate application is required for this position. Did you update your City of Seattle application to reflect any recent changes to your experience and/or education? A cover letter and resume are both required documents. Missing one or both attachments will flag your submission as incomplete. Did you attach a cover letter and resume? (NOTE: Even if you have imported your resume directly into the application fields, you must still attach it).

• Yes
• No

03

Describe a time when you had to interpret complex contract rules and translate them into scalable Workday (or any HRIS system) Payroll, Time Tracking, or Absence configuration. What was the rule, how did it impact pay, what configuration options did you evaluate, and how did you ensure your solution remained compliant, sustainable, and easily testable? Limit your response to under 1,000 words and avoid the use of acronyms.

04

Walk us through a significant Workday payroll or HCM issue you performed root-cause analysis on. What analytics or reporting tools did you use to detect anomalies, which integrations or business processes were impacted, what stakeholders were involved, and how did you determine the long-term corrective action to prevent recurrence? Limit your response to under 1,000 words and avoid the use of acronyms.

05

Describe a situation where you were the ultimate business owner responsible for making a final decision on a Workday Payroll (or any HRIS system), Time Tracking, or Absence configuration that affected multiple departments. How did you build buy-in across decentralized HR, Payroll, ITD, and departmental stakeholders, particularly when priorities or interpretations differed? Walk us through your approach to stakeholder alignment, how you communicated system impacts, and how you ensured enterprise-wide adoption of the final decision. Limit your response to under 1,000 words and avoid the use of acronyms.

06

Please review the job responsibilities and minimum qualifications outlined in the job posting. In your response, briefly describe how you meet each of the minimum qualifications and detail any related experience that qualifies you for this position. Limit your response to under 1,000 words and avoid the use of acronyms.

Required Question

Employer City of Seattle

Address Seattle Municipal Tower

700 5th Avenue, Suite 5500

Seattle, Washington, 98104

Website http://www.seattle.gov/jobs