Principal Implementation (Services) Consultant - SO

About the opportunity

The Principal Service Consultant guides the overall design and delivery of the Dayforce HCM solution to meet customer requirements and provides oversight and direction to project team members in the execution of project activities in all stages of the implementation lifecycle (planning, discovery, design, configuration, testing, deployment, post go-live support). The Principal Service Consultant works closely with the Project Manager to plan the project and identify critical dependencies. Project responsibilities include; facilitation of customer requirements gathering, design of the Dayforce solution to meet documented customer requirements, setting and managing customer expectations, providing guidance and design/configuration oversight to other project resources, identifying risks and communicating issues to the Project Manager.

What you’ll get to do

Provide Implementation Services to customers:

• Analyze and understand customer requirements, pain points, and business objectives to craft efficient and effective solutions using the Dayforce HCM Product
• Ensure that the proposed solutions align with industry best practices and comply with relevant regulations and standards.
• Conduct workshops and meetings with customers to elicit requirements, gather feedback, and present proposed solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product management, development, quality assurance, and implementation, to ensure a seamless and integrated solution delivery process.
• Work closely with project managers to estimate effort, define project timelines, and identify potential risks related to solution design and implementation.
• Stay updated with the latest features, updates, and capabilities of the Dayforce HCM Product, ensuring that the proposed solutions leverage the full potential of the platform.
• Provide technical expertise and guidance to both internal teams and customers during the implementation and hyper care phases.
• Conduct thorough reviews and validations of the solution design to ensure that it aligns with customer expectations and business requirements.
• Conduct testing and validation to verify that the solution meets the defined objectives and resolves any issues that arise during testing.
• Continuously seek opportunities to improve solution design methodologies, documentation templates, and implementation processes to enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness.
• Share best practices and lessons learned with the broader team to foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Contribute to Internal Implementation Initiatives:

• Design and document solutions and contribute to a solutions repository
• Document best practices and share with the Practice
• Lead the subject matter expert (SME) program in at least one area of expertise (Payroll, Benefits, WFM)
• Regularly participate in internal process improvement initiatives

Focus on Continuing Education:

• Contribute to internal knowledge share; review questions and provide feedback on a continuous basis
• Participate in Continuing Education sessions; lead Implementation best practice sessions
• Complete new release training on a timely basis; be fully versed on new and/or enhanced functionality in each product release
• Mentor consultants on best practice implementation of new product features and functionality, including new customer end to end implementations
• Support the sales cycle through solution review and feedback and assistance with scoping and estimation
• Participate in prospect discussions regarding solution overview and implementation considerations

Skills and experience we value

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Master’s degree or post graduate coursework an asset
• 10+ years of experience in human capital management applications consulting
• Solid experience in business process mapping

Technical Skills Requirements:

• Proficient in Microsoft Office products
• Internal expert with software in a SaaS / Cloud computing environment including experience with HRIS
• Good understanding of relational databases and SQL and asset
• Ability to effectively implement all Dayforce HCM modules
• Expert knowledge of common human capital management (HCM) business practices
• Deep understanding of different industries and how Dayforce implement best practices apply to the customer’s business practices

Functional Skills Requirements

• Excellent customer relationship and business acumen
• Ability to engage with multiple projects & customers at the same time and manage competing priorities
• Excellent organization, communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to lead and facilitate customer and internal workshops and sessions
• Ability to provide implementation scoping and solution guidance in the sales cycle

Interpersonal Skills:

• Excellent presentation skills; able to adjust content and presentation style to different audiences
• Ability to influence customers to modify current business practices, as required

What would make you really stand out

• Experience with one or more of the following applications in addition to Dayforce HCM: SalesForce.com, SAP, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Kronos, Workbrain/Infor, RedPrairie/JDA, Ultimate, Oracle HR/Payroll, PeopleSoft, iChris or Preceda
• 10+ years of experience in human capital management applications consulting
• Internal expert with software in a SaaS / Cloud computing environment including experience with HRIS
• Good understanding of relational databases and SQL and asset