Project Director - UKI

Workday, Inc.; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday, Inc. in the UKI Global Services team is seeking a Project Director to lead large, multi-workstream deployments, own key customer relationships, and shape delivery roadmaps while driving Workday AI adoption across Finance, HR, and Planning.

You will act as a senior delivery leader, guiding executive sponsors, coaching Engagement Managers, and ensuring delivery is on time and on budget while advancing client success and innovation.

Qualifications

• 10+ years leading large, multi-workstream technology programs in a professional services environment.
• Enterprise HCM and/or Finance SaaS implementations experience.
• Workday Financial Management implementations from a leadership perspective.

Responsibilities

• Guide customers to success in a dynamic environment.
• Lead projects across a wide range of industries, including large, complex global deployments.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior customer leadership and promote Workday AI adoption.
• Function as a Steering Committee member and Project Sponsor.
• Maintain situational awareness and manage escalations across multi-stakeholder priorities.
• Deliver value on time and on budget from start-up through go-live.
• Foster innovation and continuous improvement, including AI tools and new technologies.
• Coach Engagement Managers and foster collaboration and accountability.
• Position Workday AI across Finance, HR, and Planning to support better decisions.

Skills

Executive Presence

Communication

Influencing

Conflict Management

Project Management

Time Management

Relationship Management

Situational Awareness

Job description

Your work days are brighter here. We’re obsessed with making hard work pay off, for our people, our customers, and the world around us. As a Fortune 500 company and a leading AI platform for managing people, money, and agents, we’re shaping the future of work so teams can reach their potential and focus on what matters most. The minute you join, you’ll feel it. Not just in the products we build, but in how we show up for each other. Our culture is rooted in integrity, empathy, and shared enthusiasm. We’re in this together, tackling big challenges with bold ideas and genuine care. We look for curious minds and courageous collaborators who bring sun-drenched optimism and drive. Whether you're building smarter solutions, supporting customers, or creating a space where everyone belongs, you’ll do meaningful work with Workmates who’ve got your back. In return, we’ll give you the trust to take risks, the tools to grow, the skills to develop and the support of a company invested in you for the long haul. So, if you want to inspire a brighter work day for everyone, including yourself, you’ve found a match in Workday, and we hope to be a match for you too.

About the Team

The UKI Global Services team is at the heart of Workday's customer success story. We build and deliver services that help our customers unlock greater value from their Workday investment, ensuring the successful implementation of Workday's suite of cloud-based enterprise applications for Finance, HR, and Planning — with AI embedded at the core to help customers make better decisions and work more efficiently. As Workday's AI capabilities continue to expand, including the next generation of intelligent AI agents, our team is at the forefront of bringing this innovation to life for some of the most strategic customer projects. We help frame the solution delivery, partnering closely with our consultants to manage the delivery plan and ultimately help our customers achieve their expected outcomes. Our focus in the year ahead is on deploying Workday AI innovation, including AI agents as part of initial customer deployments, while continuing to build on the foundation as customers grow and evolve with Workday. What truly sets this team apart is a culture rooted in Workday's core values, with "Employees" leading the way. We empower you to follow your desired career path and champion equal opportunities for everyone. We promote a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and aspirational goal setting — inspiring and encouraging team members to develop their careers and become the best professionals they can be.

About the Role

As a Project Director, you will serve as a senior delivery leader and strategic champion across Workday’s complex deployments in the UKI region. You will own key customer relationships, shape enterprise delivery roadmaps, and lead the adoption of Workday AI. You will oversee engagements across diverse industries, ranging from medium size enterprise deployments to highly complex global transformations. Managing programmes with multiple concurrent workstreams led by Engagement Managers, you will bring executive presence, situational awareness, and cross-functional leadership to keep delivery aligned with key business objectives.

• Guiding customers to success in a dynamic environment, helping them achieve the business transformation they are looking for.
• Leading projects across a wide range of industries, with a focus on large and complex global deployments.
• Being a trusted advisor to senior customer leadership, guiding them through enterprise business transformation and positioning how Workday AI (including AI agents across HCM, Finance, and Planning) drives operational efficiency and smarter decision-making.
• Functioning as a core Steering Committee member and Project Sponsor.
• Master situational awareness and conflict resolution to handle high-stakes escalations and align multi-stakeholder priorities.
• Delivering expected value to customers on time and on budget, ensuring the best possible experience from project start-up through go-live.
• Promoting a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, including using AI tools and emerging technologies to increase delivery efficiency and streamline project work.
• Empowering project teams and focusing them on deployment objectives, fostering collaboration and accountability.
• Drive delivery efficiency by embedding next-generation internal AI tools, automation, and modern work management techniques into standard delivery operations.
• Supporting the growth of Engagement Managers on your projects, offering coaching and feedback aligned with their goals and fostering collaboration and accountability.
• Helping customers adopt Workday AI in their tenants by positioning how Workday AI is embedded across Finance, HR, and Planning to support better decisions and experiences.

About You

Basic Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience leading large, multi-workstream technology implementation programs within a professional services environment, including hands-on experience managing several concurrent project workstreams at the same time.
• Experience delivering enterprise HCM and/or Finance SaaS implementations, ideally within a professional services or systems integration environment.
• Experience delivering Workday Financial Management implementations, ideally from a program or project leadership perspective.

Other Qualifications

• Communication: You explain complex, cross-functional programs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, and adjust your message for customers, delivery teams, and executives alike.
• Executive Presence: You engage confidently with senior stakeholders, building trust quickly in high-visibility or high-pressure situations.
• Influencing & Conflict Management: Skilled at navigating matrixed organizational structures, aligning cross-functional teams around common goals without direct authority, and resolving complex project disputes diplomatically.
• Project Finances: You have experience owning project budgets and forecasts, and know how to course-correct when a project's financial health is at risk.
• Project Management: You have deep experience running structured, multi-year technology implementation programs using formal delivery methodology.
• Time Management: You manage multiple concurrent, high-stakes engagements without losing sight of priorities or deadlines.
• Relationship Management: You build long-term trust-based relationships with customers and colleagues, and are comfortable being the point of escalation when things get difficult.
• Situational Awareness & Adaptability: Quick to perceive shifts in client dynamics, delivery risks, or scope changes, making proactive, data-driven decisions under pressure.

Pursuant to applicable Fair Chance law, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.

Workday is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Workday are considered without regards to age, ancestry, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, protected family care or medical leave status, race, religion (including beliefs and practices or the absence thereof), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Further, pursuant to applicable local ordinances, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We do not accept resumes from headhunters, placement agencies, or other suppliers that have not signed a formal agreement with us.

You may view the Workday's Pay Transparency Policy, and Know Your Rights Notice, by clicking on their corresponding links.

Workday is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals during our application process, in order to perform one or more essential functions of their job, as well as regarding the use of AI tools for employment decision-making to any degree. Please see below for more details including how to request an accommodation as a qualified veteran, due to a disability or for religious reasons, or as otherwise provided under applicable law. Workday prohibits taking adverse action against any candidate or employee for reporting a possible violation of this policy, requesting one or more work accommodation, exercising a privacy right, or cooperating in an investigation in accordance with applicable law. Any employee who retaliates against a candidate or employee for doing so may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, to the fullest extent allowable under applicable law. If you require a reasonable accommodation, you may email [e-mail], as far in advance as possible.