Impact, on and off the pitch
Reporting into the Head of Application Development this role owns the end-to-end delivery of the Workday transformation. The implementation of Workday will digitally transform Finance, Procurement and HR, delivering process efficiency, creating one source of truth for reporting, and the decommissioning of existing, disparate corporate Systems. This role is responsible for managing this complex, multi-workstream transformation and will be responsible for delivery through an effective governance & delivery structure, creating business value and establishing a sustainable and supportable Workday operating model that will support the FA for years to come. This role will require strong stakeholder relations with the CIO, Finance Director and Finance, HR and Technology Leadership teams.
What will you be doing?
Programme Management
1. Manages the holistic Workday programme of work combining Business and Digital Technology workstreams.
2. Ensures the objectives of the Business & Digital Technology stakeholders are met
3. Creates an effective delivery structure with the chosen FA Implementation Partner, that provides aligned planning, tracking, risk management, and reporting
4. Co-ordinates activities across Change, Process, Data, Integration, and Testing Workstreams
5. Co-ordinates with Digital Technology pods (e.g. Run, Regulate etc) and practices (e.g. QA, Platforms etc) as required
6. Co-ordinates with Third Party Vendors including the chosen SI partner, Cognizant and other third parties (integrations) as required.
7. Identifies and mitigates blockers, risks and issues owning resolution of the most complex on the programme
8. Influences prioritisation against overall business value
Governance
9. Define and run an effective Governance Structure for the Workday implementation driving programme controls, reporting and decision making.
10. Establish a Business Design Authority to ensure Workday best practice processes are adopted and implemented by the FA and align to agreed design principles and business outcomes. Process owners are identified with defined and agreed accountabilities. Data Owners are identified with defined and agreed accountabilities. Is part of the post go-live Workday operating model and becomes established BAU.
11. Adheres to the FA Delivery Framework, including architectural standards and policy, reporting standard performance metrics, and completion of governance artefacts e.g. Solution Architectural Definition (SAD).
12. Will obtain required approvals at the FA's Digital Technology control boards e.g. the Architectural Control Board (ACB) and Change Advisory Board (CAB)
13. Establish an effective System Administration service for security and change control, with required standards of segration of duties, audit log and review.
14. Runs the Steering Groups and Decision Groups on an agreed time pulse.
15. Provide timely updates for the CFO, CIO, Deputy CEO and wider leadership team on status and risk.
16. Attends the Digital Technology Quarterly Performance Review (QPR) providing objective reporting of delivery status and performance metrics.
Risk & Budget Management
17. Oversees the Workday Implementation budget, ensuring accurate financial discipline and accurate forecasting
18. Owns and runs the overall Workday RAID log, reporting into the Workday Programme Governance Structure and the Digtal Technology risk management framework and monthly risk meeting.
19. Executes additional tasks as required to meet the FA's changing priorities.
20. Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure that the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being can be maintained.
21. As part of the FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
What are we looking for?
Essential for the role:
22. Significant track record of a successful delivery of Workday or equivalent ERP implementation for Finance and HR
23. Agile IT project/programme management experience
24. Skills and experience of using JIRA/Confluence
25. Ability to lead and manage cross-functional teams without line-management responsibilities
26. Strong senior stakeholder management skills, confidence to positively influence and challenge,
27. Strong collaboration experience
28. Experience of delivery with and managing third party vendors
29. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
30. Good interpersonal and leadership skills
31. Effective presentation skills (written and verbal)
Beneficial to have:
32. Finance qualification/experience
33. A recognised Programme/Project Management accreditation.
34. Scrum Master certification
35. Agile Project Manager Practitioner
36. Experience of working in an elite sports and/or event environment
37. Experience/knowledge of football at any level.
What's in it for you?
We are committed to ensuring everyone can flourish in their roles, to achieve this we have unique office spaces under the arch of the iconic Wembley National Stadium, which is the home of English Football. We are also delighted to offer a world-class, Elite Performance Centre, St. George's Park in Staffordshire which is an exceptional setting to develop and inspire high-performing England teams and leaders.
We pride ourselves in offering a competitive salary as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role. But that is not all; we also have a range of exciting benefits, some of which can be found below:
38. Access to event day tickets at Wembley Stadium, alongside a host of regular internal events throughout the season, encouraging you to connect and learn with your colleagues and look after your mental health and well-being.
39. Free, nutritious lunches at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park.
40. Free private medical cover.
41. A contributory pension scheme.
42. An additional 'Thank You' days leave, volunteering days as well as 25 days annual leave (based on a full-time, permanent contract.)
43. A hybrid working model which offers greater flexibility.
For more information on what it is like to work at The FA, please visit our FA Careers page,
Currently, we are working within a hybrid working model whereby the expectation is to work from your contractual location for part of the week, and as and when required by the team. The remaining days can be worked remotely. We will continue to monitor this model, and it may be adjusted in future if deemed necessary. The contractual location of this role can be found on the FA Careers page.
We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The Football Association actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work.
We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.
As part of the FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.