Workday Programme Director

CE Global Partners; Greater London; On-site; GBP 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

CE Global Partners is seeking an experienced Programme Director to lead our first Workday implementation. You will own the programme from mobilisation through to go-live and early life support, ensuring delivery on time and on budget to achieve expected outcomes.

This senior role requires credibility with senior stakeholders across HR, Finance and IT, and the ability to manage a complex vendor ecosystem, governance, data migration and change management.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of leading large, complex Workday implementations as Programme Director or equivalent across organisations and geographies.
• Experience of leading an initial Workday implementation from legacy to first go‑live.
• Professional services experience, either in a professional services firm or delivering for professional services clients such as law, accountancy or consulting firms.
• Strong knowledge of Workday HCM, with understanding of payroll, finance and related systems.
• Experience of managing systems integrators and holding them to account at commercial and delivery levels.
• Confidence in engaging with partners, executives and senior leaders and guiding difficult conversations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end Workday programme, including plan, scope, budget, resourcing and governance.
• Act as the main point of contact for senior sponsors and the steering committee with clear reporting on progress, risks and decisions.
• Manage the implementation partner day-to-day and hold them to account against contract, SOI and quality standards.
• Establish and run programme governance, including design authority, change control, risk and issue management.
• Maintain a strong grip on design, data migration, integrations, testing, cutover and hypercare phases.
• Ensure readiness, change management and training are planned and well resourced.
• Lead and motivate internal staff, contractors and partner consultants.
• Shape the support model and handover to business as usual post go-live.

Job description

The role:

We are looking for an experienced Programme Director to lead our first Workday implementation. You will own the programme from mobilisation through to go-live and early life support, making sure it lands on time, on budget, and delivers the outcomes the business expects.

This is a senior, highly visible role. You will work closely with the leadership team, HR, Finance, IT and our chosen implementation partner, and you will need to bring both strong delivery control and the credibility to guide senior stakeholders through significant change.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end Workday programme, including plan, scope, budget, resourcing and governance.
• Act as the main point of contact for senior sponsors and the steering committee, giving clear and honest reporting on progress, risks and decisions.
• Manage the implementation partner day-to-day, holding them to account against the contract, statement of work and agreed quality standards.
• Set up and run programme governance, including design authority, change control, and risk and issue management.
• Keep a firm grip on key phases such as design, data migration, integrations, testing, cutover and hypercare.
• Make sure business readiness, change management and training are planned in early and properly resourced.
• Lead and motivate a mixed team of internal staff, contractors and partner consultants.
• Shape the support model and handover to business as usual, so the platform is well run after go-live.

Essential Experience:

• A proven track record of leading large, complex Workday implementations as Programme Director or equivalent, ideally across several countries and many workstreams
• Experience of leading an initial Workday implementation, taking an organisation from a legacy system through to its first go-live
• Professional services experience, either working within a professional services firm or delivering for professional services clients such as law, accountancy or consulting firms
• Strong knowledge of Workday HCM, with a good grasp of how it connects to payroll, finance and other business systems
• Experience of managing systems integrators and holding them to account at a commercial and delivery level
• Confidence in dealing with partners, executives and senior leaders, and in steering difficult conversations.

Desirable Experience:

• Workday Financials or Workday Payroll experience.
• Experience of global payroll changes alongside an HR system implementation.
• Background in law firm or partnership environments, including partner pay and complex reward structures.
• A recognised programme management qualification such as MSP, PRINCE2 or PMP.

About You:

• Calm and decisive under pressure, with sound judgement when trade-offs have to be made.
• A clear and direct communicator who can explain complex issues simply.
• Commercially aware, with a strong focus on value and outcomes rather than activity.
• A natural leader who builds trust quickly and gets the best from people.