At First Bus, we're committed to making things simpler, smoother, and more efficient for our colleagues across the business!
The IT Workday Platform Lead is the senior technical authority for the Workday platform, responsible for its strategic direction, operational stability, and ongoing optimisation. The role ensures Workday is reliable, scalable, secure, and aligned with enterprise architecture principles and business needs across HR, Payroll, Finance, and wider functions.
Acting as the Workday platform owner, this role leads roadmap planning, architectural design, technical governance, and vendor management, ensuring Workday continues to support organisational priorities while enabling future growth and improvement.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead the long-term strategy and roadmap for the Workday platform, aligning with enterprise architecture, digital strategy, and business priorities.
* Oversee Workday lifecycle management, including release planning, tenant management, regression testing strategy, and platform optimisation activities.
* Define and maintain Workday technical standards, integration patterns, and architectural principles.
* Own and govern Workday architecture across modules, integrations, security, APIs, and data models.
* Provide expert input into solution design, ensuring configurations and integrations meet technical, security, and scalability requirements.
* Manage the relationship with Workday AMS partners, ensuring effective escalation handling, service delivery, and continuous improvement.
* Coordinate with Workday directly for product updates, tenant services, feature deployments, and technical issue resolution.
* Collaborate closely with HR, Payroll, IT, and business teams to ensure seamless and reliable service delivery.
* Own Workday incident, problem, and change processes from a platform perspective, ensuring issues are resolved efficiently and long-term fixes are implemented.
* Provide senior technical guidance, coaching, and support to the wider team.
Skills/Experience
* Extensive experience in Workday platform management, enterprise systems leadership, or a senior HRIS technical role.
* Deep expertise in Workday architecture, covering security, integrations, data model, business process framework, and configuration.
* Strong understanding of enterprise systems landscapes and how Workday integrates with other applications.
* Demonstrable experience managing vendor relationships, AMS partners, and technical escalations.
* Excellent communication, influencing, and problem-solving capabilities, with a strong customer-focused mindset.
* Experience in large or complex organisations with multi-system integrations or distributed workforces.
* Experience supporting or delivering digital transformation or HR technology modernisation programmes
Benefits
* Your health is important to us which is why we offer Simply Health & Smart Health for you and your dependents at no cost to you! This offering includes cash back benefits across optical & dental as well as virtual GP appointments, mental health support and nutrition and fitness advise. Our EAP provision offers 24hr, 365 days a year mental health support
* We are also committed to your financial wellbeing, and we offer a platform with many discounts on high street brands and supermarkets etc
* Working at First you also receive discounted train travel for you and your family after 6 months service as well as a free bus pass
* Cycle to work scheme
* 25 days' holiday + bank holidays
* Holiday buy/sell scheme
* Pension scheme and chance to buy discounted First Group shares
* Flexible working
We put a big focus on physical and mental wellbeing at First Bus. We recognise that anyone can be affected by the stresses and strain of work, or life outside it. You'll find a range of health-promotion initiatives, and you will have 24/7 access to our confidential Employee Assistance Programme.