Senior Workday Engagement Manager

Kainos; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Kainos is seeking a Senior Workday Engagement Manager to lead successful Workday implementations for clients by coordinating customer teams with internal delivery units. You will drive scope, timelines and commercial viability, ensuring overall project success and customer satisfaction.

You will manage complex programmes or multiple smaller projects, providing domain insight in HCM, Finance or Payroll as relevant to Workday capabilities, and will mentor other EMs to elevate delivery standards.

Qualifications

• Experience implementing back office systems within consulting/IT services.
• Full lifecycle project management from opportunity to go-live and support.
• Proven delivery of services in a consulting/IT services environment.
• Ability to manage customer expectations and resolve escalations.
• Experience leading geographically distributed, blended teams.
• Strong commercial management, influencing and negotiation skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to present to senior audiences.
• Proven pre-sales support experience with sales teams.
• Ability to work under tight deadlines and balance customer needs with Kainos goals.
• Develop and maintain external stakeholder networks.
• Understanding of risk management.
• Willingness to travel within the region.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end delivery lifecycle for Workday projects, from planning to handover.
• Coordinate with customer business teams and internal delivery teams.
• Drive scope, definition and commercially viable solutions.
• Oversee resourcing, milestones, and commercial management.
• Maintain customer satisfaction and manage expectations.
• Lead blended teams of colleagues, clients and partners.
• Identify opportunities to win additional business and present recommendations.
• Support pre-sales with viable, winning Workday solutions.

Skills

Back-office Implementations

Lifecycle PM

Service Delivery

Customer Focus

Distributed Teams

Commercial Management

Negotiation Skills

Communication

Business Writing

Pre-sales Support

Deadline Management

Risk Management

Networking

Travel Availability

Job description

At Kainos, we’re problem solvers, innovators, and collaborators - driven by a shared mission to create real impact. Whether we’re transforming digital services for millions, delivering cutting-edge Workday solutions, or pushing the boundaries of technology, we do it together.

We believe in a people-first culture, where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your contributions truly make a difference. Here, you’ll be part of a diverse, ambitious team that celebrates creativity and collaboration.

Ready to make your mark? Join us and be part of something bigger.

As a Senior Workday Engagement Manager in Kainos, you’ll fully manage the successful implementation of Workday solutions for customers by working closely with customer business teams and internal delivery teams to drive the scope, definition and delivery of solutions that are fit for purpose and commercially viable. You’ll take accountability for the complete delivery lifecycle alongside the sales and capability Solution Architects. You’ll manage all aspects of your projects, which will typically be either one large, complex project or multiple smaller projects. This will include project planning, resourcing, milestone tracking, commercial management and customer satisfaction.

Commercially managing the implementation of global Workday programs from pre-sales through implementation to hand over to AMS (Application Management Services).

Acting as the key client interface between functional and technical teams and the client.

Pragmatically offering domain experience (HCM, Fins, Payroll or where relevant to a Workday Capability) to provide functional insight and thought‑leadership.

Managing all aspects of delivery including project planning, resourcing, milestone tracking, commercial management and customer satisfaction.

Leading and supporting blended teams of colleagues, client and partner resources to share knowledge and develop an integrated delivery ethic.

Agreeing objectives, outputs, milestones, timescale with client, together with associated contract and commercial terms.

Identifying requirements, business processes, application configurations, testing plans and other artefacts to be documented to ensure shared understanding and facilitate knowledge transfer.

Creating well structured & accurate deliverables and presenting to client steering level groups to secure proposed recommendations and agreement.

Identifying and actioning appropriately opportunities to win business, including negotiating and closing at a senior client level.

Contributing to supporting and growing the Kainos Way of delivering with excellence to our clients by partnering with Kainos colleagues and mentoring other EMs at Kainos by example and intentional collaboration.

MINIMUM (ESSENTIAL) REQUIREMENTS:

Experience in implementing back office systems with direct experience in the successful delivery of solutions within a consulting environment/ IT services environment

Full lifecycle project management experience, from initial opportunity through to requirement development / definition, functional solution design, implementation, data‑migration, system testing, user acceptance testing, go‑live and service management

Demonstrable deployment service delivery experience with a consulting / IT services environment.

Excellent customer focus, able to assess customer needs, build relationships and manage customer expectations. You will be able to intervene effectively and resolve customer escalations appropriately

Commercial experience of managing and supporting geographically distributed and blended teams of colleagues, client and partner resources to share knowledge and develop an integrated delivery ethic

Excellent commercial management, influencing and negotiation skills

Excellent communicator, able to communicate with customers and colleagues with impact and credibility. Sound ability to formally present to senior Client audiences

An emerging role model within Kainos and wider Workday ecosystem

Excellent business writing skills with experience in the production of business cases, requirement documentation, tender documents, contracts, statements of work and change requests

Demonstrable success in identifying and taking appropriate action on opportunities for additional business.

Ability to provide effective pre‑sales support as required, including devising and costing viable, winning solutions working closely with a sales team

Ability to work to tight deadlines and make sensible decisions under pressure taking a balanced view of customer demands and Kainos commercials

Ability to widen and maintain a network of external contacts

Understanding of risk management and able to manage risk

Able, if required, to travel to customer sites in the same region (minimal out of region travel may also be required)

Support the operations function ensure that our consultant pool is used in the most commercially advantageous way, balancing development needs and personal preferences

DESIRABLE:

Professional qualifications where applicable in your Capability

Develop and deliver products/offerings and services that differentiate Kainos in the marketplace

Identify talent for rapid development within the capability

Experience of managing, mentoring and developing teams

Working with Workday or other SaaS delivery methodologies

Strong functional domain expertise including areas such as HR and Finance (including Payroll)

At Kainos, we believe in the power of diversity, equity and inclusion. We are committed to building a team that is as diverse as the world we live in, where everyone is valued, respected, and given an equal chance to thrive. We actively seek out talented people from all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other characteristic that makes them who they are. We also believe every candidate deserves a level playing field.

Our friendly talent acquisition team is here to support you every step of the way, so if you require any accommodations or adjustments, we encourage you to reach out.

We understand that everyone's journey is different, and by having a private conversation we can ensure that our recruitment process is tailored to your needs.

Senior Workday Engagement Manager Belfast, IE