Senior Manager, People Systems & Operations
Remote, MST
3-9- month contract to hire
Contract Rate: $80.00-100.00/hr.
Salary: $170,000-200,000K
The Senior Manager, People Systems & Operations serves as the strategic leader and accountable owner of the organization's integrated People technology and operations ecosystem. This role oversees the end-to-end People infrastructure, including Workday, ServiceNow, People Operations, and the future AI-enabled employee support roadmap.
This position combines People Systems, People Operations, governance, compliance, and technology strategy into a single leadership role responsible for ensuring that systems, service delivery, data, and automation work together as one cohesive employee experience platform.
The ideal candidate is both a strategic thinker and operational leader who can build scalable processes, optimize technology investments, drive compliance, and lead a high-performing team while partnering closely with HR, Finance, Legal, Payroll, and business stakeholders.
Team Leadership
Direct leadership responsibilities include:
- Senior Workday Analyst (future hire)
- Workday Analyst (future hire)
- Two People Support Specialists located in Utah and Ireland
Key Stakeholder Partnerships
This role partners extensively with:
- People Business Partners (PBPs)
- Total Rewards
- Centers of Excellence (COEs)
- Finance
- Legal
- Payroll
- Business Leaders
Core Areas of Ownership
People Technology Ecosystem
- Own and lead the organization's integrated People technology stack, including:
- Workday HRIS
- ServiceNow People Operations environment
- AI-enabled employee support and automation roadmap
- People systems governance and change management
- Data architecture and reporting foundation
- Contingent workforce infrastructure
- Compliance, security, and risk management
Strategy & Portfolio Management
- Develop and execute the People Systems & Operations roadmap aligned to organizational objectives and People strategy priorities.
- Translate business requirements into scalable technology and service solutions.
- Prioritize and manage competing initiatives across Workday, ServiceNow, and future AI capabilities.
- Manage technology budgets, vendor relationships, and investment ROI.
- Maintain visibility into project status, risks, dependencies, and resource allocation.
Workday Leadership & Governance
- Serve as the executive owner of the Workday tenant and overall HRIS strategy.
- Lead business process design, configuration governance, security architecture, and release management.
- Establish and maintain SOX-compliant security controls and role-based access frameworks.
- Govern HR systems change management, approvals, testing, and deployment processes.
- Oversee contingent worker processes and workforce data integrity.
- Partner with internal and external resources to drive Workday optimization and adoption.
ServiceNow & People Operations
- Lead the design and optimization of the People Operations service delivery model.
- Own ServiceNow architecture, workflows, routing logic, escalations, and SLA management.
- Develop scalable employee and manager support processes.
- Identify opportunities to improve service delivery through automation and process enhancements.
- Drive continuous improvement through operational metrics and service analytics.
AI Strategy & Automation
- Develop the business case and roadmap for AI-enabled employee support capabilities.
- Evaluate and recommend AI technologies and vendor solutions.
- Design future-state automation strategies focused on employee self-service and support deflection.
- Lead implementation, governance, adoption, and performance measurement of AI-enabled solutions.
- Establish controls, governance standards, and escalation frameworks for AI-assisted support models.
Systems, Data & Analytics
- Establish data governance standards and ensure data integrity across People systems.
- Build scalable reporting and analytics capabilities that support strategic decision-making.
- Partner with HR, Finance, and business leaders to deliver meaningful workforce insights.
- Identify opportunities to improve employee experiences through automation, analytics, and process optimization.
Governance, Risk & Compliance
- Maintain accountability for HR systems compliance, security, privacy, and audit readiness.
- Ensure adherence to SOX, GDPR, I-9, and applicable employment regulations.
- Lead access reviews, controls testing, risk mitigation efforts, and compliance audits.
- Serve as the primary escalation point for HR systems governance and compliance matters.
- Manage vendor governance, contract oversight, and technology risk management.
Stakeholder Partnership & Enablement
- Partner with HR leaders to deliver scalable self-service capabilities and workforce insights.
- Translate complex technical concepts into clear business recommendations.
- Support organizational change management and technology adoption efforts.
- Drive user training, system enablement, and operational excellence across HR teams.
People Leadership
- Recruit, develop, and mentor a high-performing People Systems & Operations team.
- Establish clear standards, documentation practices, and operational discipline.
- Create development plans and growth opportunities for team members.
- Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and customer-focused service delivery.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field.
- 8+ years of progressive experience in HRIS, People Operations, HR Technology, or related functions.
- 3+ years of leadership experience managing teams and complex cross-functional initiatives.
- Deep expertise in Workday configuration, business processes, security, governance, and reporting.
- Experience managing ServiceNow or similar service management platforms.
- Strong understanding of Hire-to-Retire processes and HR operations.
- Experience leading enterprise-scale HR technology implementations and optimization initiatives.
- Knowledge of SOX controls, GDPR requirements, change management, and HR compliance frameworks.
- Proven ability to lead technology strategy, vendor management, and process transformation initiatives.
- Strong analytical, project management, and stakeholder management skills.
- Occasionally come to Headquarters office in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Preferred Qualifications
- Workday certifications and advanced Workday administration experience.
- Experience supporting global HR operations.
- Experience evaluating and implementing AI-powered HR technologies.
- Familiarity with Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, or hybrid project delivery methodologies.
- Experience building HR service delivery models and shared services organizations.
- Background in workforce analytics, automation, and digital transformation initiatives.
