Associate Director, Workday Operations

Workday Operations leader responsible for end-to-end ownership, quality, and governance of foundational Workday data, and for designing and leading a scalable, tiered Workday support model. Partners with HR, Payroll, Benefits, Finance, IT, and Analytics to manage organizational data changes, resolve data issues, and establish durable data standards.

Key Responsibilities
- Workday Data Ownership & Governance
- Own design, structure, and ongoing integrity of foundational Workday data (supervisory organizations, companies/legal entities, positions, jobs, cost centers, locations, and related attributes).
- Define and enforce data governance standards, policies, and approval workflows.
- Primary point of contact for Workday data usage, standards interpretation, and governance decisions.
- Tiered Support Model Design & Operational Governance
- Design and implement a tiered Workday support model (Tier 1/2/3) with clear scope, ownership, escalation paths, and service expectations.
- Categorize Workday work by complexity, risk, and expertise required.
- Define intake, triage, and escalation processes for requests, incidents, and data issues.
- Create standards and playbooks to enable lower-tier resolution and reduce repeat defects.
- Monitor trends and root causes; recommend improvements and refine the support model.
- Data Maintenance & BAU Support
- Lead BAU data support across Workday modules (mass data loads, recurring maintenance, year-end activities, urgent corrections).
- Manage and execute EIBs, data loads, and data updates (accuracy, auditability, minimal disruption).
- Provide expert support to HR and HRIS teams for data questions and troubleshooting.
- Data Quality, Audits & Controls
- Establish data quality metrics, validation routines, and monitoring controls.
- Perform regular data audits; drive corrective and preventive actions.
- Support internal/external audits with strong documentation, traceability, and compliance.

Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years relevant experience; OR
- Master’s degree and 8+ years relevant experience; OR
- PhD and 5+ years relevant experience.
- Location: <50 miles from Foster City office = Onsite (Hybrid eligible); 50+ miles = Remote.

Preferred Qualifications
- 10+ years in Workday HRIS, data management, or data governance with ownership of foundational data domains.
- Hands-on experience with Workday Core HCM data structures (supervisory orgs, positions, jobs, cost centers, companies, locations).
- Experience with mass data loads (EIBs), data audits, and remediation in production Workday.
- Understanding of upstream data impacts (payroll, integrations, security, reporting).
- Experience defining/enforcing governance frameworks, controls, and approval processes.
- Strong analytical/problem-solving/root-cause analysis; excellent communication to non-technical stakeholders.
- Experience supporting Workday in large/global/regulated environments.
- Experience designing/operating tiered application support models (Workday preferred).

Benefits (explicitly stated)
- Discretionary bonus and stock-based long-term incentives; paid time off.
- Company-sponsored medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans.

Application Instructions
- For current Gilead employees and contractors: Apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.