Project Director (Workday HCM) at World Food… · Rome

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS 1 November 2026-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of extreme weather shocks.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

JOB TITLE: Project Director (Workday HCM)

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Regular CST

UNIT/DIVISION: HRMOI/HRM

DUTY STATION (City, Country): HQ Rome, Italy

DURATION: Until 31 March 2027

BACKGROUND:

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

HR Technology and Analytics Branch (HRMOI) is responsible for the development and implementation of the HR Technology strategy and Roadmap that enables efficient and effective HR business processes and activities while ensuring compliance with HR Policies and legislative requirements.

Our technology strategy priorities are to create value for the Organization through provision of trusted workforce data and analytics for smarter people management decisions, reduced administrative burden for our employees through automation and self-services, and making life at work better through awesome employee experience.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

To support these priorities, WFP has selected the Workday Human Capital Management Platform, and is now looking for an exceptional Project Director with extensive Workday HCM implementation experience to lead the implementation. The current focus will be very much on completing system integrations.

The Project Director is to provide overall global leadership and support to WFP for the successful implementation of the Workday HCM solution.

The Project Director’s role is a hands-on, technically inclined, subject matter expert role, leading a cross-functional team to understand the business needs, gather requirements, and lead the overall project from design to production.

This role will work closely with HR, TEC and cross-functional partners to develop and execute features that will drive satisfaction and product adoption.

Successful candidates will have the ability to proactively seek ways to simplify user needs by translating business requirements into functional design to meet the needs.

In this role, you will manage the implementation of the Workday HCM platform and its integrations with internal and external systems, design end-state and assess implementation feasibilities for feature requests and initiatives.

You will leverage your knowledge of Workday HCM and expertise in HR business processes to work with WFP’s business process owners and Corporate IT technical resources to successfully implement this transformational initiative, identify and document detailed requirements, architect solutions, design and drive completion making sure overall

usability of the system and its downstream dependencies are optimized.

This position requires a strong knowledge of Workday HCM configuration, understanding of all solution components, and how they inter-operate to support global business processes. The Project Director position also requires a strong project management skills.

This position reports to the HR Director and her/his designated official. The role supports the Chief HR Technology and Analytics who is a technology and strategy partner to HR leadership, and also a bridge between HR and Information Technology (TEC) function.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Accountable for successful implementation of the Workday HCM platform globally while enabling WFP's Strategic Plan and HR strategy.

Combine her/his HR business and HR technology expertise to drive the optimization of Workday HCM to WFP’s needs.

Analyze Workday HCM capabilities to produce information to maximize and sustain workforce productivity and effectively deliver HR support to the global organization.

Align with the strategic initiatives that drive the achievement of WFP’s Strategic Plan and HR Strategy.

Drive the vital alignment between HR, Workday, TEC, Finance and Budget leadership, and other WFP stakeholders to influence, optimize, and incorporate capabilities provided by the Workday HCM.

Drive consensus and provide direction while delivering technology solutions to tackle global business challenges.

Provide Workday solutions thought leadership and best practices to WFP’s project team, subject matter experts and leadership.

Lead all aspects of project implementation through its completion, with a particular focus on finalizing system integrations.

Working closely with the Project Manager, develop a robust implementation plan and advise the teams on how to best leverage Workday to the fullest.

Champion appropriate trade-offs and ensure clear accountability, targets, timelines and work for the project.

Proactively validate the status of our project implementation, identify risks or issues, define suitable mitigation plans, and provide clear and decisive action with strong stakeholder management and communication skills.

Manage relationship with Workday.

Ensure the security and integrity of Workday HCM with WFP Global IT Security and HR Compliance practices.

Working closely with the Project Manager, provide Workday functional / integrations expertise to support client-side decisions and deliverables as per the project SOW and Charter developed by WFP and Workday.

Provide just in time insights and status reporting for leadership’s awareness of success and/or risks to project for their input and support as required.

Manage internal executive stakeholders (i.e. HRM, IT, Finance…) to ensure commitment around service and delivery per agreed upon schedule.

Work closely with key stakeholders from the business to drive prioritization of feature requests and initiatives in Workday and integrating systems, reporting tools.

Work closely with stakeholders from the business and Corporate IT technical resources to architect technology solutions needed to drive alignment of business needs and lead discussions to arrive at mutually agreeable solution options.

Manage initiatives end to end from project planning through testing to delivery to ensure a successful end-user experience for all new deployments and on-going maintenance of Workday HCM and integrations.

Have an in-depth understanding of system functionality and integrations from a business purpose and impact perspective.

Maintain system level standardization and industry best practices when architecting solutions.

Lead the relationship with both the software vendor and any professional services engagements.

Work with Corporate Systems technology leads and business stakeholders on Workday roadmap. Influence Workday Roadmap by exchanging regularly with Workday Product Managers and by submitting brainstorming on Workday Community.

Execute the tasks as defined in the project plan in order to achieve the project goals.

Ensure delivery of project level documentation (i.e. project charter, KPIs, guiding principles, status reports, RAID logs, project plans, etc.).

Ensure project outlined in the SOW is delivered on-time, on-budget.

Manage resource allocation proactively by ensuring that appropriate resources and tools are assigned according to the project plan.

Measure project performance using appropriate tools and techniques to monitor the progress of the project, identify and quantify variances, perform required corrective actions, and communicate to all stakeholders.

Manage changes to the project scope, schedule, and costs using appropriate verification techniques to keep the project plan accurate, updated, and reflective of authorized changes as defined in the change management plan; facilitate customer acceptance.

Identify, track issues and risks, assignment of owners and due dates for resolution, communicate status and escalate concerns that could impact project scope and/or time frames.

Present the regular updates to the senior management at the project governance meetings.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

University’s degree in Computer Science, Business, Human Resources -related discipline, or related field of study.

Experience:

10+ years of industry experience configuring HR technology solutions and leading teams.

7+ years of hands-on experience leading Workday Human Capital

Management implementation as Senior Project Manager.

7+ years of senior managerial experience in implementing HR programs

Workday Pro or Workday Consultant certification a plus.

Experience integrating Workday with other systems especially SAP.

Experience with managing project portfolios.

Experience enabling business users to drive utilization of cloud platforms.

Experience developing, managing, and coaching teams and driving

process and business transformation.

Experience with solution design, system configuration and implementation

of changes within Workday.

Experience translating business requirements into technical solutions

within Workday.

Experience integrating Workday with other employee productivity and

business platforms.

Project Management experience with focus on design, facilitating

development, testing and delivery.

Knowledge & Skills:

Subject matter expertise in the following Workday products areas desired:

HCM, Recruiting, Talent, Absence, Benefits, Advanced Compensation,

Integrations, Reporting and analytics.

Advanced knowledge of Workday business process and security

functionality, and configurations across all modules of HR.

Existing and up to date Workday Partner Certification in HCM.

In-depth understanding of key HR concepts and processes.

Strong understanding of general HR and system processes, procedures,

controls, regulations, and compliance requirements.

Familiar with data privacy and other regulatory requirements.

Demonstrable ability to work in a global setting and work collaboratively

across geographies to ensure execution is seamless and timelines/deliverables are met.

Well-developed leadership and project management capabilities with

demonstrated success completing multiple cross-functional, crossbusiness, and cross-cultural projects.

Proven ability to effectively manage time and prioritize projects in order

to meet established deadlines;

Ability to facilitate complex discussions.

Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.

Effective interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate and team with

others.

Languages:

Fluency in oral and written English with an intermediate knowledge of

another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and

Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages).

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: global.inclusion@wfp.org

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.
• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at http://global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.
• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.