Workday HCM Manager

Thought Machine; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Thought Machine is seeking an experienced HCM systems manager to join its London-based People Operations team. You will administer Workday HCM, oversee related systems, and drive automation, reporting, and data quality across core HR, compensation and security groups.

You will partner with Recruitment, Finance and IT to capture requirements, prioritise enhancements, and manage vendor relationships. A strong Workday background and a focus on user experience are essential.

Qualifications

• Proven Workday HCM knowledge across core HR, compensation, expenses, security groups, integrations, BPF and advanced reporting.
• Experience in systems implementation, configuration, support and development.
• Strong end-user experience mindset with automation focus.
• Ability to work in fast-paced environments with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own the Workday HCM and related people systems, ensuring maintenance and development.
• Drive improvements across People Team systems with AI, automation and reporting.
• Collaborate with HR, Recruitment, Finance and IT to capture requirements and prioritise enhancements.
• Define best practices for data accuracy, security, and timely reporting.
• Manage third-party vendor relationships, contracts and renewals for system providers.
• Engage stakeholders across the business to implement further technical improvements.
• Support training and production of user guides for new processes.

Skills

Workday HCM

Advanced reporting

Excel/Google Suite

Database skills

Ashby ATS

System integration

BPF (Business Process Framework)

Tools

Ashby ATS

Docusign

Background checks platforms

Benchmarking tools

Job description

Thought Machine's mission is bold – to properly and permanently rid the world's banks of legacy technology. To achieve this, we have developed the foundations of modern banking through core and payments technology which run natively in the cloud. What we are attempting is hard and means we need great people working together to build great technology.

We have grown rapidly in the past few years – growing our team to more than 550 individuals across offices in London, New York, Singapore, Sydney and our newly established Engineering Hub in Lisbon. We have raised more than £500m in funding and our investors include Molten Ventures, Eurazeo, Intesa Sanpaolo, Temasek, Nyca Partners, JPMorgan Chase Strategic Investments, Standard Chartered Ventures, and more.

We have created a culture that enables our team to produce the best work in the industry while ensuring we have fun along the way. We're regularly cited as having a fantastic workplace culture and have been recognised by Sifted magazine as having one of the highest Glassdoor ratings for a UK fintech company and the industry's most generous employee share package. Named one of the world's most innovative fintechs by Global Finance Magazine, we were also recognised by the Financial Times as one of Europe's fastest-growing companies for two consecutive years—and a UK Best Employer for 2026.

Thought Machine is looking for a talented HCM systems manager and will report into the People Operations Director. The business uses Workday HCM and needs someone experienced in usage of the system to continue with process improvements, maintain the system and support the People function. We are on a journey to eliminate manual processes, and this role will play a critical part in ensuring we have reliable data, automated processes and fast, meaningful reporting.

Duties

• Full system administrator ownership, responsible for ongoing maintenance and development of Workday HR system, Ashby Recruitment ATS system, Ravio Benchmarking Tooling, shares management system and other people systems - working towards a fully integrated people systems landscape.
• Drive improvement across all People Team systems - reviewing existing processes, introducing AI, automation, and accurate reporting.
• Partner closely with People, Recruitment, Finance, and IT stakeholders to capture operational requirements, maintain a structured delivery backlog, and prioritise system enhancements that deliver measurable business impact and thoughtful system design.
• Recommend the optimum way of maintaining systems considering accuracy, timely reporting, system security and segregation of duties. Drive best practices and standards, untangling any tech debt or ineffective processes.
• Own the relationships with the appropriate 3rd party reps for all people system providers, integrators or external consultants. Manage the contracts and renewals and proactively engage with the product owners and commercial teams, keep ahead of changes, fixes, best practice, prices etc - cascading relevant information internally.
• Actively engage and drive involvement across the business. Engaging key stakeholders (HR, Operations, IT and Security) to suggest and implement further improvements across the technical landscape.
• Support the People team and the rest of the Enterprise with best practice, standard processes e.g. performance cycles, on/offboarding, pay reviews, reporting, etc.
• Support training activities and ensure the business is kept up to speed on newly implemented processes, including the production of user guides and training.

Requirements

Essential

• Proven Workday HCM knowledge and experience across Core HCM, compensation, expenses, security groups, integrations, business process framework (BPF) and advanced reporting (calculated fields & custom dashboards) and maintenance.
• Systems implementation, configuration, support and development.
• A passion for providing an excellent end-user experience and automating.
• Self-motivating and comfortable in a fast-paced and rapidly-changing environment with competing deadlines and custom build requirements.
• Skilled at building strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver preferred outcomes - leveraging technical vocabulary to effectively communicate with engineering, IT, finance, HR and operational teams.
• Advanced Excel / Google suite and database skills.
• Exposure to ATS systems (Ashby preferred but not essential). Proven track record administering modern recruitment platforms.
• A strong desire to expand beyond Workday to own, architect, and optimize the broader People Team technology and tooling ecosystem.
• Direct experience configuring and integrating various systems or tools into Workday HRIS, for example - external ATS, Docusign, background Checks platforms, benchmarking tools etc.

Desirable

• Formal HR or Systems qualifications (e.g., Workday Pro certifications, or equivalent business systems certifications).
• Prior experience managing people technology within a high-growth SaaS, fintech, or software enterprise.
• Business Analysis skills and a flexible, proactive approach with a willingness to constructively challenge existing practices.

We actively hire candidates who demonstrate technical excellence in their field and welcome people of all ages and backgrounds, providing everyone with equal access to professional development. You are encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn't accurately match the job description. We also encourage applications from those with different abilities, including candidates with ADHD, autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia.