Associate Director, HR Technology – Talent & Employee Experience

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Overview

At Lilly, we serve an extraordinary purpose: improving lives globally through innovative medicines and meaningful contributions to the communities we serve. Our HR Technology organization plays a critical role in enabling this mission by delivering modern, scalable solutions that empower HR and the broader business.

Associate Director, HR Technology – Talent & Employee Experience

Location: Indianapolis, IN (Hybrid). Please note remote candidates will not be considered for this role.

The Associate Director, HR Technology – Talent & Employee Experience is the functional lead for Workday Talent and Performance Management processes and the overall employee experience within Workday and other talent related technologies across a global environment. This role combines expertise in talent technology, deep understanding of HR business processes, strong project leadership, and a proactive, consultative approach to delivering solutions.

In this role, you will translate talent strategy into scalable system design, optimize Workday capabilities, lead major multi-functional initiatives, strengthen partnerships with HR and business leaders, and bring forward innovative ideas that enhance the employee and manager experience.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Technology & Process Leadership

• Partner with the Talent Center of Excellence to translate strategy into scalable, intuitive Workday configurations that support global needs.
• Serve as the HR technology leader for Workday Talent processes, including performance management, succession management, goal setting, development planning, and related business processes.
• Ensure the accuracy, compliance, and effectiveness of global talent cycles and programs within the system
• Evaluate and optimize talent functionality to drive standardization, clarity, and efficiency across talent programs. Proactively investigate and propose novel technology solutions.

Employee Experience & Workday Design

• Lead the design and continuous improvement of the employee and manager experience within Workday, including onboarding, self-service, general design, and lifecycle events.
• Introduce and lead agentic A.I. capabilities within Workday to enhance employee and manager interactions, creating consumer-grade experiences and simple self-service.
• Consult on and lead the integration of listening technologies and related talent systems, ensuring these solutions align with organizational needs and enhance the overall employee experience
• See opportunities for A.I. automation, self-service expansion, simplification, and system optimization.
• Translate business needs into clear functional and technical requirements; challenge assumptions and present industry-aligned alternatives when appropriate.

Project Management & Execution

• Lead sophisticated, multi-functional HR technology projects in Talent and Employee Experience from planning through deployment.
• Develop project plans, define achievements, track progress, lead risks, and ensure timely, high-quality delivery.
• Apply structured project and change management methodologies to enhance visibility, alignment, and adoption and ensure compliance.
• Coordinate multi-functional workstreams including Talent COE, HR Technology Associates HR Operations, Tech@Lilly (IT), and business partners.

Stakeholder Partnership & Communication

• Build strong relationships with the Talent HR Center of Excellence, People Leaders, Tech@Lilly, HR partners, and business customers.
• Act as a liaison between technical and business teams to ensure clarity, alignment, and shared understanding of requirements and solutions.
• Provide clear, concise communication through release notes, updates, technical explanations, decision documents, and stakeholder-ready materials.
• Facilitate meetings, influence decisions, and proactively surface risks, insights, or recommendations.

Operational Excellence and System Configuration

• Configure and maintain Workday and related system components with a high degree of accuracy and governance.
• Conduct testing for service updates and semi-annual releases; communicate impacts and lead remediation activities.
• Support HR Operations and end users by resolving inquiries, issues, and partner concerns.
• Document processes, configuration decisions, and functional design with precision and clarity.
• Lead vendor relationships for talent and employee experience-related technologies beyond Workday, including onboarding and AI solutions, as applicable.

Basic Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in information systems, Business, Human Resources, or related discipline and combined experience.

• Minimum 5 years' experience in HR Operations, HRIS, HR Technology or IT with an emphasis in Workday configuration with exposure to Talent, HCM, or related modules.

• Experience managing cross-functional HR technology projects.

• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to

  F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.

Additional Skills / Preferences

• Experience using A.I. and technologies to co-create solutions with business partners, bringing forward insights and opportunities that anticipate organizational needs.
• Solid understanding of talent processes including performance management, succession planning, goal setting, and development planning.
• Demonstrated experience leading sophisticated HR technology or talent-related initiatives.
• Solid project management capabilities.
• Intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Sophisticated MS Excel Skills.
• Exceptional communication skills with ability to simplify complexity for diverse audiences.
• High degree of data literacy
• Demonstrable ability to build strong partnerships, influence decisions, and drive alignment across functions.
• High learning agility and ability to navigate evolving technology landscapes.
• Workday certification preferred

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

$127,500 - $187,000

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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