Manager, Workday Payroll, Time & Absence

Legend Biotech is seeking a Manager, Workday Payroll, Time & Absence as part of the Human Resources team based in Somerset, NJ. 

Role Overview

The role is responsible for overseeing and optimizing the Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence modules within Workday HCM. This role serves as the functional owner and subject matter expert (SME) for all Payroll, Time, and Absence–related configuration, ensuring Workday supports accurate payroll processing, regulatory compliance, and effective workforce time and leave management across regions. The role will manage day-to-day configuration and operational support, coordinate system enhancements, support biannual Workday releases, and drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance payroll accuracy, compliance, and the overall employee and manager experience globally.

Key Responsibilities   

• Own and manage Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence, ensuring configurations support accurate pay, compliant time capture, and effective leave administration across worker populations.
• Provide functional leadership for payroll and time processes, guiding system design decisions and maintaining scalable frameworks that support operational stability.
• Oversee critical configuration areas across payroll calculations, time rules, and absence plans, ensuring changes are governed, tested, and aligned with policy and regulatory requirements.
• Manage Workday biannual releases for Payroll, Time, and Absence — evaluating feature impacts, directing regression testing, and enabling functionality that strengthens operational performance.
• Maintain strong business process controls, audit readiness, and segregation of duties to protect payroll integrity and sensitive worker data.
• Establish configuration governance and deployment standards, ensuring structured testing, documentation, and migration practices.
• Partner closely with Payroll and HR Operations to translate operational needs into sustainable system solutions while reducing manual effort and processing risk.
• Drive payroll accuracy by supporting reconciliation activities and proactively addressing system-related discrepancies.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation and configuration artifacts to support compliance, knowledge sharing, and long-term system sustainability.
• Identify opportunities to standardize processes, simplify configuration, and enhance system efficiency using Workday best practices.
• Act as the decision-maker for configuration and design choices across Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence, balancing operational efficiency with regulatory compliance and pay accuracy.
• Evaluate new Workday functionality impacting payroll and time, determining adoption recommendations based on operational risk, business readiness, and downstream payroll impact.
• Prioritize system enhancements and production changes in alignment with payroll calendars, compliance requirements, and HRIS governance frameworks.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business, Information Systems, or related field required.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in HRIS or HR technology roles, with at least 3+ years of hands-on Workday Payroll, Time and Absence configuration experience.
• Deep functional knowledge of Workday Payroll frameworks, time policies, and leave administration, with a strong understanding of upstream dependencies.
• Proven experience leading Workday release cycles for Payroll, Time, and Absence.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with Payroll and HR Operations, effectively prioritizing competing demands while maintaining operational stability.
• Advanced Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence configuration.
• Strong expertise in Business Processes, condition rules, and calculated fields
• Solid understanding of Workday security and domain access impacting payroll data.
• Advanced Excel for analysis, reconciliations, and troubleshooting.

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