Principal, Finance Transformation Adoption

Workday•San Jose, CA

16d•Hybrid

About The Position

Your work days are brighter here. We're obsessed with making hard work pay off, for our people, our customers, and the world around us. As a Fortune 500 company and a leading AI platform for managing people, money, and agents, we're shaping the future of work so teams can reach their potential and focus on what matters most. The minute you join, you'll feel it. Not just in the products we build, but in how we show up for each other. Our culture is rooted in integrity, empathy, and shared enthusiasm. We're in this together, tackling big challenges with bold ideas and genuine care. We look for curious minds and courageous collaborators who bring sun-drenched optimism and drive. Whether you're building smarter solutions, supporting customers, or creating a space where everyone belongs, you'll do meaningful work with Workmates who've got your back. In return, we'll give you the trust to take risks, the tools to grow, the skills to develop and the support of a company invested in you for the long haul. So, if you want to inspire a brighter work day for everyone, including yourself, you've found a match in Workday, and we hope to be a match for you too. About the Team The Finance Transformation Adoption team is a critical enabler of Workday Finance's ability to modernize, scale, and deliver outcomes. Sitting within the Finance Transformation Office, this team ensures that strategic initiatives—powered by technology, automation, and AI—are successfully adopted and embedded into day-to-day ways of working. By combining disciplined change management with data-driven adoption insights, the team turns transformation strategy into sustained business impact. About the Role We are seeking a Principal, Finance Transformation Adoption to serve as a senior change and adoption leader for Workday Finance's most complex and strategic transformation initiatives. This role will be responsible for crafting and executing adoption strategies that ensure initiatives deliver measurable outcomes—not just go-live success. The Principal will partner closely with senior leaders across Finance, Business Technology, Product, and People teams to drive readiness, engagement, and sustained behavior change. This role is both highly strategic and hands-on, requiring the ability to influence at the executive level while actively leading change execution across multiple concurrent programs.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in Change Management, Transformation, or related roles within Finance, Technology, or enterprise transformation environments.
Proven success leading adoption for large-scale, sophisticated transformation initiatives.
Bachelor's Degree required; advanced degree or formal change management certification preferred.
Strong understanding of finance processes, systems, and operating models.

Nice To Haves

A strong outcomes-oriented mindset with a passion for driving real, measurable adoption.
Proven ability to influence and partner with senior leaders across functions.
Expertise in applying structured change management methodologies alongside data-driven adoption insights.
Excellent communication, facilitation, and storytelling skills.
Comfort operating in ambiguity and navigating fast-paced, evolving transformation landscapes.
A hands-on approach combined with strategic thinking and executive presence.
The ability to ensure Workday Finance transformation initiatives deliver lasting impact—not just successful launches.

Responsibilities

Strategic Change & Adoption Execution Lead end-to-end change management and adoption efforts for the highest-priority Finance transformation programs, including system modernization, AI-enabled process changes, and operating model shifts.
Translate transformation objectives into clear adoption strategies, outcomes, and success measures.
Ensure change and adoption plans are embedded early in program lifecycles and tightly integrated with delivery milestones.
Senior Stakeholder Engagement Act as a trusted advisor to Finance and cross-functional senior leaders, providing insight on readiness, risk, and adoption progress.
Facilitate executive alignment on change impacts, sequencing, and outcome expectations.
Drive consistent and compelling change narratives that reinforce Finance's transformation vision.
Adoption Measurement & Outcomes Define and track adoption KPIs, readiness indicators, and outcome-based metrics aligned to business value.
Leverage analytics, digital adoption tools, and AI-driven insights to identify adoption risks and proactively course-correct.
Ensure post-implementation reinforcement plans are in place to sustain behavior change and realized benefits.
Change Capability & Practice Development Contribute to the evolution of Finance Transformation Adoption frameworks, playbooks, and standards.
Mentor and coach other change practitioners across the Finance Transformation Office.
Promote best practices in human-centered, technology-enabled change management.
Cross-Program Integration Coordinate adoption efforts across multiple initiatives to minimize change fatigue and maximize enterprise impact.
Partner with Program Management, Process Owners, and Technology teams to align delivery, communications, and enablement activities.
Ensure dependencies and cumulative impacts across Finance are clearly understood and managed.