Workday Adaptive Planning Consultant

About the role

Our client is seeking an experienced Workday Adaptive Planning professional to lead a practical improvement engagement at the intersection of Finance, Accounting, and Technology. Working directly with Finance, Accounting, and business unit leaders, this consultant will assess the current Adaptive environment, identify gaps, and implement meaningful improvements — reducing manual workarounds, strengthening data structures, and improving decision support. The engagement follows a consulting-style delivery arc (discovery → design → build → validate → enablement), with an emphasis on modernization within existing infrastructure rather than a full rebuild.

Responsibilities

• Write custom reports in Workday Adaptive Planning to support faster variance reporting and analysis
• Lead discovery sessions with Finance, Accounting, and business unit stakeholders to document current workflows, pain points, and decision needs
• Bridge finance/accounting language and business language — facilitate alignment on definitions, levels of detail, and reporting outputs
• Assess the current Adaptive model design, including chart of accounts mappings, dimensions, and actuals integration from the general ledger and other sources
• Recommend and execute a practical improvement plan covering model redesign, dimension restructuring, mappings, data granularity changes, and process improvements
• Improve usability of actuals-vs.-budget and actuals-vs.-forecast reporting for business users; reduce reliance on Excel workarounds
• Design and deploy dashboards, recurring reports, and self-service views to support business decision-making
• Partner with internal system owners and Finance leadership to manage tradeoffs, constraints, and governance; document decisions and standards
• Develop change enablement deliverables including training materials, quick reference guides, and handoff documentation
• Provide post-engagement support for incremental adjustments as the business evolves (optional/as needed)

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience implementing, administering, or significantly enhancing Workday Adaptive Planning (formerly Adaptive Insights), including modeling, dimensions, integrations/mappings, and reporting — not simply end-user or report-consumer experience
• Strong FP&A process knowledge (budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and management reporting) and/or a solid accounting background with deep familiarity with general ledger structure and close/reporting requirements
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose problems through stakeholder listening and requirements gathering, then translate needs into system and data solutions
• Comfortable navigating competing priorities across functions and driving to practical, workable solutions
• Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical audiences; able to simplify complex finance and accounting concepts for business leaders
• Proven track record delivering time-bound, consulting-style engagements end-to-end
• Local to the Seattle area and available to work onsite 4–5 days per week

Nice to have

• Experience with Workday Financial Management and/or Workday integrations affecting Adaptive actuals loads
• Data architecture and data transformation experience, including designing flexible structures that roll up for multiple audiences
• Experience improving expense and transaction detail workflows involving enterprise spend management tools
• Prior work in complex stakeholder environments with high self-service reporting expectations

Pay & schedule

• Location: Seattle, WA – Onsite (4–5 days/week)
• Duration: 6–12 months, contract-to-hire potential
• Compensation: $55 – $65 per hour
• This position is not eligible for bonus or incentive compensation

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid sick leave
• Retirement savings plans
• Other employer-sponsored programs

US citizens and those authorized to work in the US are encouraged to apply. Work sponsorship is not currently available.