Senior Manager, People Systems & Operations

project44•Chicago, IL

2h•Onsite

About The Position

As the Sr. Manager, People Systems & Operations you will serve as the end-to-end owner and turnaround leader for project44’s global People Systems ecosystem, with primary accountability for UKG (UltiPro). This role is responsible for stabilizing, repairing, and re-architecting People systems and processes to ensure data integrity, payroll reliability, audit readiness, and scalable reporting across the company. This is not a steady-state systems role; it is a systems transformation mandate. You will own global people system design and execution, with authority to drive process remediation, data clean-up, governance, and architectural improvements in close partnership with Payroll, Finance, HR, and GIS (Global Information Systems).

Requirements

8-10+ years of experience in People Systems, HR Operations, or HRIS Management roles.
Hands-on experience owning enterprise HRIS (preferably UKG) in a global environment.
Strong understanding of payroll processes, data dependencies, and controls, with experience partnering closely with Payroll and Finance.
Proven ability to lead cross-functional programs involving HR, Finance, GIS, and external vendors.
Advanced comfort working with data, reporting, and analytics (attrition, headcount, trends, reconciliations).
Exceptionally detail-oriented with a strong bias for data accuracy and control.
Strong programmatic and systems thinker who brings structure, clarity, and follow-through to complex initiatives.
Confident communicator able to partner effectively across levels and functions.
Solutions-oriented, proactive, and comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment.
Naturally collaborative with a mindset of shared ownership and accountability.
Comfortable owning messy, high-impact systems problems and driving them to resolution.
Decisive, structured, and able to establish order in ambiguous environments with bias toward durable fixes over short-term workarounds.
Trusted partner who can push when needed while maintaining strong cross-functional relationships.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a high-growth, SaaS, or global environment strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

People Systems Ownership
Serve as the single-threaded owner for UKG globally, with clear accountability for system health, data accuracy, and end-to-end process integrity.
Lead a full systems turnaround, including:
Identifying and repairing broken or fragmented people processes
Driving large-scale data remediation, clean-up, and standardization
Establishing clear ownership, controls, and governance across the employee lifecycle
Own the end-to-end people systems architecture, ensuring UKG functions as a reliable system of record and integrates cleanly with Payroll, Finance, and downstream platforms.
Make and drive decisions on process design, configuration, and prioritization, balancing short-term stabilization with long-term scalability.
Partner with GIS to redesign, implement, and harden integrations, automation, and system dependencies.
Establish and maintain audit-ready controls, documentation, and operating standards for people data globally.
Payroll & Finance Partnership
Own the People systems side of payroll readiness and execution globally, ensuring payroll is system-driven, accurate, and repeatable.
Partner closely with Global Payroll and Finance to repair upstream data issues impacting payroll, close cycles, and reporting.
Lead payroll-related remediation efforts including:
Data validation and correction
Parallel runs and variance analysis
Root-cause analysis and permanent fixes
Ensure People system design supports strong financial controls, compliance, and confidence at scale.
Program & Stakeholder Management
Act as the program owner for People systems transformation initiatives, from problem definition through execution and stabilization.
Drive structured execution across complex, cross-functional work involving HR, Payroll, Finance, IT/GIS, and vendors.
Establish clear delivery plans, risks, milestones, and decision frameworks for systems work.
Proactively surface tradeoffs, constraints, and recommendations to People Leadership.
People Reporting & Data Insights
Own the quality, reliability, and usability of People data across the organization.
Lead remediation of historical data issues to enable accurate reporting on:
Attrition and retention
Headcount and workforce movement
Organizational and demographic trends
Build and maintain scalable reporting foundations that reduce manual effort and improve leadership confidence in People metrics.
Establish clear metric definitions, data governance, and documentation.
Process Excellence & Continuous Improvement
Participate as the AI champion for the People team as part of the AI Ops steering committee regarding policy governance, optimization and process and system improvements cross-functionally
Identify opportunities to simplify, automate, and standardize People processes using systems and data.
Reduce manual work and operational risk through better system design and cross-functional alignment.
Contribute to broader People Team transformation initiatives focused on scalability, automation, and operational rigor.
Identify broken, manual, or high-risk People processes and lead end-to-end redesign.
Standardize global People processes where appropriate, while accounting for regional and regulatory needs.
Reduce operational risk and manual work through better system design, automation, and controls.
Lay the foundation for a durable, scalable People Systems operating model that supports growth.