Director, Business Application Operations

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 183,600 - 208,400; Full time

Job summary

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is seeking a Director of Business Application Operations to lead the stability, performance, and enhancement of enterprise applications, with a focus on Workday and UKG, serving 14,000+ users.

You will drive operational excellence, partner with IT and business stakeholders, oversee change, releases, and integrations, and build a high-performing team committed to compliance and service quality.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in a relevant field.
• 10 years of experience in ERP management or operations, preferably in healthcare or other highly regulated, complex environments.
• Hands-on experience with Workday, UKG, or comparable enterprise platforms such as Oracle, SAP, or PeopleSoft.
• Proven experience in service management for complex business applications, such as ERP, CRM, HRIS, or financial systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations for Workday, UKG and other enterprise platforms with focus on performance and scalability.
• Drive continuous improvement through process optimization, standardization, and proactive monitoring.
• Manage enterprise release and change lifecycles with minimal disruption while maximizing platform value.
• Build and lead a high-performing team, establish expectations, and ensure compliance with policies.
• Serve as strategic advisor aligning technology roadmaps with organizational priorities and transformation goals.
• Oversee governance, risk, and data integrity across integrations and regulatory standards.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic partnership

Incident management

Process optimization

Data-driven decisions

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field

Tools

Workday

UKG

Oracle

SAP

PeopleSoft

Job description

The Director of Business Application Operations is responsible for the stability, performance, and ongoing enhancement of DFCI’s enterprise applications, with a strategic emphasis on Workday and UKG. This role ensures the secure and reliable operation of critical systems supporting HR, Finance, Supply Chain, Operations, and Workforce Management for more than 14,000 users. The Director drives operational excellence by streamlining processes, supporting platform innovation, and ensuring compliance with regulatory and institutional requirements. As a strategic partner to both IT and business stakeholders, this leader helps extend best practices in support, optimization, and business relationship management across the broader application portfolio.

Responsibilities

Application Operations Leadership

• Lead day-to-day operations and support for Workday, UKG, and other enterprise platforms, ensuring system performance, availability, and scalability.
• Drive continuous improvement through process optimization, service standardization, and proactive monitoring.

Release and Change Lifecycle Management

• Manage enterprise release and change lifecycles, minimizing disruption while maximizing platform adoption and value.
• Implement robust change control and readiness processes, ensuring all system modifications are vetted, tested, and communicated across stakeholders.

High-Performance Team Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing team, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and customer-focused service.
• Define and communicate clear expectations, provide regular constructive feedback, and evaluate performance against objectives.
• Oversee compliance with organizational policies and procedures, and create a healthy work environment.

Strategic Business Engagement

• Serve as a strategic advisor to business leaders, aligning technology roadmaps with organizational priorities and transformation goals.

Compliance, Risk, and Integration Management

• Oversee governance, compliance, and risk practices to ensure data integrity, security, and alignment with regulatory standards.
• Collaborate with technical teams and vendors to maintain reliable system integrations.

Qualifications

• Deep experience supporting enterprise platforms like Workday and UKG, focusing on performance, reliability, and continuous improvement.
• Proven ability to lead support operations, including incident management, user support, and service model development.
• Skilled in change control, release management, and KPI tracking to ensure smooth deployments and measurable service effectiveness.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills for partnering with technical teams and business stakeholders.
• Experienced in leading high-performing support teams and using data-driven insights to drive process improvements and automation.

Minimum Job Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in a relevant field.
• 10 years of experience in ERP management or operations, preferably in healthcare or other highly regulated, complex environments.
• Hands‑on experience with Workday, UKG, or comparable enterprise platforms such as Oracle, SAP, or PeopleSoft.
• Proven experience in service management for complex business applications, such as ERP, CRM, HRIS, or financial systems.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This role has direct leadership responsibility for a team of system analysts for the Workday and UKG platforms. The Director will oversee hiring, coaching, performance management, resource allocation, and professional development while fostering a high‑performing, collaborative, and customer‑focused team culture.

EEO Statement

Dana‑Farber Cancer Institute is an equal‑opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.

Pay Transparency Statement

The hiring range is based on market pay structures, with individual salaries determined by factors such as business needs, market conditions, internal equity, and the candidate’s relevant experience, skills and qualifications. For union positions, the pay range is determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The expected salary range for this position is $183,600.00 – $208,400.00.