Workday Student Functional Architect

The Functional Architect – Workday Student (Australian Higher Education) is the functional leader for student administration engagements across Australian and New Zealand universities. This role is suited to an experienced higher education practitioner with hands-on experience across multiple student administration domains, such as student records, admissions, curriculum and academic structure, advising, student finance and compliance. Technical or systems experience is beneficial but not essential. What matters most is a genuine interest in understanding how Workday works and the ability to connect platform capability with the realities of university operations. The person who fits this role will be energised by the opportunity to help shape how Workday is applied across the higher education sector. They serve as the functional leader on Workday Student implementations and are accountable for bringing together the full student lifecycle as it exists in Workday and as it operates within an Australian or New Zealand university. This includes admissions, enrolment, progression, assessment, student finance, graduation and regulatory reporting. The incumbent is trusted to form a point of view, guide solution direction and make well-informed decisions drawing on their sector knowledge and practitioner experience. Working closely with Engagement Managers, functional leads and senior university stakeholders, they help deliver solutions that are practical, compliant, sustainable and aligned to institutional objectives. Key Responsibilities: Lead the functional architecture for Workday Student programs from discovery through deployment and stabilisation. Own the end-to-end student lifecycle design, ensuring admissions, student records, curriculum and academic structure, advising, progression, assessment, student financials and graduation operate as one connected solution. Ensure localised solutions are fit for purpose, operationally sustainable and compliant with Australian and New Zealand regulatory obligations, including TCSI, HELP/eCAF, TEQSA, ESOS/CRICOS, PRISMS, admissions pathways, census and EFTSL requirements. Maintain a current understanding of Workday capabilities, releases, AI and agent innovations, translating emerging functionality into practical guidance and roadmap recommendations for universities. Translate institutional strategy, academic policy and regulatory requirements into clear solution principles, design decisions and implementation roadmaps. Facilitate cross-functional design forums and guide stakeholders through complex decisions, dependencies and trade-offs across the student lifecycle. Provide oversight of business processes, security, integrations, reporting, data conversion, testing and deployment readiness to ensure a cohesive solution. Review key design artefacts, configuration outcomes, risks, assumptions and decisions for completeness, quality and alignment to client objectives. Act as a trusted advisor to…