Senior Manager, Workday HCM

The role:

We’re looking for a Senior Manager, Workday HCM to lead the execution and continuous improvement of our Workday HCM platform. This role is responsible for delivering against the Workday roadmap, driving operational excellence, and ensuring the platform effectively supports business needs at scale.

At SoFi, Workday is a shared enterprise platform across HR and Finance, making this a highly cross-functional role. We’ve deployed a broad footprint across HCM (core HR, onboarding, performance, advanced compensation, benefits) as well as Finance (financials, payroll, time tracking, time off, and expenses). You’ll partner closely with IT, Finance, and People teams to drive aligned, scalable solutions across this ecosystem, balancing the needs of multiple functions on a shared platform.

This is a hands-on leadership role—you’ll drive priorities, while staying close enough to the platform and team to actively guide execution, unblock work, and ensure high-quality delivery with a strong focus on creating simple, intuitive experiences for employees and managers.

You’ll lead the Workday team and partner directly with senior HR and business leaders as a thought partner—bringing a deep understanding of HR functions, shaping solutions, and proactively identifying how technology can better support the business.

What you’ll do:

Roadmap Execution & Platform Evolution

• Contribute to and help shape the Workday HCM roadmap in partnership with senior leadership
• Drive prioritization and execution of roadmap initiatives, balancing enhancements, technical debt, compliance, and innovation
• Evaluate Workday releases, vendor roadmap, and industry trends to proactively evolve our platform
• Support system enhancements and continuous improvement efforts to ensure scalability and usability

Stakeholder Partnership & Influence

• Partner with HR, Finance, and IT stakeholders to translate business needs into effective system solutions
• Provide recommendations and influence decisions across stakeholders, navigating competing priorities
• Build strong, trusted relationships through consistent communication, transparency, and delivery
• Partner closely with HR and business leaders, understanding their functional priorities and proactively recommending how Workday can enable better outcomes
• Serve as a key point of contact for Workday HCM, ensuring stakeholders have clear visibility, alignment, and confidence in delivery

Delivery & Operations

• Own end-to-end delivery of Workday initiatives across HCM modules, including core HR, talent, compensation, benefits, and integrations
• Drive solutions that prioritize employee and manager experience—focusing on simplicity, usability, and clear design over complexity
• Lead backlog management, intake, and prioritization processes to ensure aligned and efficient delivery
• Ensure strong operational rigor across system performance, data integrity, security, and compliance
• Establish and maintain governance, release management, and change control processes
• Identify risks and dependencies early and drive resolution to ensure successful delivery
• Support audit and compliance activities, ensuring readiness and adherence to requirements
• Drive change management and adoption efforts to support successful rollout of new capabilities
• Provide clear reporting on roadmap, delivery progress, risks, and outcomes

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop a high-performing Workday team, fostering strong ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Provide coaching, performance management, and career development for team members
• Create a collaborative, inclusive team environment aligned with SoFi’s values
• Ensure the team is structured and prioritized effectively to meet business needs

What You'll Bring:

Workday & Technical Expertise

• Strong, hands-on expertise across Workday HCM 
• Experience operating at both functional and technical levels, including guiding configuration and solution design
• Experience supporting Workday releases, enhancements, and ongoing platform optimization

Product, Delivery & Leadership Experience

• Proven track record of driving execution and delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives
• Experience managing and prioritizing a backlog tied to business outcomes
• Ability to influence and align senior stakeholders across HR, Finance, and IT, including navigating competing priorities
• Strong product mindset with a focus on outcomes, not just delivery

Leadership Style & Operating Mindset

• High standards for quality, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability
• You bring a point of view, combining deep functional knowledge with Workday expertise to challenge assumptions and steer toward better solutions—not just execute on requests
• Strong executive presence, with the ability to confidently lead discussions, influence decisions, and clearly articulate recommendations and trade-offs
• Comfortable operating across levels—from understanding strategic context to diving into details when needed to move work forward

What You'll Need:

• 7-10+ years of experience with Workday HCM, including hands-on configuration across core modules
• 3-5+ years of people leadership experience, including leading high-performing, techno-functional teams
• Experience supporting multiple Workday modules (e.g., Core HCM, Compensation, Benefits, Talent) in a complex environment
• Proven experience operating in a cross-functional, enterprise environment, partnering across HR, Finance, and IT
• Experience leading or supporting large-scale implementations, enhancements, or platform transformations
• Strong understanding of HR processes and systems, with the ability to connect business needs to system capabilities
• Experience supporting SOX, audit, or regulated environments
• Experience influencing senior-level stakeholders