Sr. Manager, Application Development (Workday)
Mode of interview: 1st round virtual, 2nd round in person
Contract Legnth:1+ Year
Location: 5 days on site ( but will have 50 remote days to choose from + every federal holiday off and the week of Christmas/new years employees are completely remote.)
Sr. Manager, Application Development (Workday) role. Below are the main takeaways and what we should be screening for.
Role Overview
This person will support the HR and Finance space within the Workday ecosystem. They need to be both highly technical and a strong leader.
The role itself will not be hands-on day-to-day, but they need to have been hands-on with Workday throughout their career and stayed close enough to the technology to lead technical teams, challenge decisions, and speak confidently with senior leadership.
They will report to Steve and work closely with leaders across HR, Finance, IT, and potentially the CIO around deliverables, progress, and any issues impacting delivery.
Top Must-Haves
- 8–10+ years of deep Workday experience preferred; 6–8 may work depending on depth
- Experience across both Workday HR/HCM and Finance
- Needs broad Workday ecosystem knowledge — not just one module
- Should understand core HR areas such as HCM, payroll, recruiting, time tracking, etc., in addition to the Finance side
- Strong technical/application development background
- AWS is very important
- Java/application development exposure
- Strong leadership experience in addition to technical experience
- Comfortable working directly with senior executives and business leaders
Workday Experience – Important Distinction
Someone who has only:
- Administered Workday
- Participated in one Workday implementation
- Specialized in one module
- Worked for a client that happens to use Workday
will likely not have enough depth.
Consulting experience can work, but ideally they have been consulting specifically within the Workday ecosystem and have had broad exposure across the platform.
Team Structure
This person will have an existing Manager reporting into them, and that Manager oversees a small team of permanent employees and contractors. The Sr. Manager may also oversee additional consultants/contractors directly.
We should look for someone who has experience leading technical teams and ideally has experience managing managers, not just individual contributors.
Culture / Leadership Fit
They want someone who:
- Can push both the team and the business forward
- Holds people accountable
- Delivers and executes
- Has urgency and passion
- Can challenge people without being overbearing
- Can balance the needs of two different business groups — HR and Finance
- Is comfortable stepping in quickly and owning deliverables
Red Flags
- Only 3–4 years of Workday
- Workday administration only
- One-time implementation experience
- Only HCM or only Finance experience
- Narrow module specialization
- Pure people leader who has been removed from the technology for several years
- Consulting experience with limited Workday ownership
- No meaningful AWS/cloud exposure
Interview Process
- Submit candidate through Workday
- First round – approximately 30-minute virtual/video interview
- Second round – panel interview with approximately 3–4 people
- Final round – onsite
The biggest focus should be finding someone with the combination of deep Workday HR + Finance experience, technical credibility, AWS exposure, and strong senior leadership experience.
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