[Hiring] Workday Programme Director @CE Global Partners

Role Description

We are looking for an experienced Programme Director to lead our first Workday implementation. You will own the programme from mobilisation through to go-live and early life support, making sure it lands on time, on budget, and delivers the outcomes the business expects. This is a senior, highly visible role. You will work closely with the leadership team, HR, Finance, IT and our chosen implementation partner, and you will need to bring both strong delivery control and the credibility to guide senior stakeholders through significant change.

• Lead the end-to-end Workday programme, including plan, scope, budget, resourcing and governance.
• Act as the main point of contact for senior sponsors and the steering committee, giving clear and honest reporting on progress, risks and decisions.
• Manage the implementation partner day-to-day, holding them to account against the contract, statement of work and agreed quality standards.
• Set up and run programme governance, including design authority, change control, and risk and issue management.
• Keep a firm grip on key phases such as design, data migration, integrations, testing, cutover and hypercare.
• Make sure business readiness, change management and training are planned in early and properly resourced.
• Lead and motivate a mixed team of internal staff, contractors and partner consultants.
• Shape the support model and handover to business as usual, so the platform is well run after go-live.

Qualifications

• A proven track record of leading large, complex Workday implementations as Programme Director or equivalent, ideally across several countries and many workstreams.
• Experience of leading an initial Workday implementation, taking an organisation from a legacy system through to its first go-live.
• Professional services experience, either working within a professional services firm or delivering for professional services clients such as law, accountancy or consulting firms.
• Strong knowledge of Workday HCM, with a good grasp of how it connects to payroll, finance and other business systems.
• Experience of managing systems integrators and holding them to account at a commercial and delivery level.
• Confidence in dealing with partners, executives and senior leaders, and in steering difficult conversations.

Requirements

• Workday Financials or Workday Payroll experience.
• Experience of global payroll changes alongside an HR system implementation.
• Background in law firm or partnership environments, including partner pay and complex reward structures.
• A recognised programme management qualification such as MSP, PRINCE2 or PMP.

Benefits

• Calm and decisive under pressure, with sound judgement when trade-offs have to be made.
• A clear and direct communicator who can explain complex issues simply.
• Commercially aware, with a strong focus on value and outcomes rather than activity.
• A natural leader who builds trust quickly and gets the best from people.