Finance Lead, Workday ERP Transformation
Emory University
About the role
Lead the finance workstream for a Workday ERP transformation across a university and healthcare system, serving as the functional product owner for Workday Financial Management. You’ll direct design, controls, data conversion, testing, cutover, and stabilization across areas including general ledger, grants, procure to pay, and reporting. The role requires 10 years of financial leadership or transformation experience, with direct Workday Financial Management experience strongly preferred. Work is generally in person, with remote days at department discretion.
Reporting to the VP for ERP Transformation, the Finance Lead for Workday ERP Transformation is accountable for the finance workstream within the Workday ERP Transformation and serves as the primary functional decision-maker across Emory University and Emory Healthcare. This role leads the design and delivery of Workday Financial Management, balances enterprise standards with University fund and grant accounting and Healthcare financial requirements, directs the assigned finance team and advisers, and escalates decisions or risks requiring broader program action.
Key Responsibilities
Owns finance workstream scope, priorities, deliverables, dependencies, decisions, risks, and readiness in coordination with the ERP PMO.
Serves as the functional product owner for Workday Financial Management and approves the future-state finance design, including the enterprise chart of accounts and financial data model.
Guides design for general ledger and reporting, procure to pay, accounts payable, non-patient billing and receivables, grants and contracts accounting, assets and leases, treasury, and planning interfaces.
Aligns University and Healthcare requirements, promotes standardized processes, and documents the rationale and approval for material exceptions.
Ensures the solution addresses financial controls, segregation of duties, policy and SOX-style impacts, security, data integrity, and regulatory and management reporting.
Leads finance participation in requirements, configuration reviews, data conversion and reconciliation, testing, cutover, deployment readiness, and stabilization.
Coordinates with other functional and technical leads, Internal Audit, Change Management, Workday, consultants, and finance subject matter advisers.
Communicates decisions and impacts, builds stakeholder alignment, and ensures effective training, knowledge transfer, and transition to ongoing support.
Performs related responsibilities as required.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field and ten years of progressively responsible financial leadership, operations, or transformation experience, including experience leading complex teams or workstreams.
Master's degree and CPA, CMA, or comparable professional credential preferred.
Broad finance expertise spanning controllership and financial planning and analysis with strong knowledge of general ledger, chart of accounts, reporting, and internal controls.
Experience delivering a large-scale finance transformation or enterprise cloud financial system; direct Workday Financial Management experience is strongly preferred.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, resolve competing priorities, make enterprise decisions, and communicate complex financial and system topics clearly.
Preferred qualifications include full life-cycle Workday Financial Management implementation experience and experience in higher education, academic medicine, or healthcare, including fund or grant accounting and multi-entity financial structures.
Note: Position tasks are generally required to be performed in-person at an Emory University location. Remote work from home day options may be granted at department discretion. Emory reserves the right to change remote work status with notice to employee.