Are you ready to take on a transformative role in the world of HR and Payroll?

As our HRIS and Payroll Programme Manager, you will have the opportunity to lead the charge in delivering the objectives of our exciting HRIS and Payroll Programme to integrate onto Ceridian Dayforce. This role is crucial in revolutionising our people management tools across Penguin Random House and Dorling Kindersley as we move towards a single, integrated HR and Payroll Cloud solution. If you have a passion for driving change and the skills to lead a successful programme from start to finish, then we want to hear from you.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Developing and overseeing the comprehensive HRIS and Payroll Programme Plan and governance, collaborating with workstream leads to ensure seamless day-to-day operations and successful programme delivery.

• Coordinating and monitoring Programme activities, maintaining clear communication with stakeholders and sponsors to ensure progress aligns with strategic objectives and stays on schedule and within budget.

• Manage and motivate a team across HR, Payroll, Finance, Technology, Data, Reporting, Business Engagement, Security and Integration to successfully deliver project outcomes.

• Manage external relationships and delivery with Technology providers – Ceridian Dayforce, System Integrator and multiple 3rd parties.

• Proactively managing the Programme budget, identifying and addressing potential risks to maintain financial targets.

• Understanding and managing the interdependencies between technology, operations, and business needs to ensure a cohesive Programme strategy.

• Overseeing Programme scope and changes, ensuring adaptability and alignment with strategic goals.

• Leading SteerCo meetings with Senior sponsors to keep key stakeholders informed and engaged in the Programme's progress.

• Developing, updating, and tracking Programme performance against milestones, ensuring accountability and transparency in all deliverables.

• Effectively communicating with project sponsors, SteerCo and stakeholders, translating technical project updates into business terminology to foster confidence and support.

You’ll form effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, this will look like:

• Fostering a collaborative approach with our System Integrator, business and technology experts, and the Strategic Projects team to ensure the successful delivery of Programme objectives.

• Taking ownership of vendor management activities, implementing controls, thorough sign-off and review processes to uphold quality and efficiency.

• Cultivating a strong network of key stakeholders to facilitate open communication and prompt resolution of any obstacles to progress.

• Providing support to workstream leads, ensuring successful delivery to agreed acceptance criteria and a seamless transition to business-as-usual teams.

• Leading, supporting, and motivating the programme team by setting a positive example and driving project momentum and energy to achieve outstanding results.

What you’ll bring:       

• Proven and versatile Programme Management experience, ideally within HR processes or HR-focused environments / technology enabled transformations, with skills that seamlessly transfer across industries. (Ceridian / Dayforce technology experience preferred)

• Proficient in utilising standard Project Management, planning, and process tools such as MS Project, SharePoint, Jira, and Visio to drive efficient and effective project execution.

• Expertise in a range of project management frameworks and methodologies, including Waterfall, Agile, Prince2, and Scrum, ensuring adaptability and versatility in managing diverse projects.

• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical information in a compelling manner that builds rapport, persuades others, and fosters understanding.

About Penguin: 

We’re the UK’s largest publisher; made up of some 2,000 people and publishing over 1,500 books each year. Our doors are open to all kinds of talent. In a constantly evolving industry, we work hard to stretch the definition of the word publisher. Here, you’ll work with a breadth of talent who all play their part to make each of our books a success. Together, we make books for everyone because a book can change anyone. 

Our approach to hybrid working:

While our offices are places for you to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, having flexibility about where you work is just as important for doing your best work and for your wellbeing. So, we don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to how we work across Penguin Random House UK.

For this role, there are regular meetings and activities that you will need to attend in person mainly at our offices in London and Colchester. Outside of these moments, you can choose to work remotely.

The exact balance of office to remote working can be discussed with your future manager during the recruitment process. What we can say now is that you won’t need to go into the office five days a week, unless of course you want to!

Join us in this exciting journey as we shape the future of HR and Payroll at our organisation. Apply with your CV and cover letter by Sunday 10th March.

Our people are the heart of our business, and we work hard to support a culture of responsibility and recognition.

Salary: circa £110,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Our benefits include:

• Financial – income protection, life assurance, childcare allowance

• Wellbeing – healthcare cash plan, critical illness cover, health checks

• Lifestyle – enhanced parental leave, tech scheme

For our full benefits list please visit: https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/what-we-offer/

The recruitment process: You can read about our recruitment process at https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/how-we-hire/

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we're part of the offer an interview scheme. This is where disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role can opt in to get to the next recruitment stage. There may be some situations where volume of applicants means we can't take all eligible candidates to interview.

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your request.

Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee.

Company: The Random House Group Limited 

Country: United Kingdom 

State/Region: London 

City: London 

Postal Code: SW11 7BW 

Job ID: 268476