Director, People Platforms (HRIS)

The Director, People Platforms is the strategic and hands on lead for HR systems in partnership with the Technology (TnT) team, serving as the organization’s subject matter expert for Workday and ADP Workforce Now (WFN) and other People Platforms. This role is responsible for the day-to-day administration, optimization, and long-term roadmap of HR technology without the support of a dedicated HRIS IT function.  

The Director, People Platforms will lead system design and governance, build and maintain integrations and file feeds, manage system security and access, and translate business needs into scalable, org‑wide solutions. The role requires technical proficiency, strong process orientation, and the ability to partner effectively with HR, Payroll, Finance, IT, and external vendors.  

This role operates as a senior individual contributor with functional leadership responsibility for HRIS work delivered through People Operations support. Experience enhancing and optimizing Workday within an internal HR or People function is strongly preferred for this role, including partnering with HR teams and end users to drive platform adoption, continuous improvement, and operational excellence. 

This is a hybrid role requiring regular in-person engagement. Applicants must live within a reasonable commutable distance to a Year Up United location in the Eastern or Central time zone.  

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

HR Systems Strategy & Partnership  

• Serve as the primary People Operations partner to Technology (TnT) for Workday (core HCM and functional modules as applicable) and ADP Workforce Now, ensuring system stability, data integrity, and alignment with organizational needs.   

• Partner with TnT To align HR systems architecture, integrations and technical standards with enterprise technology strategy.   

• Develop and maintain the HRIS roadmap in collaboration with TnT, balancing immediate operational needs with long‑term scalability and process improvement.   

• Translate People, Payroll, Finance and Compliance requirements into system design and configuration in partnership with TnT.  

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Workday Administration & Functional Expertise  

• Configure, maintain, and enhance Workday business processes, including end-to-end org-wide process flows (e.g. hire-to-retire, job changes, terminations).   

• Build and maintain calculated fields, condition rules, validation logic, and reporting frameworks.  

• Define security groups and Partner with TnT for ongoing security administration.  

• Lead Workday testing cycles, releases, and production deployments.   

Integrations, File Management & Data Flow  

• Design and define workforce integrations for HRIS systems.  

• Partners with vendors to design, test, and deploy new integrations as organizational needs evolve.   

• Ensure data accuracy, timeliness, and reconciliation across systems.  

• Collaborate with TnT on integration design, architecture decisions, and troubleshooting to ensure secure and reliable data exchange across systems.   

Payroll & Time System Partnership  

• Serve as key Workday partner to ADP WFN, supporting data flow, payroll readiness, audits, and issue resolution.  

• Collaborate with Payroll and Finance teams on system controls, reporting, and reconciliations.   

Vendor & Partner Management  

• Serve as the primary People Operations Team lead in managing relationships with HRIS-related vendors, in coordination with TnT and Procurement.   

• Serve as the primary point of contact for vendor issue resolution, integrations, upgrades, and enhancement requests.   

• Lead vendor governance activities such as service reviews, testing coordination, and roadmap alignment.   

• Partner with Procurement and Finance, as applicable, to support contract renewals, service quality, and cost optimization.   

Functional Leadership & Enablement  

• Provide functional leadership and day-to-day work direction to the People Operations Analyst in support of HRIS administration, testing, data quality, and reporting.   

• Prioritize, assign, review and provide technical guidance on HRIS related work to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and adherence to system standards.   

• Act as the escalation point and technical authority for HR systems questions within People Operations.  

• Build HRIS capacity within the People Operations team through documentation, training, and knowledge transfer.   

Data Governance, Reporting & Compliance  

• Establish HR data governance standards, documentation, and operating procedures.  

• Build and maintain dashboards, standard reports, and ad-hoc analytics to support decision making.  

• Support audits, compliance requirements, and risk mitigation related to people systems and data access.  

Learning Community Member  

• Serve as a mentor and coach for a small number of current students.  

• Participate in weekly group sessions and learning community activities.  

• Engage in staff meetings and professional development.  

QUALIFICATIONS: 

• 7+ years of progressive HRIS with deep, hands-on Workday expertise in a complex organization.   

• Demonstrated proficiency with ADP Workforce Now, particularly payroll-related integrations and data management.   

• Advanced experience designing and supporting integrations, file feeds, and data exchanges across HR platforms.  

• Proven ability to independently administer HR systems without dedicated IT support.   

• Strong experience managing Workday security groups, roles, and access controls.  

• Expertise in end-to-end business process design and documentation.  

• Willingness to embrace, understand and upskill Artificial Intelligence.   

• Excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to translate business needs into technical solutions.  

• Experience enhancing and optimizing Workday within an internal HR or People function is strongly preferred, including partnering with HR teams and end users to drive platform adoption, continuous improvement, and operational excellence. 

• Passion for working with young adults and commitment to the mission and values of Year Up United  

• Understanding of the Opportunity Divide and its drivers. We define the Opportunity Divide as the gap between companies seeking skilled talent, and young adults who lack access to the skills, experiences, and support to break through barriers and achieve their full potential in their careers.