HRIS Manager (Workday) FTC

Frontier Economics is an economics consultancy that tackles the big questions facing governments, businesses and society. We help our clients to analyse and understand their markets and to formulate strategies based on sound economics. The methods and models we use are often complex, but our advice is always succinct, clear and honest.

The company has grown rapidly since it was founded almost 27 years ago and currently has around 500 staff working across nine European offices (Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Cologne, Dublin, London, Madrid, Paris and Prague). The company is employee-owned and has a strong culture of openness and employee engagement.

The People Team works closely with leaders and colleagues across the business, covering areas including Recruitment and Onboarding, HR Business Partnership, Learning and Development, Reward and People Operations.

London 18-24 month fixed-term contract Potential permanent opportunity

The Role:

We are looking for an experienced HRIS Manager (Workday) to take functional ownership of Workday across the People Team and help us get much more value from the platform.

This is an opportunity to combine hands-on Workday expertise with process improvement, project delivery and systems thinking. You will shape our Workday roadmap, improve how the system works for our teams, simplify People processes, strengthen data and reporting, and make better use of functionality we already have.

You will work closely with colleagues across People, IT and Finance, as well as external specialists, acting as Frontier’s main functional point of contact for Workday. The role will also help build capability within the wider People Team and create a more sustainable approach to managing our People systems.

This position is offered as an 18-24 month fixed-term contract, with the potential to become permanent depending on the future People systems operating model.

Key Responsibilities:

Workday Ownership and Roadmap:

• Take functional ownership of Workday and develop a clear, prioritised roadmap aligned with our People strategy.

• Assess how we use Workday today and identify opportunities to improve configuration, processes and functionality.

• Evaluate new Workday functionality and build clear business cases for future changes and investment.

Configuration and Process Improvement:

• Configure and improve Workday business processes, workflows, fields, notifications and related functionality.

• Simplify and standardise People processes, reducing manual workarounds, duplication and unnecessary use of spreadsheets or other systems.

• Identify recurring issues and address root causes rather than relying on temporary fixes.

Project and Change Management:

• Lead Workday improvement projects from requirements and design through to configuration, testing and implementation.

• Manage plans, milestones, stakeholders, testing and change control, keeping progress, risks and decisions clear.

People Data, Reporting and Integrations:

• Improve the quality, governance and reporting of People data, helping colleagues access reliable information with less manual intervention.

• Work with IT, Finance, payroll providers and other partners to improve integrations and data flows across our People systems.

Supplier Management and User Experience:

• Manage relationships with Workday and external consultants, ensuring support is focused, well managed and delivers value.

• Improve the experience of employees, managers and People Team users through better guidance, training and processes.

• Build internal capability so the wider People Team can operate Workday effectively and confidently.

Governance, Security and Compliance:

• Maintain appropriate governance over People systems, including security roles, permissions, documentation and audit trails.

• Support compliance with data protection and information security requirements.

What we are looking for:

You’ll have strong practical Workday HCM experience and be comfortable moving between detailed system configuration and wider business needs.

You will also be supported to use generative AI where it can improve processes, communication and access to information, while applying your own judgement and reviewing outputs carefully.

• Experience configuring and improving Workday business processes and functionality.

• Good knowledge of core HR…