Program Manager – Workday

Senior Program Manager – Workday Transformation

Position Summary

The Senior Program Manager will provide strategic leadership and oversight for the enterprise Workday implementation program , managing the full lifecycle of the Workday suite deployment across HR, Payroll, Benefits, Time & Attendance, Talent, Reporting, and related HCM functions.

This role will be responsible for driving program strategy, governance, execution, stakeholder alignment, implementation readiness, and operational transition activities. The Senior Program Manager will partner closely with HR, Payroll, Finance, Operations, IT, executive leadership, vendors, and system integrators to ensure successful delivery of Workday solutions that align with business objectives and operational needs.

Workday Implementation Experience Is Highly Preferred. Reporting Structure & Work Design

Reporting to the PMO Manager, the Senior Program Manager will lead a portfolio of interconnected Workday workstreams and project teams, ensuring alignment across business and technology functions.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Providing leadership across the entire Workday implementation program.
• Establishing program governance, standards, reporting, and decision-making processes.
• Managing dependencies, risks, budgets, timelines, and resource planning across multiple workstreams.
• Driving stakeholder engagement, executive communications, and organizational readiness activities.
• Supporting implementation, testing, deployment, cutover, and post-go-live stabilization efforts.
• Translating complex Workday concepts into actionable business outcomes for non-technical stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the enterprise Workday implementation program, overseeing all project workstreams from planning through stabilization.
• Develop and manage integrated program plans, roadmaps, budgets, milestones, dependencies, and delivery schedules.
• Establish and facilitate governance forums, steering committees, and executive decision-making processes.
• Partner with HR, Payroll, Finance, Operations, IT, implementation partners, and vendors to align priorities and ensure successful execution.
• Oversee requirements planning, business process alignment, data conversion, integrations, testing, deployment readiness, cutover planning, and organizational adoption.
• Monitor program health, proactively managing risks, issues, dependencies, and escalations.
• Prepare executive dashboards, status reports, RAID logs, decision logs, and program updates.
• Lead change management, training coordination, stakeholder readiness, and adoption planning efforts.
• Ensure program deliverables meet business objectives, quality standards, compliance requirements, and implementation commitments.
• Drive continuous improvement by establishing scalable governance frameworks, standards, tools, and delivery methodologies.
• Balance priorities across multiple workstreams while maintaining overall program timelines and objectives.

Required Qualifications Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 7+ years of Program Management, Project Management, or enterprise technology delivery experience.
• Proven experience leading large-scale, cross-functional business transformation or enterprise software implementation programs.
• Experience managing initiatives involving HR, Payroll, Finance, Operations, IT, executive leadership, vendors, and implementation partners.

Program Leadership Skills

• Strong program and project management expertise, including:

• Program Governance

• Strategic Planning

• Budget Management

• Risk & Issue Management

• Resource Planning

• Change Management

• Dependency Management

• Stakeholder Management

• Executive Communications

• Proven ability to influence stakeholders and drive decisions across complex organizations.

• Exceptional analytical, organizational, facilitation, and problem-solving skills.

• Experience leading executive steering committees and governance forums.

Workday & HCM Experience

• Highly preferred: Experience leading or supporting a full Workday implementation.

• Strong understanding of Workday architecture, implementation methodology, and HCM business processes.

• Experience with one or more Workday modules, including:

• Core HCM

• Payroll

• Benefits

• Time Tracking

• Absence Management

• Talent Management

• Recruiting

• Reporting & Analytics

• Experience coordinating integrations, data migration, testing, security, deployment readiness, and post-go-live support activities.

• Knowledge of enterprise HRIS, HCM, Payroll, and workforce management platforms.

Communication & Technical Skills

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively across executive, business, and technical audiences.

• Experience creating executive-level reports, dashboards, business cases, and program updates.

• Strong documentation and presentation skills.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.

• Experience with project delivery tools such as:

• Microsoft Project

• Smartsheet

• Jira

• Azure DevOps

• Similar enterprise project management tools

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading a full-cycle Workday implementation program.
• Experience managing system integrators and third-party implementation partners.
• Experience overseeing multiple Workday workstreams simultaneously.
• Knowledge of UKG, Workforce Management, Payroll, or Time & Attendance platforms.
• Experience supporting large-scale organizational transformation initiatives.

Preferred Certifications

• PMP
• PgMP
• SAFe
• Agile or Scrum Certification
• Prosci
• ITIL
• Workday Certification
• HRIS/HCM-related certifications

Ideal Candidate

A seasoned Program Manager who has successfully led large-scale enterprise technology transformations and can oversee the end-to-end Workday implementation program . The ideal candidate brings strong governance, stakeholder management, and execution capabilities, with prior Workday implementation experience strongly preferred , and can effectively drive alignment across multiple business and technology workstreams through go-live and stabilization.