People Systems Lead (Workday)

Reports to: Chief People Officer

Location: UK

About the Role

We’re looking for a People Systems Lead to own both the strategic and technical dimensions of our Workday ecosystem. This is a hybrid builder-and-operator role: you will keep day-to-day operations running smoothly, partner with HR leadership on continuous improvement, and crucially think and act like an engineer when it comes to integrations, automation, and data flows.

You will be the person who administers and supports Workday for HR, managers, and employees while simultaneously designing integrations, automating manual processes, and ensuring our people data flows cleanly and securely across Finance, IT/IAM, payroll, and our wider data stack. You are equally comfortable triaging a Workday query and building a Studio integration — and you bring the judgement to know when to configure, when to automate, and when to leave as-is.

The primary goal is to deliver a seamless, intuitive user experience through targeted system improvements, proactive reconfiguration, and engineering-grade reliability - while positioning people technology as a genuine enabler of business agility.

Key responsibilities in the role:

Strategic HR Alignment & Platform Ownership

• Partner with the Chief People Officer and HR Directors to ensure Workday and connected systems effectively support business objectives.

• Position employee experience as a core driver of system design, proactively proposing reconfiguration and process improvements to increase operational agility.

• Lead release management, impact analysis, and UAT across Workday’s update cycles.

• Evaluate emerging Workday capabilities (Extend, Orchestrate, Prism) and recommend adoption where they add value.

Workday Administration & Support

• Enable People Operations to act as first-line support for workday queries and act as technical escalation point

• Own complex business-process configuration, condition rules, calculated fields, and the Workday security model end to end.

• Resolve data-integrity issues at root cause, not symptom, maintaining high standards of accuracy across all HR data.

Integrations & Automation

• Design, build, test, and maintain Workday integrations using Studio, EIB, Core Connectors, RaaS, PECI/PICOF, and the Workday Web Services API (SOAP/REST).

• Build and own data flows between Workday and downstream systems — Finance, payroll, IAM, data warehouse, third-party tools — including via middleware/iPaaS (e.g. Workato, MuleSoft, Boomi).

• Identify manual processes and replace them with automated, event-driven flows; reduce ticket volume by engineering the root cause out.

Reporting & Analytics

• Build and maintain Workday reports, dashboards, and the data plumbing behind people analytics, including advanced, matrix, and composite reports.

• Use SQL and scripting (Python or similar) against the warehouse/Prism layer to support reporting and data integrity.

• Support ad hoc data requests and resolve reporting discrepancies across the business.

Security, Compliance & Governance

• Maintain the integrity of the Workday security model and ensure all integrations meet data-privacy (GDPR) and audit requirements.

• Document architecture, integrations, and configuration to a standard a due-diligence team could follow.

Documentation, Training & Enablement

• Develop and maintain user guides, runbooks, and training materials that enable the People Operations team to handle day-to-day queries without escalation.

• Train HR and People teams on system usage and promote a culture of knowledge sharing.

• Act as the primary technical escalation point for the People Operations team.

People Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a small team fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.

• Manage team performance through goal setting, regular feedback, and professional development planning.

• Allocate resources and prioritise tasks across the team to balance day-to-day maintenance with strategic project delivery.

The ideal candidate will posses

• Demonstrable hands-on experience in HRIS, HR operations, and/or Workday support, including first-line query resolution and configuration.

• Hands-on Workday integration development: Studio, EIB, Core Connectors, RaaS, and the Web Services API (SOAP/REST).

• Comfort with XSLT/MVEL/XML/JSON for data transformation.

• A genuine engineering instinct — you think in terms of APIs, automation, and data flows, and you can read/write code (SQL essential; Python/JavaScript or similar an advantage).

• Solid functional grounding in Workday HCM modules (e.g. HCM, Absence, Time Tracking), security, and business process configuration.

• Experience partnering with HR leadership to ensure a great system and user experience.

• Experience building reports and supporting business data needs.

• Strong attention to detail with a focus on data accuracy, integrity, and reporting excellence.

• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills; ability to work independently and collaboratively within cross-functional teams.

Nice to Have

• Middleware/iPaaS experience (Workato, MuleSoft, Boomi, Tray).

• Experience with Workday Extend, Orchestrate, or Prism.

• Workday Pro certification(s).

• Exposure to HR analytics and familiarity with global or multi-entity HR processes.

• A computer science or engineering background (formal or self-taught).

Core Competencies

• Operational Agility : You are resourceful, solution-oriented, and can manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Engineering & Analytical Mindse t: You have a strong focus on data accuracy, integrity, and reporting excellence, and you think in terms of APIs, automation, and root-cause fixes.

• Collaborative Approach : You thrive in cross-functional teams and enjoy supporting HR, managers, and employees with both strategic and day-to-day needs.

• Continuous Improvement : You proactively look for ways to optimise operations, streamline processes, and deliver system enhancements that improve user experience.

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