Workday Director, EMEA Professional Services Leader
Strada
About the role
Travel is up to 40% across EMEA, with strategic global meetings. Lead the EMEA Workday Professional Services business, owning P&L, revenue, margin, utilization, delivery quality, client outcomes, and talent development, while managing regional leaders and executive customer relationships. Requires 12+ years of consulting or professional services leadership, including 5+ years managing regional or multi-country delivery organizations and deep Workday services knowledge.
The Workday Director, EMEA Professional Services Leader is responsible for leading the regional delivery business across Europe ensuring profitable growth, operational excellence, customer success, and employee engagement. This leader owns the overall services performance for the region, including bookings support, revenue attainment, utilization, project delivery quality, margin performance, customer satisfaction, and talent development.
As a key member of the global Workday Professional Services leadership team, the Director works closely with Sales, Customer Success, Delivery Leaders, Alliance Partners, and Workday counterparts to scale the business while maintaining delivery excellence and client outcomes.
Travel: Up to 40% across EMEA and strategic global meetings.
Key Responsibilities
Business Leadership
- Lead and manage the EMEA Workday Professional Services business.
- Own regional P&L performance including revenue, margin, utilization, backlog, and forecast accuracy.
- Drive sustainable growth through collaboration with Sales and Alliance teams.
- Support regional pipeline development, deal reviews, and strategic pursuits.
- Develop and execute annual operating plans aligned to global objectives.
Delivery Excellence
- Ensure successful delivery of Workday implementations, optimization engagements, and managed services.
- Establish governance processes for project quality, risk management, and client satisfaction.
- Review and intervene in high-risk engagements to ensure successful outcomes.
- Drive consistency in delivery methodologies, tools, and best practices across the region.
- Monitor and improve key delivery KPIs.
Client Leadership
- Establish executive relationships with key customers and stakeholders.
- Act as an executive sponsor for strategic accounts and critical programs.
- Lead resolution of escalations and complex client situations.
- Drive customer retention, expansion opportunities, and referenceability.
Talent & Organization Development
- Build and lead a high-performing regional leadership team.
- Attract, develop, and retain top Workday consulting talent.
- Create succession plans for critical leadership positions.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Coach managers and future leaders across the EMEA organization.
Sales & Commercial Partnership
- Partner with Sales leadership to support strategic opportunities.
- Participate in proposal reviews, pricing strategy, and commercial approvals.
- Ensure delivery commitments align with resource capacity and business objectives.
- Support contract reviews and statement of work governance.
Alliance Management
- Develop and maintain executive relationships with Workday regional leadership.
- Support joint account planning and go-to-market initiatives.
- Represent the organization within the Workday partner ecosystem.
- Drive alignment with Workday strategic priorities and market initiatives.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Financial
- Revenue attainment
- Services gross margin
- Operating margin
- Regional backlog growth
- Forecast accuracy
- Billable utilization
Delivery
- Project health metrics
- On-time and on-budget delivery
- Customer satisfaction (CSAT)
- Escalation reduction
- Referenceable customers
Talent
- Employee engagement
- Retention of key talent
- Leadership bench strength
- Consultant productivity
- Internal promotion rates
Growth
- Services bookings support
- Pipeline influence
- Regional market growth
- Expansion revenue from existing clients
Leadership Competencies
- Strategic business leadership
- Executive presence
- P&L management
- Client relationship management
- Organizational development
- Commercial acumen
- Risk management
- Influencing without authority
- Change leadership
- Matrix leadership
Required Experience
- 12+ years of consulting or professional services leadership experience.
- 5+ years managing regional or multi-country delivery organizations.
- Deep knowledge of Workday implementation and post-production services.
- Demonstrated success leading large-scale transformation programs.
- Experience managing executive-level customer relationships.
- Proven track record of achieving revenue, margin, and utilization goals.
- Experience leading geographically dispersed teams across EMEA.
Success Profile
The successful leader will:
- Deliver consistent revenue and margin growth across EMEA.
- Build trusted executive relationships with clients and Workday.
- Develop a highly engaged and high-performing consulting organization.
- Create operational rigor while enabling scalable growth.
- Serve as the executive face of Professional Services across the region.
- Balance customer success, employee experience, and business performance to drive long-term growth.
Reporting Relationship: VP / GM, Global Workday Professional Services
Direct Reports: Regional Practice Leaders, Delivery Directors, Engagement Leaders, Resource Management Leaders
Benefits
At Strada, we support your whole self—offering a range of benefits for your health, wellbeing, finances, and future. These include health coverage, wellbeing programs, paid leave (vacation, sick, parental), retirement plans, learning opportunities, and more.
Authorization to work in the Employing Country
To be considered, you must have current and future work authorization in the country where you're applying, without the need for visa sponsorship by Strada.