HR Information Systems Product Owner - Payroll

About the role

Own & communicate product vision for Workday and other HR Tools in Payroll & Total Rewards and other HR functional areas to define, recommend, prioritize, and implement solutions aligning to strategic goals.

Work closely with stakeholders and internal technology partners and include industry best practices to architect technology solutions needed to drive alignment of business needs and lead discussions to arrive at mutually agreeable solution options and integrations.

Establish project management discipline and governance processes to support 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 and integrations.

Create and maintain product and release requirements backlog. Work with the global process owners to negotiate and prioritize enhancements rolled out to the organization as well as continue to monitor the security, efficiency and effectiveness of the Workday solution when compared to Kyndryl’s strategic vision for operations, risk, controls, and security profile.

Build and maintain a strong working relationship with Payroll and Time & Absence leadership and other business leaders. Align business priorities and make trade-off decisions across multiple collaborator concerns. Balance priorities between strategic new development against ongoing production support.

Proactively identify, resolve, or bring up issues, concerns, and impediments to get the project developed with efficiency and maximum effectiveness. Act as the conduit between Technology and business partners to keep the project moving. Provide final sign-off for projects.

Serve as an escalation resource for Tier 2 & 3 issues.

Responsibilities

• Own & communicate product vision for Workday and other HR Tools in Payroll & Total Rewards and other HR functional areas to define, recommend, prioritize, and implement solutions aligning to strategic goals.
• Work closely with stakeholders and internal technology partners and include industry best practices to architect technology solutions needed to drive alignment of business needs and lead discussions to arrive at mutually agreeable solution options and integrations.
• Establish project management discipline and governance processes to support 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 and integrations.
• Create and maintain product and release requirements backlog. Work with the global process owners to negotiate and prioritize enhancements rolled out to the organization as well as continue to monitor the security, efficiency and effectiveness of the Workday solution when compared to Kyndryl’s strategic vision for operations, risk, controls, and security profile.
• Build and maintain a strong working relationship with Payroll and Time & Absence leadership and other business leaders. Align business priorities and make trade-off decisions across multiple collaborator concerns. Balance priorities between strategic new development against ongoing production support.
• Proactively identify, resolve, or bring up issues, concerns, and impediments to get the project developed with efficiency and maximum effectiveness. Act as the conduit between Technology and business partners to keep the project moving. Provide final sign-off for projects.
• Serve as an escalation resource for Tier 2 & 3 issues.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of experience in payroll, compensation, time & absence, HR systems, or related business/technology roles (Product Owner, Business Analyst, Payroll/HR Systems Lead, or SME).
• Demonstrated understanding of global payroll ecosystems and how payroll integrates with compensation, time & absence, benefits, and compliance.
• Workday experience preferred, with solid knowledge of Core HR processes and end‑to‑end integration touchpoints.
• Experience with global payroll vendors and platforms (e.g., ADP Global View or similar).
• Proven ability to act as a Product Owner or functional lead, including roadmap planning and backlog prioritization.
• Skilled at driving alignment, influencing stakeholders, and facilitating complex cross‑functional discussions.
• Experience delivering technology initiatives across design, testing, and implementation phases.
• Comfortable making decisions, pushing back when needed, and escalating issues appropriately.
• Strong analytical mindset; asks “why” and grounds decisions in facts and business impact.
• Able to work independently while collaborating effectively across teams, regions, and levels.
• Organized, adaptable, and comfortable operating in a changing environment.
• Demonstrated leadership and ability to influence without authority.

Qualifications

• None specified

Skills

• Strong analytical mindset;
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively;
• Leadership and influence without authority;
• Project management;
• Communication and stakeholder management;
• Technical proficiency with Workday and other HR tools;
• Knowledge of global payroll ecosystems;
• Experience with global payroll vendors and platforms;
• Experience with project management and governance;
• Experience with product ownership and backlog management;
• Experience with technology initiatives;
• Experience with alignment and trade-off decision-making;
• Experience with issue identification, resolution, and escalation;
• Experience with building and maintaining strong relationships with business leaders;
• Experience with creating and maintaining product and release requirements backlogs;
• Experience with negotiating and prioritizing enhancements;
• Experience with monitoring and evaluating the security, efficiency, and effectiveness of HR solutions;
• Experience with balancing strategic new development against ongoing production support;
• Experience with proactively identifying and resolving issues, concerns, and impediments;
• Experience with acting as an escalation resource for Tier 2 & 3 issues;
• Experience with aligning business priorities and making trade-off decisions across multiple collaborator concerns;
• Experience with building and maintaining a strong working relationship with Payroll and Time & Absence leadership and other business leaders;
• Experience with providing final sign-off for projects;
• Experience with serving as a conduit between Technology and business partners to keep the project moving;
• Experience with establishing project management discipline and governance processes;
• Experience with creating and maintaining product and release requirements backlogs;
• Experience with negotiating and prioritizing enhancements rolled out to the organization;
• Experience with monitoring the security, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Workday solution;
• Experience with balancing strategic new development against ongoing production support;
• Experience with proactively identifying, resolving, or bringing up issues, concerns, and impediments to get the project developed with efficiency and maximum effectiveness;
• Experience with acting as an escalation resource for Tier 2 & 3 issues;
• Experience with aligning business priorities and making trade-off decisions across multiple collaborator concerns;
• Experience with building and maintaining a strong working relationship with Payroll and Time & Absence leadership and other business leaders;
• Experience with providing final sign-off for projects;
• Experience with serving as a conduit between Technology and business partners to keep the project moving;
• Experience with establishing project management discipline and governance processes;
• Experience with creating and maintaining product and release requirements backlogs;
• Experience with negotiating and prioritizing enhancements rolled out to the organization;
• Experience with monitoring the security, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Workday solution;
• Experience with balancing strategic new development against ongoing production support;
• Experience with proactively identifying, resolving, or bringing up issues, concerns, and impediments to get the project developed with efficiency and maximum effectiveness;
• Experience with acting as an escalation resource for Tier 2 & 3 issues;
• Experience with aligning business priorities and making trade-off decisions across multiple collaborator concerns;
• Experience with building and maintaining a strong working relationship with Payroll and Time & Absence leadership and other business leaders;
• Experience with providing final sign-off for projects;
• Experience with serving as a conduit between Technology and business partners to keep the project moving;
• Experience with establishing project management discipline and governance processes;
• Experience with creating and maintaining product and release requirements backlogs;
• Experience with negotiating and prioritizing enhancements rolled out to the organization;
• Experience with monitoring the security, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Workday solution;
• Experience with balancing strategic new development against ongoing production support;
• Experience with proactively identifying, resolving, or bringing up issues, concerns, and impediments to get the project developed with efficiency and maximum effectiveness;
• Experience with acting as an escalation resource for Tier 2 & 3 issues;
• Experience with aligning business priorities and making trade-off decisions across multiple collaborator concerns;
• Experience with building and maintaining a strong working relationship with Payroll and Time & Absence leadership and other business leaders;
• Experience with providing final sign-off for projects;
• Experience with serving as a conduit between Technology and business partners to keep the project moving;
• Experience with establishing project management discipline and governance processes;
• Experience with creating and maintaining product and release requirements backlogs;
• Experience with negotiating and prioritizing enhancements rolled out to the organization;
• Experience with monitoring the security, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Workday solution;
• Experience with balancing strategic new development against ongoing production support;
• Experience with proactively identifying, resolving, or bringing up issues, concerns, and impediments to get the project developed with efficiency and maximum effectiveness;
• Experience with acting as an escalation resource for Tier 2 & 3 issues;
• Experience with aligning business priorities and making trade-off decisions across multiple collaborator concerns;
• Experience with building and maintaining a strong working relationship with Payroll and Time & Absence leadership and other business leaders;
• Experience with providing final sign-off for projects;
• Experience with serving as a conduit between Technology and business partners to keep the project moving;
• Experience with establishing project management discipline and governance processes;
• Experience with creating and maintaining product and release requirements backlogs;
• Experience with negotiating and prioritizing enhancements rolled out to the organization;
• Experience with monitoring the security, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Workday solution;
• Experience with balancing strategic new development against ongoing production support;
• Experience with proactively identifying, resolving, or bringing up issues, concerns, and impediments to get the project developed with efficiency and maximum effectiveness;
• Experience with acting as an escalation resource for Tier 2 & 3 issues;
• Experience with aligning business priorities and making trade-off decisions across multiple collaborator concerns;
• Experience with building and maintaining a strong working relationship with Payroll and Time & Absence leadership and other business leaders;
• Experience with providing final sign-off for projects;
• Experience with serving as a conduit between Technology and business partners to keep the project moving;
• Experience with establishing project management discipline and governance processes;
• Experience with creating and maintaining product and release requirements backlogs;
• Experience with negotiating and prioritizing enhancements rolled out to the organization;
• Experience with monitoring the security, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Workday solution;
• Experience with balancing strategic new development against ongoing production support;
• Experience with proactively identifying, resolving, or bringing up issues, concerns, and impediments to get the project developed with efficiency and maximum effectiveness;
• Experience with acting as an escalation resource for Tier 2 & 3 issues;
• Experience with aligning business priorities and making trade-off decisions across multiple collaborator concerns;
• Experience with building and maintaining a strong working relationship with Payroll and Time & Absence leadership and other business leaders;