Workday Implementation Lead / Programme Technology Lead

Overview

In this role you drive the end-to-end technology delivery of News UK’s Workday transformation, guiding architecture, integrations, data migration and security to align with the global Workday strategy. You will lead cross-functional teams across HR, IT and regional units to deliver a scalable, sustainable Workday solution. You’ll manage design decisions, risk, and delivery across the programme and coordinate with stakeholders to ensure a smooth go-live and transition to BAU. This senior role offers impact across a global platform and a chance to shape how Workday supports News UK’s operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end technology delivery of the News UK Workday implementation from design to go-live and transition to BAU
• Act as senior technology lead across functional, architecture, integration and data workstreams
• Maintain technical integrity and ensure cohesive delivery across workstreams
• Translate programme objectives into a Workday technology strategy and delivery roadmap
• Provide senior visibility on progress, risks, dependencies and decisions
• Resolve cross-functional and cross-system issues beyond individual workstreams
• Oversee functional design and configuration of Workday capabilities for News UK
• Champion global-first approach balancing local needs with global platform integrity
• Provide design authority for major decisions and exceptions to global standards
• Ensure downstream impacts are considered across security, integrations, reporting, data and operations
• Own overall solution architecture and ensure Workday integrates with wider technology landscape
• Govern architectural principles, standards and decision processes
• Lead cross-functional design decisions spanning Workday, payroll, identity, finance and other platforms
• Collaborate with enterprise/solution architects for alignment with the technology strategy
• Identify architectural risks, debt and long-term support implications
• Provide governance across integration portfolio and ensure architecture supports News UK and global Workday operating model
• Oversee integration design, build, testing and deployment
• Manage dependencies between Workday, payroll, identity and other platforms
• Establish monitoring, ownership and support for integrations ahead of go-live
• Oversee end-to-end data migration strategy, data extraction, transformation, cleansing, mapping, validation and loading
• Define accountability between business data owners and delivery teams
• Oversee migration cycles and capture lessons for subsequent loads
• Ensure data quality controls and reconciliation for sign-off
• Ensure readiness for SIT, UAT and production deployment
• Coordinate go-live readiness, cutover planning and post-go-live support
• Establish technology governance across Workday workstreams
• Maintain risk, issue and dependency governance and mitigation plans
• Present technology status to programme leadership and steering committees
• Ensure controls, documentation, auditability and governance throughout delivery
• Escalate material risks impacting objectives or timelines
• Lead a multidisciplinary team of Workday consultants, architects, integration specialists and data experts
• Foster relationships with senior stakeholders across News UK, News Corp Global Technology, HR, Finance and Payroll
• Act as primary technology escalation point for the Workday implementation
• Clarify accountability across global, local and partner teams in a complex matrix
• Coach and support workstream leads while owning overall technology outcome
• Successful technology delivery and integrity of the end-to-end Workday solution
• Alignment between News UK requirements and the global Workday platform
• Cohesion across functional, architecture, integration and data workstreams
• Technology readiness for testing, cutover and go-live
• Effective management of technology risks and dependencies
• Sustainable transition to the global Workday support model

Key requirements

• Significant experience leading large-scale Workday implementations or transformation programmes
• Deep understanding of Workday HCM and enterprise HR technology
• Strong understanding of Workday architecture, integrations, security and data migration
• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary technology teams across global organisations
• Experience integrating new businesses or regions into an established global Workday tenant
• Understanding of global template vs local requirement decision-making
• Experience working with systems integrators and offshore/onshore delivery teams
• Strong governance, risk management and delivery experience
• Ability to communicate complex technical issues to executives and influence decisions
• Credible partnership with both technical teams and senior business leaders

• stakeholder management
• leadership
• influencing and decision-making
• Workday
• Workday architecture
• integrations

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