Director, HR Technology & Operations

panerabread; St. Louis (MO); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Panera Bread is seeking a Director of HR Technology & Operations to lead the strategy, governance, and execution of HR tech initiatives. This role will drive a scalable HR service delivery model, optimize processes, and partner across HR and IT to empower data-driven decision-making and employee experiences.

The position requires extensive HRIS/Workday expertise, strong leadership, and a proven track record in digital transformation and process optimization. The role is hybrid, based in St.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, IS, Business Administration, Technology, or a related field.
• 10+ years in HR technology, HR operations, Shared Services, HRIS, or related functions.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience.
• Deep experience with enterprise HRIS platforms, preferably Workday.
• Demonstrated experience leading HR digital transformation and process optimization initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a multi-year HR Technology strategy and roadmap aligned with business and people priorities.
• Serve as the senior business owner for Workday and the broader HR technology ecosystem.
• Partner with HR, IT, Security, Payroll, Benefits, Compensation, Talent, and external vendors to deliver technology solutions that improve efficiency, compliance, and employee experience.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, automation tools, AI-enabled solutions, and workforce technologies to improve HR effectiveness and scalability.
• Establish governance processes for technology investments, prioritization, release management, testing, and user adoption.
• Lead vendor selection, contract management, and ongoing vendor performance reviews.
• Lead the HR Service Center organization responsible for employee, manager, and HR support.
• Design and implement a scalable operating model that delivers consistent, high-quality service while reducing complexity for employees and HR Business Partners.

Skills

10+ years in HR technology/operations

5+ years of people leadership

Workday experience

HR digital transformation

Process optimization

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/IS/BA/Technology or related

Job description

Director, HR Technology & Operations

Position Summary

The Director, HR Technology & Operations is a strategic leadership role responsible for overseeing the organization's HR technology ecosystem and employee support operations. This leader will drive the strategy, governance, and execution of HR technology initiatives while ensuring efficient, scalable, and employee-centric HR service delivery. The role is accountable for developing and executing the HR Technology roadmap, optimizing HR processes, leveraging automation and self-service capabilities, enhancing data governance and analytics, and delivering exceptional employee and manager experiences. Working closely with HR Business Partners, Centers of Excellence, IT, Finance, Payroll, and business leaders, the Director, HR Technology & Operations will enable operational excellence and support the organization's broader people strategy. This role directly supports efforts to streamline HR processes, centralize and optimize Tier 1 employee support, improve data quality, and leverage technology to drive workforce effectiveness

Location: St. Louis, MO (hybrid)

Key Responsibilities

HR Technology Strategy & Governance

• Develop and execute a multi-year HR Technology strategy and roadmap aligned with business and people priorities.
• Serve as the senior business owner for Workday and the broader HR technology ecosystem.
• Partner with HR, IT, Security, Payroll, Benefits, Compensation, Talent, and external vendors to deliver technology solutions that improve efficiency, compliance, and employee experience.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, automation tools, AI-enabled solutions, and workforce technologies to improve HR effectiveness and scalability.
• Establish governance processes for technology investments, prioritization, release management, testing, and user adoption.
• Lead vendor selection, contract management, and ongoing vendor performance reviews.

HR Service Center Leadership

• Lead the HR Service Center organization responsible for employee, manager, and HR support.
• Design and implement a scalable operating model that delivers consistent, high-quality service while reducing complexity for employees and HR Business Partners.
• Establish service delivery standards, metrics, SLAs, escalation processes, and continuous improvement practices.
• Evaluate opportunities to centralize and streamline Tier 1 support activities while expanding self-service capabilities for employees and managers.
• Drive operational excellence through process redesign, automation, knowledge management, and service optimization initiatives.
• Lead enterprise HR process improvement initiatives across the employee lifecycle.
• Identify and eliminate manual, redundant, and inefficient processes through workflow redesign and technology enablement.
• Develop standardized, scalable processes that improve accuracy, compliance, and employee experience.
• Implement continuous improvement methodologies to increase efficiency and organizational agility.
• Establish strong operational controls and governance frameworks to support sustainable growth and operational excellence.
• Lead HR data governance efforts to improve data quality, integrity, security, and compliance.
• Partner with HR and business leaders to support development of people analytics, dashboards, and actionable workforce insights.
• Advance the organization's HR reporting capabilities through Workday, Power BI, and related technologies.
• Establish metrics and reporting frameworks that support workforce planning, operational performance, and strategic decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with data privacy requirements and maintain appropriate system security controls.

Employee & Manager Experience

• Champion a seamless digital employee experience across HR systems, processes, and service delivery channels.
• Expand employee and manager self-service capabilities to increase accessibility and reduce administrative burden.
• Drive adoption of HR technology solutions through effective communication, change management, and training strategies.
• Measure and continuously improve employee satisfaction with HR services and technology platforms.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop high-performing HR Technology and HR Service Center teams.
• Build organizational capabilities in HR systems, process design, service delivery, automation, analytics, and continuous improvement.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, customer service, and operational excellence.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Information Systems, Business Administration, Technology, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in HR Technology, HR Operations, Shared Services, HRIS, or related functions.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience managing teams and leaders.
• Deep experience with enterprise HRIS platforms, preferably Workday.
• Demonstrated experience leading HR digital transformation and process optimization initiatives.
• Strong unders