Trident Consulting is seeking a “Transformation Program Manager (Workday WFM and Dayforce)” for one of our clients in “San Francisco, CA (Remote)” — a global leader in technology.
Job Title: Transformation Program Manager (Workday WFM and Dayforce)
Location: San Francisco, CA (Remote)
Type: W2Contract
Salary: $95-98/Hr
Required Experience: Workday WFM, Dayforce payroll experience
We're seeking an experienced Program Manager to drive high-impact, high-value People Tech initiatives that propel us forward. The ideal candidate will partner cross-functionally with People business leaders and People technology delivery teams, serving as the critical connection point that ensures our organization moves with unified purpose and measurable impact.
Requirements/Responsibilities (through Program Close Out):
Program Plan & Schedule:
- Develop and maintain an integrated program plan, based on business requirements, for each program, covering phases, milestones, dependencies, and key decision gates from kickoff through go-live. Includes, but is not limited to: a documented scope baseline, a formal change control process for any additions or modifications, obtaining formal sign-off before advancing from one phase to the next, and communication of any go-live date changes to leadership
Risk & Issue Log (RAID):
- Maintain a RAID log (Risks, Actions, Issues, Decisions) for each program, updated weekly. Includes, but is not limited to: escalation of any item that threatens go-live dates or integration readiness within one business day of identification, and documentation of all decisions with date, owner, and outcome.
Vendor Management:
- Serve as the client-side coordination point, in partnership with executive sponsors, with all implementation vendors. Includes, but is not limited to: monitoring vendor delivery against contracted SOW commitments, tracking spend against budget, flagging overages, escalating gaps in scope, timeline, or quality, and routing any contract modifications such as change orders or SOW amendments
Integration Management:
- Own the integration inventory and track each integration through its full lifecycle for each program. Includes, but is not limited to: maintaining a complete inventory of all required integrations, tracking each through design, build, system integration testing (SIT), and production validation, and ensuring no integration gaps exist at cutover. Technical integration design, build, remediation, and production support remain the responsibility of technical teams and implementation vendors
Testing Coordination:
- Ensure all testing phases are planned, resourced, and executed on schedule for each program. Includes, but is not limited to: Unit Testing, System Integration Testing (SIT), End-to-End Testing (E2E), parallel run (where applicable, including Dayforce U.S. payroll), and UAT. Track defects to resolution and maintain a testing status summary.
Cutover Plan & Go-Live Execution:
- Produce a cutover runbook for each program and facilitate the side go-live execution. Includes, but is not limited to: sequenced cutover activities, go/no-go checkpoint with named approvers, rollback criteria, and real-time issue escalation during cutover. Technical cutover and system migration are the responsibility of the implementation vendor.
Post Go-Live Stabilization & Hypercare:
- Monitor and support each program through the agreed upon stabilization period following go-live. Includes, but is not limited to: tracking and resolving post-launch issues to closure, maintaining a daily hypercare status update during the stabilization window, coordinating vendor support for any system or integration issues identified in production, and confirming operational readiness with business owners before hypercare is formally closed.
Stakeholder Reporting & Executive Steering:
- Maintain consistent communication and governance cadence across all programs. Includes, but is not limited to: weekly status updates (Progress / Plans / Problems) covering RAG status, milestone progress, top risks, and pending decisions; facilitation of an Executive Steering Committee (as needed) for each program where leadership decisions, escalations, and go/no-go approvals are made; and distribution of meeting notes and action items within one business day of each session.
Transition Documentation:
- Maintain living documentation that enables seamless handoff at any point in the engagement. Includes, but is not limited to: current program status per program, open RAID items with owners and next steps, vendor and SOW positions, pending decisions, key contact map, and recommended next steps for a successor.
Responsibilities:
- Lead end-to-end program delivery for complex, multi-year initiatives people technology transformations (Workday, Greenhouse, Jira, Zendesk, Confluence)
- Execute strategic planning sessions and cross-functional prioritization with Corporate Engineering, IT, Privacy and Security leadership teams to align program roadmaps with business objectives
- Manage program governance through biweekly and monthly strategic initiative reviews, risk assessments, and executive reporting that drives accountability and informed decision-making
- Orchestrate cross-functional program teams spanning engineering, IT operations, security, privacy, compliance, and People stakeholders to ensure seamless program delivery
- Drive enterprise technology lifecycle management including vendor selection, contract negotiations, system integrations, and sunset/migration planning
- Execute operational excellence initiatives such as infrastructure optimization, business process automation, disaster recovery planning, and performance monitoring implementations
- Proactively manage program risks and dependencies, implementing course corrections and stakeholder communications to keep initiatives on track
- Partner with finance and strategy teams to manage program budgets, track ROI, and optimize resource allocation across the technology portfolio
Experience:
- 8+ years executing complex transformation programs in operations consulting, strategy, or enterprise technology
- 6+ years leading enterprise technology program delivery including HCM platforms (Workday, Greenhouse)
- Proven track record executing full-cycle transformations from business case development through implementation, change management, and operational handoff
- Experience leading privacy and security programs such as GDPR/CCPA compliance, security framework implementations, identity management systems, or data governance initiatives
- Strong executive communication skills with ability to manage up to C-level stakeholders and translate complex technical and regulatory requirements into business impact
- Demonstrated experience managing technology vendors, complex procurement processes, and success managing technology budgets exceeding $1M annually
- Track record coordinating cross-functional teams across IT, Engineering, Security, Privacy, Compliance, Finance, HR, and business operations
- Strong business acumen with the ability to identify strategic needs, lead all aspects of planning with sound business recommendations, and generate alignment with key business partners
- Forward-thinking strategist with proven success in translating strategy to tactical plans with high-quality execution and delivery.
- Champion AI and automation initiatives across the enterprise, identifying opportunities to leverage generative AI for process optimization and implementing solutions and a commitment to continuous improvement and pursuit of excellence.
- An empathetic leader style and a strong sense of self-awareness
About Trident Consulting
Trident Consulting is an award-winning staffing and consulting firm headquartered in San Ramon, CA. Since 2005, we’ve partnered with Fortune 500 and high-growth companies to deliver high-quality talent across technology, engineering, business operations, and professional services.
We specialize in contract, contract-to-hire, and direct hire placements, supporting roles across IT, data & analytics, cloud, cybersecurity, finance & accounting, HR, operations, and more. With a strong focus on hard-to-fill and niche positions, our global recruiting engine enables us to deliver speed, quality, and scale.
