Project Manager to Manage Enterprise HCM OR Payroll Platform Projects

Scientific Research Company

Washington DC- HYBRID

MUST BE LOCAL for hybrid schedule

Needed ASAP

Contract role

Must work on W2

No C2C

Project Manager -Experience supporting Enterprise HCM or Payroll Platform Projects

The Senior Project Manager will provide project management support for enterprise Human Capital Management (HCM) initiatives, with primary responsibility for the Payroll work stream for Workday and UKG. Under leadership, the Senior Project Manager will plan, coordinate, and track Payroll work stream activities, deliverables, schedules, risks, issues, requirements, testing, implementation readiness, cutover, and transition activities. The Senior Project Manager will work with  Payroll, HR, Finance, Operations, IT, vendors, and implementation partners to support timely delivery of Payroll work stream outcomes that align with  business needs, compliance requirements, payroll operations, workforce processes, and enterprise technology standards.

Work Design: The Senior Project Manager will report directly to the Manager of the Project Management Office (PMO) and perform work under general direction from  leadership. The Senior Project Manager will coordinate with  Payroll, HR, Finance, Operations, IT, business leads, vendors, project teams, and implementation partners to support Payroll work stream delivery. Work includes analyzing Payroll work stream needs, risks, dependencies, business process impacts, data considerations, compliance requirements, and readiness activities; identifying practical solutions to Workday and UKG Payroll-related project issues; and supporting  project standards, templates, governance routines, implementation methods, and operational transition practices. The Senior Project Manager will lead Payroll work stream planning, execution tracking, testing coordination, stakeholder engagement, decision support, and status reporting while communicating complex payroll and HCM platform information clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Contractor Engagement: This is a contractor position engaged to provide specialized senior project management support for the enterprise Human Capital Management (HCM) platform initiatives. The Senior Project Manager is expected to perform assigned work in alignment with  policies, procedures, confidentiality expectations, information security requirements, applicable compliance standards, and direction provided by the engagement manager.

Position Accountabilities

• Provide Senior Project Manager support for the Payroll work stream for Workday, UKG, and related  workforce management initiatives.
• Develop, maintain, and track Payroll work stream plans, schedules, milestones, dependencies, risks, issues, action items, and implementation activities.
• Facilitate Payroll work stream meetings by preparing materials, documenting decisions, tracking follow-up items, and communicating status to  stakeholders and leadership.
• Coordinate with ACS Payroll, HR, Finance, Operations, IT, Senior Program Manager, vendors, and implementation partners to clarify scope, align priorities, resolve risks and issues, and support delivery momentum.
• Support Payroll work stream requirements, configuration decisions, workflow alignment, data validation, testing, readiness, cutover, implementation, transition planning, and post-implementation stabilization.
• Prepare and maintain Payroll work stream documentation, dashboards, status updates, decision logs, RAID logs, action trackers, and related project materials.
• Communicate Payroll work stream status, risks, issues, decisions, dependencies, compliance considerations, and adoption impacts to ACS leadership, project teams, and affected business areas.
• Support Payroll-related process improvement, change management, stakeholder readiness, training coordination, adoption planning, and operational transition activities.
• Apply -approved standards, templates, tools, and methodologies to support consistent Payroll work stream delivery and implementation readiness.
• Maintain awareness of  payroll operations, workforce processes, HCM technologies, platform roadmaps, vendor capabilities, and delivery practices to support modernization and continuous improvement.
• Help ensure Payroll work stream deliverables meet business needs, quality expectations, compliance requirements, data integrity standards, platform configuration expectations, and delivery commitments.
• Balance and prioritize assigned Payroll work stream activities, platform enhancements, stakeholder requests, and implementation deadlines.

Education/Experience/Technological Knowledge

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree; a minimum of 5+ years of experience providing business analysis, technology delivery, and Senior Project Manager support for enterprise HCM or payroll platform initiatives.
• Experience supporting complex, cross-functional Payroll or HCM work streams involving payroll, HR, finance, operations, technology teams, vendors, implementation partners, and senior stakeholders.
• Strong planning, organization, facilitation, analytical, problem-solving, and time management skills.
• Ability to work with stakeholders to define Payroll and HCM solutions, delivery approaches, project decisions, and operational readiness plans.
• Ability to interpret vendor feedback and provide clear recommendations to  stakeholders and leadership.
• Experience preparing and presenting project reports, dashboards, status updates, decision materials, risk summaries, and Payroll implementation readiness updates.
• Strong understanding of project management disciplines, including scope, schedule, budget, risk, issue, escalation protocols, dependency, resource, change, benefits, and stakeholder management.
• Experience supporting Agile or other delivery methodologies in enterprise platforms, ERP, HRIS, payroll, workforce management, or HCM environments.
• Experience supporting Workday and UKG Payroll initiatives, including project planning, enhancement delivery, requirements definition, configuration coordination, payroll workflow and business process alignment, integration coordination, testing, data validation, security and access considerations, reporting, readiness, training support, adoption planning, issue resolution, and post-implementation stabilization.
• Working knowledge of payroll operations and related HCM business processes such as time and attendance, absence management, benefits, workforce scheduling, reporting, employee self-service, and payroll compliance requirements.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex payroll and HCM platform concepts, risks, tradeoffs, and implementation impacts to stakeholders and ACS leadership.
• Excellent documentation skills and attention to detail.
• Competency in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and related collaboration tools.
• Hands-on experience using Workday, UKG, and related enterprise tools to support Payroll work stream delivery, project reporting, issue tracking, stakeholder communications, implementation coordination, testing coordination, cutover planning, and decision support; experience with Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Jira, DevOps, or equivalent tools preferred.
• PMP, CAPM, SAFe, Agile, Scrum, Prosci, ITIL, Workday, UKG, HRIS, payroll, or similar certification preferred.