HRIT Lead Workday & HR Technology

Our client is seeking a Senior HRIT Lead Workday & HR Technology to serve as a senior technology leader responsible for bridging HR, Workday, and the broader enterprise technology organization., This individual does not need to be the deepest hands-on Workday configurator or functional SME. Instead, the client is looking for someone who understands Workday architecture, HR processes, integrations, data, and the broader HR technology ecosystem well enough to provide direction, manage workstreams, challenge assumptions, and ensure the right technology solutions are being implemented. The organization’s HR technology portfolio extends well beyond Workday, making it critical that this individual can evaluate business challenges holistically and determine whether Workday, another HR technology platform, or a combination of solutions is the appropriate answer.

This is a highly visible role that will interface closely with HR leadership, internal technology teams, Workday resources, and other business stakeholders. The successful consultant will have the opportunity to convert to a permanent leadership position and play an important role in shaping the organization’s future HR technology strategy and operating model., * Serve as a senior HRIT leader responsible for coordinating and overseeing day-to-day HR technology initiatives.

• Act as the primary bridge between HR/business stakeholders and internal Technology teams.
• Partner with HR leadership to understand business objectives, challenges, and technology requirements.
• Translate HR needs into actionable technology strategies and solutions.
• Provide leadership and direction across multiple concurrent HR technology workstreams.
• Help establish priorities, ownership, governance, and accountability across the HR technology portfolio.
• Ensure technology initiatives remain aligned with broader HR and organizational objectives.
• Provide guidance to functional and technical resources without needing to personally execute every configuration or development activity.

Workday Leadership & Oversight

• Provide senior-level oversight across the organization’s Workday HCM environment.
• Understand Workday capabilities, architecture, business processes, integrations, security, reporting, and downstream dependencies.
• Partner with Workday functional SMEs and technical resources to evaluate proposed solutions and ensure they align with business requirements.
• Challenge assumptions and help determine whether Workday is the appropriate solution for a given business need.
• Provide direction across Workday projects, enhancements, optimization initiatives, and production support activities.
• Identify cross-functional impacts and dependencies across Workday workstreams.
• Ensure Workday decisions are made with consideration for the organization’s broader HR technology ecosystem.

HR Technology Architecture & Strategy

• Evaluate the organization’s broader HR technology landscape and identify opportunities for simplification, optimization, and improved integration.
• Develop an understanding of how Workday and other HR technologies interact across the employee lifecycle.
• Help establish a scalable future-state HR technology architecture.
• Evaluate new technologies and determine how they should fit within the existing HR technology ecosystem.
• Identify redundancies, technology gaps, and opportunities to improve employee and HR experiences.
• Ensure architecture decisions consider integrations, data, security, reporting, scalability, and long-term maintainability.
• Partner with enterprise architects and internal Technology teams to ensure HR technology solutions align with broader enterprise standards.

Business & Technology Partnership

• Serve as a technology and business interface, ensuring HR requirements are clearly understood by technical teams and technology considerations are effectively communicated back to HR.
• Build strong relationships across HR, HRIT, IT, Security, Data, Integrations, and other enterprise technology functions.
• Help HR stakeholders evaluate business problems before automatically assuming Workday is the solution.
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear business language for HR leadership and stakeholders.
• Translate HR requirements into actionable direction for technical teams.
• Facilitate conversations when business and technical priorities or perspectives differ.
• Drive decisions and accountability across teams without relying solely on direct authority.

Workstream & Portfolio Management

• Provide oversight and leadership across multiple HR technology projects and workstreams.
• Establish priorities based on business impact, urgency, dependencies, and available resources.
• Coordinate activities across Workday functional teams, technical teams, vendors, and business stakeholders.
• Identify risks, roadblocks, and dependencies and proactively drive resolution.
• Ensure projects and enhancements have clear ownership, timelines, requirements, and success criteria.
• Provide leadership visibility into project health, priorities, and resource needs.
• Help transition the organization from reactive HR technology support toward a more strategic and proactive operating model.

Integrations, Data & Technology Ecosystem

• Maintain a strong understanding of integrations between Workday and the broader HR technology ecosystem.
• Partner with technical teams responsible for integrations, APIs, middleware, and data movement.
• Understand upstream and downstream implications of changes made within Workday.
• Ensure HR data moves accurately and securely between Workday and connected platforms.
• Partner with Data, Reporting, and Analytics teams to support HR data requirements.
• Help establish appropriate ownership between HRIT and enterprise IT for Workday, integrations, data, and surrounding technologies.

Vendor & Partner Management

• Partner with Workday, consulting partners, technology vendors, and third-party service providers as needed.
• Evaluate vendor recommendations and ensure proposed solutions align with the organization’s best interests.
• Hold external partners accountable for deliverables, timelines, and solution quality.
• Help determine when external expertise is required versus when work should remain with internal teams.
• Participate in vendor selection, solution evaluation, and technology roadmap discussions.

Team Leadership & Development

• Provide leadership, mentorship, and direction to HR Technology team members and supporting resources.
• Help establish clear responsibilities and operating expectations across the team.
• Develop stronger collaboration between functional HR resources and technical teams.
• Encourage team members to think beyond individual Workday modules and understand broader business and technology impacts.
• Support the continued maturation of the HRIT organization.
• Upon conversion to a permanent employee, assume broader people leadership responsibilities as determined by the organization.

This is a contract-to-hire opportunity designed for an experienced HR Technology professional who brings a strong technical foundation, solid Workday knowledge, and the leadership capabilities to eventually transition into a permanent people leadership role within the organization., * Workday Advanced Compensation Expert 5+ years of experience

• 8+ years of progressive experience within HR Technology (HRIT), Enterprise Applications, HR Systems, or related technology functions.
• Strong understanding of the broader HR technology ecosystem, including HR platforms, integrations, data, analytics, security, APIs, and employee-facing technologies.
• Strong technical background with the ability to understand enterprise architecture, system integrations, data flows, and dependencies across multiple platforms.
• Experience serving as an HRIT Lead, HR Technology Architect, Enterprise Applications Lead, Solutions Architect, or similar senior technology role.
• Proven ability to evaluate business requirements and determine the right technology solution, rather than defaulting to a single platform.
• Experience leading multiple HR technology projects/workstreams and partnering across HR, IT, Integrations, Data, Security, and Enterprise Architecture.
• Strong understanding of HR processes and the ability to translate business needs into scalable technology solutions.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical teams and senior business/HR stakeholders.
• Strong experience with Workday HCM and the broader Workday ecosystem, including architecture, integrations, business processes, security, reporting, and downstream dependencies.
• Ability to determine when a requirement should be solved within Workday versus another HR technology or integrated solution.
• Experience providing strategic and architectural oversight across Workday projects, enhancements, optimization, and production support.
• Workday certification is beneficial but not required.
• Strong leadership, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and prioritization skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience working within a large, complex enterprise environment.
• Workday implementation and/or post-production experience.
• Experience serving as a Workday or HR Technology Architect before progressing into broader technology leadership.
• Experience managing or leading HR Technology teams.
• Experience across multiple Workday HCM functional areas.
• Experience with HR technology platforms outside of Workday.
• Strong understanding of integration architecture and HR data ecosystems.
• Experience developing HR technology roadmaps and operating models.
• Experience working directly with senior HR and Technology leadership.
• Workday certification(s) are beneficial but not required.
• Experience supporting HR technology organizational transformation or restructuring is highly preferred.

At The Planet Group, we connect Enterprise Systems experts with opportunities that match their skills, goals, and ambition. From fast-moving startups to global enterprises, we partner with top organizations across industries giving you access to roles where your contributions make a difference. Explore flexible options including contract, direct hire, and contract-to-hire, all supported by a team that puts people first.