HR Tech and Workday Operations Manager @ Palo Alto Networks

As the Manager of the Tech Ops Capability Center, you will build, lead, and scale our new shared services team. This is an exciting opportunity to establish a center of excellence from the ground up. You will be responsible for recruiting and developing a high-performing team of analysts, defining and implementing best-in-class operational procedures, and ensuring the seamless transition of work from our global stakeholder teams.

This role requires a leader who excels in a matrixed environment, reporting directly to the Director of the Capability Center and collaborating closely with your dotted-line managers for HR Applications internationally. You will not only manage day-to-day operations but also champion automation, process optimization, and the delivery of robust reporting services to enhance our global HR technology ecosystem.

Your Impact

• Build & Scale the Team: Recruit, hire, onboard, and continuously develop a team of Tier 1 Analysts, establishing a strong foundation of technical, operational, and reporting knowledge.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Oversee the daily operations of the Capability Center, ensuring strict adherence to global Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for all support tiers and driving a high level of customer satisfaction.
• Lead HR Reporting Services: Build and oversee the teams capacity to manage a high volume of reporting requests from HR stakeholders, delivering ad-hoc and scheduled reports from various HR systems to provide critical business insights.
• Champion Process Optimization & Automation: Proactively identify inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement; lead initiatives to automate manual tasks (such as user access provisioning and reporting) and optimize workflows in partnership with the HR AI and Process Optimization team.
• Manage Service Delivery: Own the end-to-end service request intake process through ServiceNow, managing incident and reporting queues, categorization, and routing to ensure timely resolution.
• Oversee Key HR System Support: Ensure the team provides expert support for a diverse set of HR tools, including:
  • Workday: Handle advanced troubleshooting, user security, EIB management, business process changes, and reporting requests.
  • Data & Reporting Tools (GCP): Manage the intake for reporting requests and ensure the team can build and run queries using SQL to extract and manipulate data from our Google Cloud Platform (GCP) data environment.
  • ServiceNow: Act as the system expert for intake, routing, and communication protocols.
  • Learning Systems (Docebo): Manage Tier 1 and Tier 2 support for our Learning Management System.
• Foster Global Collaboration: Serve as the primary liaison between the India Capability Center and the global HR Application teams, ensuring seamless alignment on priorities, process changes, and knowledge transfer.
• Deliver Actionable Insights: Define, track, and report on key operational metrics (KPIs) and system health, utilizing ServiceNow and GCP-based tools to provide stakeholders with clear performance insights.
• Maintain Rigorous Documentation: Uphold a high standard for documentation quality, ensuring all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Knowledge Base Articles (KBAs), and process documents are current, accurate, and accessible.

Your Experience

• 8+ years of progressive experience in Technology Operations, Shared Services, or a Global IT/HR Service Desk environment.
• At least 3+ years of direct people management or team leadership experience.
• Proven success in establishing or managing a shared services or capability center that supports applications and reporting.
• Experience managing a reporting function, with hands-on knowledge of SQL and familiarity with cloud data platforms (e.g., Google Cloud Platform).
• Expert-level knowledge of an enterprise ITSM platform, with direct, in-depth experience in ServiceNow being highly preferred.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of major HR platforms (e.g., Workday, Docebo, or equivalent HRIS/LMS systems).
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with experience managing expectations with senior international stakeholders.
• A Bachelors degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent military experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the Cybersecurity or other highly regulated industries.
• ITIL Foundation Certification or equivalent process certification.
• Workday HCM Core, HCM Reporting, or Recruiting Certification
• Experience with process optimization methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma).

The Team

Our People Team is at the heart of empowering our employees to do their best work. The new Tech Ops Capability Center in India will be the foundational engine for our global HR Application teams, providing essential Tier 1 operational and reporting support. This team is being built from the ground up to drive efficiency, operational excellence, and seamless service delivery for critical HR systems that support the entire employee lifecycle. As the leader of this new team, you will be instrumental in shaping its culture of process-driven excellence and continuous improvement.