Workday Account Lead in Cheltenham

HR Path is a global player in HR Consulting. We provide professional advice and support to organisations for whom human capital is essential in their HR transformation process. Having a footprint in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, we are able to offer global support in the development and execution of our customer’s HR strategy.

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Workday Account Lead to take ownership of a mature, high-profile client engagement that has been established over the past five years. The role is responsible for leading a team of 13 consultants, overseeing delivery across multiple workstreams, and acting as the primary interface between the client and delivery team. This is a demanding, high-visibility role requiring strong leadership, stakeholder management, and deep Workday expertise. The successful candidate will inherit well-established relationships across the client organisation and will be expected to maintain and further develop these while ensuring consistently high delivery standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of ~13 consultants with varying levels of experience, autonomy, and specialism.
• Own overall delivery quality, ensuring adherence to SDLC processes, governance, and documentation standards.
• Manage team capacity and workload allocation based on both availability and individual skillsets.
• Propose enhancements on Workday that enable the client to get productivity gains.
• Act as the primary escalation point for both client and internal stakeholders.
• Build, maintain, and leverage strong relationships across the client organisation, including senior leadership.
• Navigate a high-pressure client environment, responding effectively to real-time challenges and scrutiny.
• Work closely with global stakeholders, adapting communication and delivery styles to regional differences.
• Maintain oversight of delivery metrics, reporting on performance, risks, and progress.
• Ensure all work is appropriately governed, approved, and aligned with agreed processes.
• Drive continuous improvement and identify strategic opportunities aligned to the client’s future roadmap.
• Mentor and develop less experienced consultants, while maintaining engagement and discipline among senior team members.
• Facilitate clear, structured communication across stakeholders with differing priorities and motivations.
• Lead or support client meetings, including presenting updates, handling challenges, and managing expectations.
• Collaborate closely with the Quality Assurance Manager to ensure alignment on quality standards, delivery approach, and risk mitigation across all Workday engagements with the client.

Required Experience & Skills

• Leadership & Delivery

• Proven experience managing medium-to-large delivery teams (10+ consultants).
• Strong capability in workload planning, capacity management, and resource optimisation.
• Demonstrated ability in project management methodologies to drive scope, schedule, and budget adherence across the account.
• Experience operating in high-pressure environments with demanding stakeholders.
• Ability to enforce process discipline across teams of mixed seniority.

• Demonstrated experience working with senior leadership and navigating complex stakeholder environments.
• Strong stakeholder mapping and communication management skills.
• Ability to build rapport quickly and maintain long-term, trust-based relationships.
• Comfortable being challenged in live settings and responding with clarity and composure.

• Strong hands-on experience in Core HCM, Security, Reporting.
• Experience with Document Generation functionality preferred.
• Solid understanding of Workday configuration and deployment best practices.

• Highly process-oriented with strong attention to detail.
• Experience ensuring compliance with governance, approvals, and SDLC frameworks.
• Strong analytical mindset with experience tracking and reporting on delivery metrics.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet tight deadlines.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong presentation skills, with the ability to engage senior stakeholders.
• Confident, composed, and able to think on the spot.
• Comfortable acknowledging knowledge gaps transparently while maintaining credibility.

• Proven ability to mentor and develop junior team members.
• Able to influence and guide senior consultants to align with structured delivery approaches.

Success Profile

The ideal candidate will be:

• A strategic thinker who can balance immediate delivery needs with longer-term client objectives.
• A calm, credible presence in high-pressure situations.
• Highly organised and detail-oriented, without losing sight of the bigger picture.
• A strong relationship builder who can operate effectively across all levels of an organisation.
• Resilient, adaptable, and comfortable operating in a demanding client environment.

Additional Context

This role operates within a fast-paced and performance-driven client environment where expectations are high and scrutiny is frequent. Success in this role requires not only technical and delivery excellence, but also confidence, resilience, and the ability to respond effectively in real time.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A highly stimulating and fulfilling work environment with international development.
• Rapid career growth with numerous opportunities for development (horizontal & vertical): international mobility, training, and certification.
• A good work-life balance with telecommuting possibilities.
• Investment in the development of our employees; quarterly team events, annual seminar etc.
• We are Happy at Work certified and continue to listen to our employees. If you value a culture that respects diversity, individual courage, integrity, excellence and encourages team collaboration, HR Path is the place for you.

See you soon at HR Path!