Workday HCM Lead

Talent; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 66,000 - 74,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Hybrid work

Annual leave

Learning opportunities

Public sector impact

Job summary

Talent is seeking a Workday HCM Lead to provide technical authority and leadership in a high-visibility government shared services environment. Hybrid work with offices in Swindon, Stockton, or Newport, and SC clearance required (or eligible).

You will blend hands-on Workday configuration with senior stakeholder management and team mentorship, shaping HR systems for the UK public sector while ensuring compliance and auditability.

Qualifications

• Senior Workday HCM experience in configuration, implementation or support.
• Strong understanding of end-to-end HR processes in large enterprises.
• Proven technical leadership, governance, or oversight in SaaS/ERP.
• Excellent requirements gathering and translation into functional designs.
• Able to influence at senior levels and coach junior team members.
• Experience with delivery methodologies (Agile, SAFe, hybrid).

Responsibilities

• Technical and Functional Leadership: acting as the senior expert across Core HCM, Organizations, Staffing Models, Job Architecture, and the Business Process Framework (BPF).
• Design Assurance and Quality: providing technical assurance and peer reviews of configurations.
• AMS and Service Delivery: overseeing ticket queues, enforcing SLA/KPI, improving to reduce incidents.
• Workshop Facilitation: leading requirements sessions and translating business needs into designs.
• People and Capability Development: supervision, coaching, and mentoring to junior analysts and contractors.
• Release Management: overseeing Workday releases and regulatory changes with compliance focus.

Skills

Workday HCM

HCM configuration

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Agile/SAFe

Job description

Workday HCM Lead

Job Description

Location: Hybrid (Office bases in Swindon, Stockton, or Newportwith flexibility depending on business needs)

Security Clearance: SC Clearance required (or willingness/eligibility to undergo checks)

Are you a senior Workday specialist who loves getting under the hood of complex configurations, but is ready to step into a high-visibility leadership role?

We are looking for a Workday HCM Lead to provide technical authority, design assurance, and subject matter expertise within a complex, large-scale government shared services environment. Operating as part of a multi-disciplinary delivery team, you will blend hands-on configuration brilliance with senior stakeholder management and team mentorship.

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the HR technology landscape for the public sector, ensuring our systems remain robust, scalable, compliant, and aligned with wider government standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical and Functional Leadership: Acting as the senior expert across Core HCM, Organizations, Staffing Models, Job Architecture, and the Business Process Framework (BPF).
• Design Assurance and Quality: Providing technical assurance and peer reviews of configurations delivered by internal colleagues, system integrators, and third-party suppliers.
• AMS and Service Delivery: Overseeing ticket queue management, enforcing SLA/KPI frameworks, and proactively driving continuous improvement to reduce incident volumes.
• Workshop Facilitation: Leading complex requirements-gathering sessions and translating intricate business needs into clear functional designs.
• People and Capability Development: Providing day-to-day technical supervision, coaching, and mentoring to junior analysts and contractors, fostering succession planning.
• Release Management: Overseeing enhancements, bi-annual Workday releases, and regulatory changes with a strict focus on compliance and auditability.

Essential

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Deep Workday Expertise: Significant experience in a senior Workday HCM configuration, implementation, or support role.
• Complex HR Architecture: A strong understanding of end-to-end HR processes within large, complex, enterprise-level organizations.
• Technical Oversight: Proven experience providing technical leadership, assurance, or governance within SaaS/ERP environments.
• Requirement Translation: Exceptional ability to gather complex business requirements and translate them into robust functional designs.
• Leadership and Communication: Natural stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at senior levels and coach/mentor junior team members.
• Methodologies: Experience working within structured delivery environments (e.g., Agile, SAFe, or hybrid).

Desirable

• Experience within a government, public sector, or shared services environment.
• Exposure to Workday Payroll, integrations, reporting, or analytics.
• Experience with legacy ERP migrations (e.g., Oracle EBS or Fusion).

What We Offer

• Unbeatable Pension: Access to an exceptional, market-leading defined benefit pension scheme.
• True Hybrid Flexibility: A balanced hybrid working model with office bases at Swindon, Stockton, and Newport (with flexibility tailored to business needs).
• Generous Leave: A highly competitive annual leave allowance.
• Continuous Learning: Dedicated access to training, professional development, and official Workday-related learning opportunities.
• Purpose-Driven Work: The chance to deliver critical services that support operations across the UK public sector.

Eligibility and Security

Because of the nature of this work, appointment to this role is subject to successful completion of pre-employment checks, including SC (Security Check) clearance. Applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK at the time of application.

£66000 - £74000 / year