Product Manager - Workday

About the Opportunity

Job Summary

The Product Manager owns the Workday platform end-to-end as a single, coherent enterprise product spanning Finance, HCM, Payroll, and Procurement. This role sits at the intersection of the business, functional teams, and technical delivery - translating business strategy into a unified Workday roadmap and ensuring that decisions are made in one module. The Product Lead is the accountable owner for the health, roadmap, governance, and value realization of the Workday ecosystem.

24/7 business continuity:

This role requires occasional availability outside of traditional working hours to address urgent business needs as they arise, including, but not limited to, responding to security incidents, supporting software deployments, resolving software issues or system breaks, and addressing other critical operational requirements. The ideal candidate must be proactive and adaptable, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations by promptly addressing any issues, regardless of time or day. Flexibility and a strong sense of urgency are essential for success in this position.

Other duties as required:

This role requires flexibility in performing duties outside of the primary responsibilities to support evolving business needs. The ideal candidate must be adaptable and willing to take on additional tasks or projects as required, ensuring smooth operations across the organization. This may include stepping in to assist with cross-functional teams, handling unexpected challenges, or contributing to initiatives that support business growth and success. A proactive mindset and the ability to pivot quickly are essential for thriving in this dynamic environment.

Hybrid work schedule:

This role is hybrid and in the office a minimum of three days a week to facilitate collaboration and teamwork. In-office presence is an essential part of our on-campus culture and allows for engaging directly with staff and students, sharing ideas, and contributing to a dynamic work environment. Being on-site allows for stronger connections, more effective problem-solving, and enhanced team synergy, all of which are key to achieving our collective goals and driving success.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. The University is unable to work sponsor for this role, now or in the future.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Information Systems, HR, Finance, or related field (or equivalent experience).

• 5+ years of experience supporting or leading Workday (or comparable ERP/HCM platform) implementations or operations, with at least 3+ years spanning multiple modules (Finance, HCM, Payroll, and/or Procurement).

• Demonstrated experience owning a product roadmap or acting as a product/platform owner in an enterprise systems context.

• Strong understanding of Workday's data model, business process framework, security architecture, and integration methods (EIBs, Core Connectors, Workday Studio/Orchestrate, APIs).

• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams spanning business, functional, and technical disciplines.

• Track record managing Workday releases, testing cycles, and change management at an enterprise scale.

• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to translate between business language and technical detail.

• Workday certifications in one or more pillars (Financial Management, HCM, Payroll, Procurement, Integrations, or Reporting).

• Experience with Workday Extend, Workday Orchestrate, or Adaptive Planning.

• Prior experience in a product management or platform owner role (e.g., Certified Scrum Product Owner, SAFe POPM).

• Experience operating in a multi-entity, multi-country Workday deployment.

• Familiarity with adjacent systems commonly integrated with Workday (procurement/supplier networks, tax engines, benefits carriers, treasury/banking systems, expense management).

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

Product & Roadmap Management

• Own the overall Workday product strategy and multi-year roadmap across Finance, HCM, Payroll, and Procurement modules.

• Define and prioritize the enterprise backlog, balancing competing demands from business stakeholders, compliance requirements, and technical debt.

• Maintain a single source of truth for the Workday product vision, ensuring module-level roadmaps (Finance, HCM, Payroll, Procurement) are integrated rather than siloed.

• Own the business case, ROI tracking, and value-realization metrics for the Workday investment

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Serve as the primary liaison between business process owners (HR, Finance, Payroll, Procurement leadership), functional analysts/configuration teams, and technical/integration teams.

• Run cross-module governance forums (e.g., Change Advisory Board, Design Council) to review proposed configuration changes, tenant updates, and integrations for cross-functional impact.

• Coordinate release and update cycles (including Workday's biannual releases) across all modules, ensuring testing, communication, and training are synchronized.

• Partner with business stakeholders to gather, document, and prioritize requirements, and translate them into functional/technical specifications.

Platform & Technical Stewardship

• Own the overall system architecture philosophy for Workday, including integration patterns, security/role-based access model, and data governance standards.

• Partner with technical teams (integrations, EIBs, Workday Studio/Orchestrate, reporting/BIRT, PECI, etc.) to ensure the technical roadmap supports business needs.

• Oversee tenant configuration standards, environment strategy (sandbox/preview/production), and change management processes to protect system integrity.

• Monitor system performance, data quality, and integration health across connected systems (e.g., banks, benefits providers, tax engines, procurement/supplier networks).

Vendor & Ecosystem Management

• Serve as the primary business owner of the relationship with Workday (account team, support, and partner/AMS resources).

• Manage third-party implementation or managed services partners, ensuring delivery quality and contract accountability.

• Track Workday product updates, new features, and community/Brainstorm ideas, and assess their relevance to the organization's roadmap.

Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure Workday configurations and integrations comply with SOX, payroll/tax regulations, labor law, and data privacy requirements across all supported geographies.

• Own change control and audit-readiness for the Workday tenant, including security role reviews and segregation-of-duties (SoD) controls.

• Partner with Internal Audit and Security teams on periodic control reviews and remediation.

Team Leadership

• Provide functional leadership (direct or matrixed) to module leads/analysts across Finance, HCM, Payroll, and Procurement.

• Set performance goals, mentor team members, and build organizational Workday expertise/capability.

• Foster a product mindset across the team - outcomes and business value over ticket-closing.

Position Type

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includesmedical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type:

Expected Hiring Range:

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.