Workday Adaptive Planning Lead Consultant

Overview

This role involves working as an Adaptive Planning Consultant within delivery teams responsible for Workday Adaptive Planning implementations for customers across multiple industries.

You will help clients transform business planning needs—including budgeting, revenue, personnel, KPIs, quotas/capacity, territories, and reporting & analytics—by applying expertise in Workday Adaptive Planning Business Planning Cloud. The role may be performed as part of a team or independently, and you will serve as a specialist in your area, providing mentoring and oversight to more junior colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Provide expertise on the Workday Adaptive Planning solution, maintaining proficiency and certification in the Workday Adaptive Planning solution suite.
• Lead implementations end-to-end, including:
  • Engage with clients to understand current planning processes and take a consultative approach to move legacy models into Workday Adaptive Planning.
  • Recommend solutions based on client requirements, budget, and timeframe, adapting scope as additional needs are identified.
  • Guide clients through facilitated design sessions and configuration decisions using best practices and knowledge of each client’s unique business requirements.
  • Develop and configure forecasting and planning models in Workday Adaptive Planning to meet business needs.
• Plan and conduct training sessions for users.
• Document planning models and reporting delivered to clients.
• Deliver engagements on time and within budget to ensure rapid time to value.
• Support client success through regular, clear communication to set expectations; provide general customer service and assistance; act as the go-to resource for project-related inquiries.
• Collaborate internally by sharing learnings and solutions.
• Support business development activity, including producing estimates for delivery of work.
• Manage, coach, and develop a small number of staff (where applicable), with a focus on employee performance and career development.

People management (may or may not apply)

Where direct reports are included, responsibilities may include:

• Agreeing, setting, and reviewing your and your team’s goals aligned to Kainos, Workday BU and your Capability.
• Providing support so goals can be achieved.
• Reviewing and refining goals for relevance and to keep performance on track.
• Reviewing performance against goals and providing feedback.
• Conducting 1:1 monthly and/or project completion feedback meetings.
• Requesting and providing regular feedback in Workday.
• Completing End of Year reviews and agreeing outcomes for the year.
• Identifying training to support development.
• Supporting career paths and progression.
• Reviewing weekly workload forecasting (staff allocations and timesheet checks) and utilisation.
• Participating in recruitment/interviews.
• Reviewing attrition and retention metrics.

Minimum (Essential) Requirements

• Comprehensive financial and/or management accounting experience, particularly budgeting, planning and management reporting.
• Experience designing and building complex financial planning models, with advanced Excel skills.
• Ability to conceptualise a client’s business model and translate it into a working model in the software.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to communicate with customers and colleagues with impact, credibility, and empathy, including in a remote working situation; ability to formally present to senior client audiences.
• Broad business and technology understanding and awareness of industry trends within Financials and Enterprise Resource Planning.
• Proven ability to lead and work effectively within teams and alongside customers while helping foster an inclusive culture.
• Understanding of project methodologies, including how to manage them and why they contribute to successful projects.
• Ability to work to tight deadlines and make sensible decisions under pressure, balancing customer demands and project commercials.
• Strong consulting skills (e.g., presenting, leading workshops, demonstrating and explaining complex functionality or solutions).
• Demonstrated ability in managing, coaching and developing members of your team and wider community.
• Ability to implement improvements in tools and/or processes to help the practice.
• Ability, if required, to travel to customer sites in the same region (minimal out of region travel may also be required).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience implementing at least one Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) system (e.g., Workday Adaptive Planning, Host Analytics, Anaplan, Oracle Hyperion).
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance or Accounting or Business.
• Qualified accountant (CIMA/ACA/ACCA) or a Part Qualified Accountant with strong industry experience.

Compensation & Benefits

Not specified in the provided job description.

Location

Travel to customer sites in the same region may be required (minimal out of region travel may also be required).