Workday HR Functional Lead

Every minute of every day, Smiths Detection’s threat detection and security screening technology helps to protect people and infrastructure, making the world a safer place. 

Smiths Detection is a global leader in the development, manufacture and management of security and detection solutions designed to make the world a safer place. Our technology provides threat detection and screening solutions for customers in our key markets: aviation, ports and borders, defence, and urban security.

Our expertise spans 21 global offices, seven manufacturing sites and five R&D centres, with a global network of 3,500 dedicated colleagues contributing towards over 40 years at the frontline of advances in safety and security.  

This results in careers built on variety and the opportunity to work on a range of state-of-the-art solutions, where you can develop your knowledge and experience every day.

The Workday HR Functional Lead is responsible for ensuring that Workday and associated HR technologies effectively support the organisation's people strategy, HR operating model and business objectives globally.  Working alongside IT (who are the product owners leading on the technical elements of the system), it ensure that technology investments deliver business value. 

Acting as the principal HR functional systems expert, the role provides leadership in alignment of HR process design, system configuration, governance, continuous improvement and business adoption / utlilisation. The role represents HR requirements and priorities across the global organisation, ensuring that technology solutions deliver an effective employee and manager experience, high-quality workforce data, operational efficiency and compliance. 

Partnering strongly with IT, external vendors and HR stakeholders, the role is responsible for defining business requirements, prioritising enhancements, evaluating new functionality with IT and driving the successful implementation and adoption of HR workday solutions. 

Responsibilities:
 

HR Systems Strategy & Governance 

• Act as the global HR functional lead for Workday, partnering strongly with IT, to develop the product from initial MVP to its full potential and ensuring governance for system enhancements & configuration changes. 
• Define and maintain the HR systems roadmap from a business perspective, aligned with the Global Process Owner, HR Leadership team & IT. 

Workday Functional Expertise

• Serve as the principal functional expert for Workday across HCM and associated modules. 
• Alignment with HR process and ensuring processes can be delivered via workday, leveraging system capability and automation.  Manager system administration to ensure robust governance and system operation.
• Partner with IT where system changes are required, supporting change requests and providing functional system expertise to support IT owned release planning, testing, deployment and issue resolution. 

HR Process Excellence 

• Ensure HR technology solutions support standardised global processes whilst accommodating legitimate local requirements.
• Strong partnership with process owners to ensure alignment between process and system as well as data and analytics.  Drive continuous improvement initiatives across Workday and related HR platforms. 
• Lead optimisation of global HR system across the employee lifecycle. 
• Identify opportunities for process simplification, automation and improved user experience, partnering with Global Process Owner. 

Stakeholder Management & Partnership 

• Act as the primary HR representative for Workday and associated HR systems. 
• Build strong partnerships with HR, IT and external providers. 

Data, Reporting & Compliance 

• Promote high standards of data quality, governance and integrity. 
• Ensure HR systems support legal, regulatory and audit requirements, partnering with IT. 

Change, Adoption & Education 

• Lead business readiness and adoption activities associated with new functionality. 
• Lead change management, communications and training activities. Ensure user queries are managed swiftly by the team and learnings are embedded into training, education & support materials. 

Team Leadership 

• Lead & develop the HR functional workday team.  Ensure alignment with functional module specialists to ensure a holistic approach to product configuration, development & delivery.
• Build organisational capability in HR technology and process excellence. 

• Extensive expertise across Workday HCM and key modules, Recruiting, Talent, Compensation, Benefits and Absence.
• Strong understanding of integrations, reporting, security, analytics and HR processes.
• Proven Agile product management capability, stakeholder management, vendor management, change leadership and continuous improvement expertise.
• Operates with autonomy to determine product priorities and changes required. Balances strategic objectives, business value, compliance requirements, risk and resource constraints while influencing senior stakeholders across HR and IT.

Join us and we’ll help build your career, with excellent training and opportunities for career growth across the business, both locally and globally. You’ll experience an inclusive environment, with strong leadership and a focus on safety and wellbeing. You’ll also have the flexibility to choose from a wide range of benefits to suit your lifestyle, offering you and your family support from a health and wellbeing, financial and lifestyle perspective.

Join us and work for a world-leader, with the benefits and training to reward your dedication and skills. Be part of a team where we are making the world a safer place.

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.

At no time during the hiring process will Smiths Detection, nor any of our recruitment partners ever request payment to enable participation – including, but not limited to, interviews or testing. Avoid fraudulent requests by applying jobs directly through our career’s website.