Workday Engagement / Project Manager

We are seeking an experienced Workday HCM Engagement / Project Manager to lead a large-scale Workday transformation programme for a global organisation. This individual will be responsible for leading the overall delivery of Workday HCM and Payroll workstreams, managing relationships with the chosen Systems Integrator, and ensuring successful programme execution from design through deployment and hypercare.

The successful candidate will possess extensive Workday implementation experience, strong stakeholder management capabilities, and a proven track record of delivering complex international programmes involving Workday HCM and Payroll. Previous Workday certification is required, whether active or previously held.

This is a highly visible role requiring a strategic leader who can operate confidently across executive stakeholders, business leaders, functional teams, and implementation partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end delivery of Workday HCM and Payroll implementation activities across multiple countries.
• Act as the primary engagement lead between the client organisation and the Systems Integrator.
• Drive programme governance, steering committee reporting, risk management, issue resolution, and executive communications.
• Manage programme plans, milestones, budgets, dependencies, RAID logs, and resource plans.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams including HR, Payroll, IT, Finance, Security, Change Management, Data Migration, Reporting and Integrations.
• Ensure alignment between business requirements, programme objectives, and Workday best practices.
• Oversee solution design workshops, testing cycles, cutover planning, deployment activities and hypercare support.
• Challenge implementation partners where required to ensure delivery quality and adherence to timeline and budget.
• Support organisational change management, business readiness, training and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Manage third-party vendors and external partners involved in the programme.
• Provide regular status updates to executive leadership and programme sponsors.
• Drive decision-making and escalation management to maintain programme momentum.

Required Experience

• Ideally 8+ years delivering large-scale Workday programmes.
• Strong Workday HCM implementation experience.
• Strong Workday Payroll implementation experience.
• Proven experience serving as an Engagement Manager, Project Manager, Programme Manager or Delivery Lead on enterprise Workday deployments.
• Previous experience managing global or multi-country Workday programmes.
• Demonstrated experience working for a Workday Partner / SI

Essential Skills

• Workday HCM expertise
• Some sort of Payroll expertise
• Global programme delivery
• Stakeholder management
• Executive communication
• Systems Integrator management
• Change management
• Testing and deployment management
• Cutover and hypercare planning
• Vendor management
• Agile and Waterfall delivery methodologies

Preferred Experience

• Experience delivering programmes globally.
• Workday Phase X or optimisation programme experience.
• Experience within highly regulated industries.
• Experience overseeing Workday integrations, security, reporting, and data migration workstreams.
• Exposure to Workday Deployment Methodology or Launch Methodology.

Deliverables

• Successful delivery of Workday HCM and Payroll programme objectives.
• On-time and on-budget execution.
• Effective Systems Integrator management.
• Smooth cutover and go-live.
• Business readiness and adoption.
• Stable transition into hypercare and BAU support.