Director of Strategic Initiatives - (US Federal)

Workday • Pleasanton, CA

21h • $175,000 - $310,900 • Hybrid

About The Position

Workday’s General Manager for Government is seeking an experienced Director of Strategic Initiatives to drive critical initiatives, ensure operational excellence, and strengthen communication within Workday and with its Federal customers. The role supports one or more direct or indirect contracts with the U.S. Federal Government. Because of federal security requirements, all Workday personnel working on those contracts must be United States citizens, naturalized or native.

The Director defines and communicates the strategic direction of Workday’s Federal government initiatives, serves as a customer advocate, and coordinates commitments, risks, and dependencies across Workday teams and customers. The role partners with Engineering and Technical Product leadership to incorporate Federal compliance, security, and mission needs into technical roadmaps and architecture decisions.

The position also owns planning and visibility across Federal strategic initiatives, including budget planning and tracking, investment prioritization, execution milestones, and reporting to the General Manager and senior leadership. It supports product lifecycle governance for Federal capabilities, partner alignment, customer advisory councils, analyst relations, and internal and external communications. The Director builds relationships across Workday’s business and technology organizations to align teams around shared objectives.

Workday uses a flexible work approach combining in-person time and remote work. Employees spend at least half of their time each quarter in an office or in the field with customers, prospects, and partners, depending on role. Remote home-office employees may also come together in offices for important moments.

Requirements

• 10+ years of proven success in a strategic, operational, or enablement capacity.
• Experience with large-scale cloud SaaS product, engineering, compliance, and platform teams.
• Deep understanding of product lifecycle, security, and infrastructure platforms.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with customers, Customer Success, Implementation teams, and external partners to manage delivery commitments and resolve cross-functional issues.
• Proven ability to bring products to market on time with high customer satisfaction.
• Experience owning or supporting budget planning and financial tracking for a business unit, program, or initiative portfolio.
• Track record of building strong, cohesive matrixed teams as a thoughtful people leader.
• Strong cross-functional leadership skills, including the ability to listen and partner across organizations to align teams around Government product roadmaps.
• Experience partnering with Engineering and Technical Product organizations on product lifecycle management and portfolio prioritization.
• Must be a United States citizen, naturalized or native, if working on the supported U.S. Federal Government contracts.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with product lifecycle management and portfolio prioritization in a regulated or Federal/Government context.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate with Workday Parent, customers, Customer Success, and Implementation teams to make Federal-specific commitments, risks, and dependencies visible and well-managed throughout the customer lifecycle.
• Partner with Engineering and Technical Product leadership to incorporate Federal compliance, security, and mission requirements into technical roadmap and architecture decisions.
• Define and communicate the strategic direction of Workday’s Government industry initiatives for Federal.
• Represent customer needs within Workday product organizations and engage customers to help shape future growth priorities.
• Partner with Federal Product & Compliance and Industry Strategy teams as a Federal subject-matter authority; support sales, plan and operate Federal industry-specific customer advisory councils, and support analyst relations.
• Own budget planning and tracking for Federal strategic initiatives, including building the annual budget with Finance and the General Manager, monitoring spending, and reallocating resources as priorities change.
• Advise on and co-define Federal growth initiatives through strategic planning forums and financial reviews.
• Develop alternate strategic options for the Federal team in response to changing market dynamics.
• Support Product Lifecycle governance for Federal-specific capabilities from intake and prioritization through general availability and sunset, embedding compliance, security, and customer requirements at each stage.
• Partner with Workday’s Partner organization to align Federal systems integrators, resellers, and implementation partners on strategy, enablement, and delivery expectations.
• Own portfolio-level visibility across Federal strategic initiatives by prioritizing investments, tracking milestones, and reporting status and risk to the General Manager and senior leadership.
• Coordinate and run meetings across the Federal Industry vertical, including staff meetings, stand-ups, leadership offsites, and town halls.
• Establish and own the internal communications strategy for the Product team and Government vertical across Workday and with external partners.
• Build and nurture relationships with senior leaders across Engineering, Technical Product Management, Product & Technology, Product Delivery, Customer Experience, Marketing, and Sales to align on shared business objectives.
• Deliver results on schedule with a strong focus on customer satisfaction; communicate effectively, inspire teams around a shared vision, and build collaborative matrixed teams.

Benefits

• May be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus.
• May be eligible for annual refresh stock grants.
• Workday provides comprehensive benefits; specific benefits are not detailed in the posting.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director