[Remote] Senior People Tech Operations Specialist

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Ascend is a leading aggregator of regional accounting firms in the U.S., empowering entrepreneurial CPAs with innovative growth models. They are seeking a Senior People Tech Operations Specialist to serve as a Workday SME, responsible for backend configuration, system management, and the implementation of the Workday Benefits module, alongside supporting Compensation and career architecture configuration.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the internal lead on the new Workday Benefits module implementation alongside Commit Consulting — drive configuration decisions, build, and testing
• Manage the day-to-day working relationship with Commit Consulting; coordinate scope, timelines, deliverables, and issue resolution
• Partner with Total Rewards to transition benefits administration off bswift (current ben admin vendor) onto a fully Workday-native model; map parity, validate, and execute cutover
• Define and execute test plans (unit, parallel, end-to-end); document results and drive defect resolution before go-live
• Support go-live cutover and post-launch hypercare; stabilize configuration and hand off to steady-state operations
• Own ongoing functional configuration of the Workday Benefits module — plan setup, rates, eligibility rules, and testing
• Build, test, and drive annual open enrollment in Workday; validate plan/rate setup, event rules, and the employee-facing experience end to end
• Configure and manage qualifying life events; ensure correct event triggers, eligibility, and downstream processing
• Configure benefits enrollment for all-company new hires; ensure accurate eligibility, defaults, and enrollment windows
• Configure new and changing benefit plans and add-ons as the offering evolves; build, test, and deploy with minimal disruption
• Manage benefit enrollment integrations in Workday; monitor carrier files, troubleshoot errors, and ensure data accuracy
• Configure and maintain job profiles, job families, and career architecture in Workday; support job catalog cleanup and standardization across partner firms
• Build and maintain leave plans, holiday calendars, and associated Absence module functionality
• Build and maintain compensation grades, ranges, and pay range structures; load and validate market data and range updates
• Configure compensation plans, eligibility rules, and one-time/recurring payment setups; support annual merit and comp review cycles
• Process and validate off-cycle compensation transactions — adjustments, promotions, and range changes — with audit-ready documentation
• Execute Workday system changes for necessary updates; build, test, and deploy
• Translate policy changes into Workday business process and configuration updates; ensure workflows reflect current policy and approvals
• Provide core HCM transactional support — M&A integrations, hires, job and org changes, position management, and data corrections
• Support Greenhouse Recruiting platform with backend configuration needs in partnership with Talent team requirements
• Provide generalist support across the broader HR tech stack in close partnership with Ascend IT and vendors
• Delegate configuration and support tasks to Sentient People Tech resources; monitor delivery quality and timelines and hold the partner accountable to standards
• Partner with Ascend IT and third-party vendors on system changes, tickets, and enhancements; coordinate dependencies and escalations
• Maintain testing rigor across all configuration work; build reusable test cases and regression libraries to protect production stability
• Document configuration, business processes, and SOPs; maintain change logs and knowledge base entries for People Tech
• Support Workday release readiness (semi-annual updates); assess impact, test new features, and adopt relevant enhancements
• Identify and build templated, automated, and self-service approaches to recurring configuration to scale through M&A surges

Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field
• 4+ years of Workday HRIS configuration experience with deep functional expertise in the Benefits, Compensation and Absence modules
• Proven ability to manage or lead a Benefits module implementation or major open enrollment cycle in Workday
• Strong testing discipline: ability to write, execute, and document test cases and manage defect resolution
• Deep Workday Benefits module expertise — plan setup, eligibility logic, event rules, open enrollment configuration, and carrier integrations
• Working knowledge of Workday Compensation and career architecture configuration — grades, ranges, job profiles, and comp cycles
• Exceptional attention to detail and testing rigor; able to build and maintain reusable test frameworks and protect production stability
• Strong organizational skills — able to manage multiple configuration workstreams, deadlines, and vendor relationships simultaneously
• Clear communicator with both technical and non-technical stakeholders; comfortable translating policy requirements into system configuration
• Proactive about documentation; builds SOPs and change logs as a natural part of the work, not as an afterthought
• Collaborative and adaptable in a fast-growing, multi-entity environment where the playbook continues to evolve
• Comfortable leveraging AI tools and automation approaches to reduce manual configuration effort and scale team capacity
• Experience in a PE-backed, multi-entity, or professional services environment preferred
• Experience supporting Greenhouse Recruiting platform preferred
• Workday Pro Certification in Benefits or HCM a plus

Benefits

• Highly competitive cash and equity bonus compensation package, including attractive benefits.

Company Overview

Company H1B Sponsorship