Human Capital Management (HCM) Leader

Position Summary

The HCM Leader serves as the strategic and functional owner of the organization’s Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) platform, responsible for the design, configuration, optimization, and long-term evolution of the system.

This role leads Workday end-to-end across Core HCM, Payroll, Benefits, Time & Absence, Compensation, Talent, and Security (with awareness of adjacent Workday platforms as applicable), and plays a critical role in enabling growth through M&A integrations, ensuring seamless employee onboarding, and delivering scalable, well-architected HCM processes.

This is a “player/coach” role. In addition to platform leadership and consulting oversight, the HCM Leader will be hands-on in Workday with configuring, building, testing, reporting, and supporting day-to-day operational needs, particularly as the team scales beyond current resources.

Key Responsibilities

Workday Platform Leadership & Ownership

• Act as the primary owner and decision-maker for the Workday HCM ecosystem.
• Provide leadership over Workday design, configuration, governance, and roadmap planning.
• Ensure the platform is built, maintained, and enhanced in alignment with business strategy and Workday best practices.
• Serve as the internal subject matter expert for Workday HCM functionality, partnering across HR, Payroll, Finance, and IT.

Hands-On Configuration, Build & Optimization (Player/Coach)

Personally configure and maintain Workday business processes, calculations, eligibility rules, and foundational setups to support ongoing operations and enhancements.

Lead configuration and optimization across modules including:

• Core HCM
• Time & Absence
• Payroll
• Benefits
• Advanced Compensation
• Talent (as applicable)

Design and maintain:

• Business Process Frameworks (BPFs)
• Calculated fields and eligibility rules
• Compensation, benefits, and organizational structures

Own Workday security architecture, including role-based access and data governance.

Participate directly in testing (unit/UAT), release validation, and deployment of new features, improvements, and Workday releases.

Reporting, Data Integrity & Operational Support (Hands-On)

• Build and maintain recurring and ad hoc Workday reporting and dashboards to support HR, Payroll, and Finance needs; ensure data is accurate and audit-ready.
• Ensure data accuracy, integrity, and audit readiness across HCM processes through proactive monitoring, validation, and controls.
• Provide hands-on support for day-to-day Workday activities as needed (e.g., troubleshooting transactions, correcting data, supporting process exceptions) to maintain business continuity.

Integrations & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Oversee and support Workday integrations with Payroll, Benefits, Tax, Finance, and third-party vendors, partnering to troubleshoot issues and improve integration reliability.
• Partner with Payroll and Finance teams to ensure Workday outputs support payroll processing, benefits funding, reporting, and downstream requirements.

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Enablement

Serve as the Workday lead for all M&A activity, owning the HCM integration strategy.

Lead discovery, configuration, and go-live activities including:

• HCM discovery and requirements assessment
• Tenant configuration and buildout
• Data conversion, validation, and testing
• Go-live execution and post-integration stabilization

Design, document, and continuously improve a repeatable Workday M&A playbook covering onboarding, payroll, benefits, talent, taxes, and related employee lifecycle processes.

Process Improvement & Best Practices

• Proactively identify opportunities to streamline, automate, and improve Workday processes.
• Recommend and implement system-driven solutions that improve efficiency, scalability, and user experience.
• Stay current on Workday releases and industry trends; assess applicability and lead adoption where value exists.

People Operations COE Contribution

• Serve as a key contributor to the People Operations COE, partnering to ensure Workday capabilities align with people strategy, operating model needs, and growth objectives.
• Translate People Operations and Total Rewards strategies into scalable, system‑driven Workday solutions.
• Develop and maintain system playbooks, documentation, and standards to enable consistent adoption of Workday processes across the organization.
• Partner with other Talent COEs (e.g., Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, People Operations) to ensure end‑to‑end alignment across the employee lifecycle within Workday.
• Support change management related to Workday enhancements, M&A integrations, and system-driven process changes by enabling leaders and HR teams through thoughtful design and communication.

Accountability

The HCM Leader is accountable for:

• Owning the stability, scalability, and effectiveness of the Workday HCM platform.
• Delivering a well‑architected, user‑focused system that supports HR operations, payroll accuracy, and employee experience.
• Ensuring Workday configurations, data, and integrations are accurate, compliant, and audit‑ready.
• Enabling seamless employee onboarding and integration during M&A activity through strong system design and execution.
• Building trusted partnerships across HR, Payroll, Finance, IT, and COE teams.
• Demonstrating sound judgment, prioritization, and accountability in platform decisions and delivery.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of hands‑on Workday HCM experience with demonstrated ownership of system configuration and optimization.
• Experience supporting multiple Workday modules (Core HCM required).
• Proven experience leading Workday implementations, enhancements, or major platform initiatives.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate business needs into scalable Workday solutions.
• Ability to influence and partner effectively in a matrixed environment.

Preferred

• Workday implementation and/or Workday certification(s).
• Experience supporting Workday‑enabled M&A integrations.
• Experience operating in a post‑implementation, optimization‑focused Workday environment.
• Experience partnering closely with Workday Financials or Finance teams (e.g., integrations, reporting, governance).
• Exposure to or experience with adjacent Workday products such as Adaptive Planning and/or Workforce Management is considered a plus, but not required.

Key Competencies

• Workday HCM Platform Leadership
• Strategic & Systems Thinking
• Data Integrity & Risk Management
• Process Design & Continuous Improvement
• Consulting, Influence & Partnership
• Change Agility
• Business Acumen

Travel Expectations

Flexible/Role-Based Travel

·       Travel requirements vary based on business priorities and role responsibilities; flexibility to travel locally or nationally is expected.

·       This role may involve travel to support client relationships, attend conferences, or participate in team offsites.

Physical and Environmental Demands

This role involves typical duties performed in an office environment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. To request a disability-related reasonable accommodation to assist you in your job search, application, or interview process, please us at oswaldhr@oswaldcompanies.com to discuss your specific need.

• Physical Requirements: Primarily sedentary work involving sitting, typing, and handling office equipment. Occasional walking, standing, and lifting up to 10 pounds may be required.
• Manual Dexterity & Vision: Requires sufficient manual dexterity and visual acuity for computer use, data analysis, and document preparation.
• Work Environment: Standard indoor office setting with moderate noise levels and climate control.

Work Schedule & Hours

Exempt

Full-time hours: Core business hours of Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and/or occasional weekend hours totaling 40 or more hours per week; no overtime payable.  (FLSA Status: Exempt)

Note: Job responsibilities and travel expectations at this level will often require the performance of job duties beyond the normal workweek schedule.