Workday HCM Lead
The Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced Workday HCM Lead to provide technical leadership, governance and subject matter expertise across a large-scale Workday Human Capital Management environment.
This is a senior role combining hands-on Workday configuration expertise with leadership, solution assurance, stakeholder management and team development responsibilities. You will play a key role in shaping the future direction of the Workday HCM platform while supporting business transformation, operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives.
Working within a multi-disciplinary enterprise applications team, you will act as a senior trusted adviser and escalation point, ensuring solutions are scalable, compliant, high-performing and aligned with business objectives.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Governance
* Act as the senior Workday HCM Subject Matter Expert (SME).
* Provide technical and functional leadership across:
o Core HCM
o Organisations
o Staffing Models
o Job Architecture
o Business Process Framework
o Compensation
o Absence
o Talent Management
o Performance Management
* Define, promote and govern best practice for Workday HCM configuration, design and support.
* Review and assure solution quality across configurations, enhancements and releases.
* Provide technical oversight and peer review for work delivered by internal teams and external partners.
Service Management & Operational Excellence
* Oversee ticket queue management and workload prioritisation across support and enhancement activities.
* Ensure adherence to SLA and KPI targets for incident resolution and service delivery.
* Monitor service performance and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
* Act as an escalation point for complex incidents, defects and operational issues.
* Ensure effective stakeholder communication regarding service performance, incidents and system changes.
Solution Delivery & Transformation
* Lead complex requirements-gathering and solution design workshops.
* Translate business requirements into scalable functional designs and configuration solutions.
* Drive process standardisation, optimisation and continuous improvement initiatives.
* Support platform enhancements, releases and regulatory updates.
* Ensure solutions meet governance, compliance and audit requirements.
* Contribute to platform roadmap planning and strategic development activities.
Testing & Quality Assurance
* Provide oversight of:
o System Testing
o Integration Testing
o User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
* Ensure defects, risks and issues are managed effectively.
* Promote quality assurance and robust release management practices.
Stakeholder Management
* Build strong relationships with senior business stakeholders, programme teams, architects and suppliers.
* Present recommendations, risks and solution options to leadership teams.
* Provide trusted consultancy and strategic guidance on Workday HCM capabilities and best practice.
Team Leadership & Capability Development
* Provide day-to-day mentoring, coaching and technical supervision to consultants, analysts and delivery partners.
* Support resource planning and workload management.
* Promote knowledge sharing, capability development and succession planning.
* Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning and service excellence.
Essential Skills & Experience
* Significant experience working with Workday HCM in a senior configuration, implementation or support role.
* Deep understanding of end-to-end HR processes within large, complex organisations.
* Proven experience leading Workday HCM solutions within enterprise environments.
* Strong experience providing technical leadership, governance, assurance and oversight.
* Experience supervising, mentoring or coaching consultants, analysts or delivery teams.
* Advanced requirements gathering and business analysis capabilities.
* Experience translating complex business requirements into functional designs and configuration solutions.
* Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including influencing senior leaders.
* Experience operating within Agile, SAFe or hybrid delivery environments.
* Experience supporting enterprise SaaS and ERP platforms.
Desirable Experience
* Workday Payroll.
* Third-party Payroll Integrations.
* Workday Reporting and Analytics.
* Workday Integrations.
* Oracle Fusion HCM.
* Oracle E-Business Suite.
* ERP Transformation Programmes.
* Data Migration Activities.
* Operating Model Design.
* Workday Certifications.
* Professional HR Systems or ERP Certifications.