Workday OPAL Product Director

Position Overview / Statement of Work

This leadership role will oversee a team of 40 professionals working across Workday's Financial and Purchasing modules to drive operational excellence, improve efficiencies, and enhance system capabilities. The ideal candidate will have a background in Workday, combined with leadership experience in managing large, cross-functional teams within a complex organizational environment. This role requires a deep understanding of Workday's capabilities and best practices, as well as the ability to drive product strategy, manage cross-functional teams, and deliver impactful results that meet the needs of public sector stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have experience in a large public sector environment and will be passionate about enhancing Finance, Purchasing, and operations through cutting-edge technology.

Work activities

Workday Financial Management Product Strategy & Roadmap Development :

Define and maintain the Workday product roadmap aligned with the strategic goals of the organization.

Collaborate with senior leaders, stakeholders, and department heads to prioritize and align Workday initiatives with broader organizational objectives.

Manage product lifecycle from concept to delivery, ensuring the solutions meet business needs, regulatory requirements, and user expectations.

Cross-Functional Team Collaboration :

Lead, mentor, and manage a team of 40 professionals across various functions, including functional experts, analysts, and system administrators, ensuring high performance, productivity, and engagement.

Serve as the primary liaison between business stakeholders and technical teams, translating business requirements into actionable system configurations and enhancements.

Provide strategic direction and thought leadership to team members across different Workday modules, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and priorities.

Develop and implement training programs to continuously enhance the team's technical expertise and leadership skills.

Provide guidance on Workday best practices and drive change management initiatives to ensure successful adoption of new features.

Project Management & Delivery :

Lead the execution of Workday implementation projects, upgrades, and system configurations, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within scope, and within budget.

Serve as the primary point of contact for stakeholders, ensuring transparent communication on project statuses, timelines, risks, and outcomes.

Identify and mitigate risks that could affect project timelines or quality, taking corrective action as needed.

Optimization & Continuous Improvement :

Work with business stakeholders and technical teams to evaluate system performance, monitor key metrics, and implement updates or new features that drive efficiency and effectiveness.

Lead the evaluation and deployment of new Workday features and functionality, ensuring continuous enhancement of the platform's capabilities.

Ensure the effective integration of Workday with other enterprise systems, managing dependencies and resolving challenges as needed.

Stakeholder Communication & Training :

Act as a subject matter expert (SME) for all Workday-related topics, direct training and support to end users across the organization.

Regularly communicate project status, outcomes, and improvements to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Ensure training materials are developed and maintained, including user documentation and user support resources, to support effective platform adoption.

Compliance & Security :

Ensure that Workday configurations and updates comply with all relevant regulatory requirements, data privacy laws, and internal policies. Partner with the IT and security teams to maintain data integrity, security, and confidentiality within Workday, particularly for sensitive employee and financial data. Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

Skills / experience of the assigned staff

Required

In-depth knowledge of Workday Finance, Purchasing and other Workday modules, with experience in system configuration, deployment, and post-implementation support.

Strong understanding of public sector finance and purchasing processes, regulations, and compliance requirements.

Ability to lead cross-functional teams and work with senior leaders to drive product success.

Excellent project management, organizational, and time management skills with a focus on delivering high-quality results on time.

Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with the capacity to make data-driven decisions.

Demonstrated experience leading Workday product strategy within a government agency, large municipality or similarly complex public-sector organization.

Experience working with Workday Studio, Workday Integration, Workday Reporting, and other technical components of the platform.

Highly Desired / Preferred

Experience with other ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions

Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and build relationships at all organizational levels.