Department for Education
Workday Analyst

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Job Summary
London (SW1P 3BT), Manchester (M1 2WD), Sheffield (S1 2FJ)
IMPORTANT - This vacancy is using the Civil Service Numerical and Verbal tests. The deadline for completing the tests is the same as the vacancy closing date. Please ensure you complete the tests with sufficient time to complete the written application.
Our HR team is looking for a Workday Analyst to help manage the continuing growth and evolving HR technology platform. This role will focus on maintaining and actively supporting ongoing improvements to our Workday platform while ensuring the use of best practices across the business areas.
Job Description
Key responsibilities of the role include:
- Partnering with key stakeholders to understand their business requirements and how the system can best support these.
- Being proactive in understanding system functionality and future roadmaps to ensure we are optimising our use of Workday.
- Supporting, analysing, troubleshooting, and resolving Workday issues.
- Working closely with our Data and IT teams to develop and maintain integrations into downstream business solutions.
- Delivering and supporting optimisation projects and enhancements.
- Documenting technical specifications and mapping of impact across the business.
- Escalation for complex queries relating to Workday business processes to ensure effective system service delivery. Working closely with the HR, Payroll and Expenses teams to ensure a seamless user experience.
- Training and upskilling key stakeholders in the use of Workday.
- Analysing system performance and suggest improvements.
- Manage the review, impact analysis and implementation of the bi-annual Workday release cycle.
- Deliver Products, Tools, and Documentation, ensuring the delivery of change is made against a fully auditable process.
- Maintaining the security for the system including; testing, assurance, data privacy and best practices.
We welcome applications from candidates seeking part time or compressed working pattern. However, due to the nature of the work and the shift coverage required, the minimum number of contracted hours for this role is 30 hours per week over a 4 day period.
Key Responsibilities Of The Role Include
- Partnering with key stakeholders to understand their business requirements and how the system can best support these.
- Being proactive in understanding system functionality and future roadmaps to ensure we are optimising our use of Workday.
- Supporting, analysing, troubleshooting, and resolving Workday issues.
- Working closely with our Data and IT teams to develop and maintain integrations into downstream business solutions.
- Delivering and supporting optimisation projects and enhancements.
- Documenting technical specifications and mapping of impact across the business.
- Escalation for complex queries relating to Workday business processes to ensure effective system service delivery. Working closely with the HR, Payroll and Expenses teams to ensure a seamless user experience.
- Training and upskilling key stakeholders in the use of Workday.
- Analysing system performance and suggest improvements.
- Manage the review, impact analysis and implementation of the bi-annual Workday release cycle.
- Deliver Products, Tools, and Documentation, ensuring the delivery of change is made against a fully auditable process.
- Maintaining the security for the system including; testing, assurance, data privacy and best practices.
We welcome applications from candidates seeking part time or compressed working pattern. However, due to the nature of the work and the shift coverage required, the minimum number of contracted hours for this role is 30 hours per week over a 4 day period.
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Person specification
Essential Criteria
- Extensive Workday Configuration Experience.
- Workday Pro or equivalent Workday training (6+ Workday certified courses to include HCM for Administrators, Report Writer, Business Processes for Administrators plus one specialism i.e. Learning, Recruitment, Talent and Performance).
- Functional experience in HCM and reporting plus one or more of the following areas: Talent and Performance, Recruitment and Learning.
- Knowledge of, and comfort with, the complexities of integrating HR systems and processes with wider business administration activities.
- Expertise in HR data governance and best practice, particularly regarding HR system security policies.
- Experience of engaging with stakeholders to develop detailed requirements, identify change impacts, propose solutions and agree achievable timelines.
- Experience of change management to ensure successful adoption of system improvements.
Desirable Criteria
- Formal certification/training in Workday methodologies and practices.
- Functional experience in one or more of the following areas: time tracking, security, integrations.
- Additional experience in WD Studio and/or advanced reporting.
Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview in the event of a tie break situation to make an informed decision.
Qualifications
Workday Pro or equivalent Workday training (6+ Workday certified courses to include HCM for Administrators, Report Writer, Business Processes for Administrators plus one specialism i.e. Learning, Recruitment, Talent and Performance)
Alongside your salary of £37,260, Department for Education contributes £10,794 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.
As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK.
You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.
We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.
Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.


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Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Strengths and Experience.
To apply for this role, please select 'Apply Now' at the top or bottom of this advert. CV details need to be included in the template within the application form; attached or emailed CVs will not be considered.
Stage 1: Civil Service Numerical Test (CSNT)
When you have completed your personal information, you will be asked to complete the CSNT. You must achieve the minimum pass mark to progress to the next stage.
Stage 2: Civil Service Verbal Test (CSVT)
When you have completed the CSNT, you will be asked to complete the CSVT. You must achieve the minimum pass mark to progress to the next stage.
It is important you allow enough time to complete the test online (within 24-48 hours is recommended), and obtain the results before you can complete your full application online prior to the test closing date and time.
Do not leave completing the tests until the last minute in case you experience any access or technical issues. There may not be technical support available after business hours.
While the tests should work on most operating systems and modern browsers with a good internet connection, we cannot guarantee that every combination will work. At the beginning, the test will check which browser you are using, and alert you if it is likely to be incompatible.
It is highly recommended that you complete the online tests on a desktop computer, not a mobile phone or tablet.
If you are unsuccessful in passing the online tests you will be unable to continue any further in the application process. If you successfully pass the tests, you will then progress to stage 3 of completing the full application.
Stage 3: Written Application
To Apply For This Role, Please Provide
- A Short CV setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role.
- Your Statement of Suitability – In no more than 750 words, provide examples of how your personal skills, qualities and experience meet the essential criteria. This is not intended to be a cover letter, instead work through each essential criteria in turn. You may wish to follow the STAR technique to help focus your examples. The key things we are looking for are what you did, how you did it and what the outcome was.
When looking at your experience, we’re looking for examples of things you have previously achieved or your knowledge in a particular field, which are relevant to the job role. We’re not looking at how much time you spent in a particular field, but rather how you performed. Sometimes experience can be transferable from a non-work context. Skills gained through voluntary work or a hobby, such as teamwork or communication, can demonstrate the experience required for the role.
We will use your CV and Statement of Suitability to assess your suitability for the role against the essential criteria listed in the person specification section above.
To confirm, the maximum word count for the personal statement is 750 words.
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