Workday Lead (FTC)

Kantar Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading market research firm is seeking a proactive Workday Lead in Greater London to drive the strategy and optimization of their Workday platform. You will lead a team of three, ensuring that Workday effectively supports HR, Payroll, and Talent Acquisition functions. This hybrid role demands both strategic leadership and hands-on configuration. Applicants should have over 5 years of Workday experience, strong project management skills, and the ability to translate business needs into system solutions. Join us to enhance user adoption and efficiency across our organization.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience working with Workday HCM.
• Proven hands‑on experience configuring Workday modules.
• Strong understanding of HR, Payroll, and Reward processes.

Responsibilities

• Deliver strategic value from Workday by owning and executing a system roadmap.
• Maximize ROI from the Workday platform through ongoing optimization.
• Manage strong cross‑functional partnerships with HR, IT, and business leaders.

Skills

Workday HCM experience

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

HR processes understanding

Tools

Workday

Job description

We are seeking a proactive and experienced Workday Lead to own and drive the strategy, optimization, and support of our Workday platform across our organisation of approximately 4,500 employees. Leading a team of three, you will play a key role in ensuring Workday effectively supports our HR, Reward, Payroll and Talent Acquisition functions.

You will serve as the subject matter expert and primary point of contact for Workday, working closely with cross-functional stakeholders to align system capabilities with business needs. This is a hybrid role requiring both strategic leadership and hands‑on configuration and oversight.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver strategic value from Workday by owning and executing a system roadmap that aligns with organisational goals and drives efficiency, compliance, and user adoption across all modules.
• Maximize ROI from the Workday platform through ongoing optimization and enhancement of functionality.
• Ensure strategic alignment and stakeholder satisfaction by managing strong cross‑functional partnerships with HR, IT, and business leaders to match system capabilities with evolving organisational priorities.
• Drive operational excellence by identifying and implementing process improvements and automation opportunities that reduce manual work and enhance data accuracy.
• Ensure seamless system operations by overseeing (and occasionally executing) configuration of key Workday elements to meet changing business needs.
• Build a high‑performing Workday team by leading, mentoring, and developing three Workday Analysts, setting clear goals, tracking progress, and supporting professional growth.
• Accelerate adoption of new functionality by assessing and implementing Workday feature releases, ensuring business users benefit from relevant innovations.
• Safeguard business continuity and compliance through robust planning and execution of bi‑annual update cycles, including testing, validation, and stakeholder sign‑off.
• Enhance change readiness and end‑user experience by partnering with HR to lead communication and change management for system changes, ensuring a smooth rollout and high adoption.
• Resolve critical issues efficiently by acting as the escalation point for complex Workday challenges, minimizing disruption to business operations.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience working with Workday HCM, (Core HR, Absence, Compensation, Recruiting, Talent)
• Proven hands‑on experience configuring Workday modules and security.
• Strong understanding of HR, Payroll, and/or Reward processes.
• Excellent project management skills with a track record of successful system implementations or upgrades.
• Ability to translate business requirements into system solutions.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills