Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.
Job Description
HR Systems Integration Lead (Vice President)
Department: Technology – Corporate Technology (HR Technology)
Reports to: Head of HR Technology, Engineering
Location: New York, NY
Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.
Job Description
Ares is seeking an HR Systems Integration Lead to join our HR Technology team. This role is ideal for a hands-on Workday configuration and functional solutioning expert who can design scalable business processes, build sophisticated condition rules and custom validations, and partner closely with HR and cross-functional teams to solve complex business challenges.
The ideal candidate brings deep functional knowledge across Core HCM and adjacent HR domains, along with strong judgment and discipline to embed audit, compliance, and segregation of duties (SoD) controls into every workflow. This role will drive end-to-end Workday business process design—from discovery and configuration through testing, deployment, and production support—while coordinating with Security, Integrations, Reporting, and HR functional stakeholders to ensure cohesive, reliable outcomes. Experience working with connected HR technologies such as HRSoft, Visier, or viaPeople (or comparable tools) is a plus.
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS AND ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead the design, configuration, testing, and deployment of Workday Business Processes, Condition Rules, and Custom Validations across multiple HR functional areas.
- Serve as a functional expert across core HR domains including Core HCM, Recruiting, Learning, Absence, Payroll, Advanced Benefits, and Core Compensation, ensuring configuration aligns with business needs and Workday best practices.
- Provide scalable, maintainable configuration solutions to address complex business requirements, process gaps, and operational inefficiencies.
- Embed audit, risk, compliance, and SoD principles into business process design, partnering closely with Security to ensure appropriate access controls and governance.
- Partner with HR, Payroll, Finance, Security, Reporting, and Integrations teams to ensure end-to-end workflows are cohesive and well-controlled across systems.
- Conduct impact assessments and regression testing for Workday releases and configuration changes to ensure system stability and compliance.
- Troubleshoot business process and configuration issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement durable long-term fixes.
- Develop and maintain high-quality documentation including configuration guides, process flows, test scripts, and operational support materials.
- Mentor and coach junior Workday analysts on configuration standards, testing practices, documentation discipline, and functional design approaches.
- Support data analysis activities using Excel (pivot tables, lookups, data validation) to validate outcomes, identify trends, and support decision-making.
- Coordinate alignment with downstream HR tools (e.g., HRSoft, Visier, viaPeople) ensuring Workday configuration and cross-system processes remain consistent and supportable.
QUALIFICATIONS
- 10+ years of Workday configuration experience with demonstrated ownership of complex business process design and cross-domain functional solutioning.
- Deep expertise across Core HCM and multiple adjacent domains (Recruiting, Learning, Absence, Payroll, Benefits, Compensation).
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to engage effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree a plus.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree required (Management Information Systems, Business, Systems Engineering, or related field). Advanced degree a plus.
Experience Required
- Strong hands-on experience with:
- Workday Business Process configuration
- Condition Rules and Custom Validations
- Cross-domain functional design, troubleshooting, and operational support
- Proven ability to design scalable configuration solutions for complex business scenarios while balancing usability, controls, and maintainability.
- Strong understanding of audit, compliance, and segregation of duties principles and how they apply to Workday business processes and security.
- Experience partnering with Security, Integrations, and Reporting teams to ensure cohesive system design and reliable end-to-end processes.
- Proficiency in Excel, including pivot tables and lookup functions, and comfort using data to validate system behavior and outcomes.
- Experience mentoring junior analysts and raising overall team standards through best practices and structured coaching.
- Strong understanding of Workday data structures, business process architecture, and security frameworks.
Preferred Qualifications
- Workday certifications (HCM, Advanced Business Process, or related domains) preferred.
- Experience working with connected HR technologies such as HRSoft, Visier, or viaPeople (or comparable tools).
- Experience operating in a regulated or high-control environment with strong governance and documentation expectations.
General Requirements
- Hands-on functional technologist with strong attention to detail and a passion for process excellence.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to translate business needs into high-quality configuration solutions.
- Collaborative mindset with the ability to partner across HR, Payroll, Finance, and Technology teams.
- Strong ownership and accountability; proactive in identifying improvements and driving them through to completion.
- Commitment to quality, documentation, testing rigor, and operational discipline.
Reporting Relationships
Head of HR Technology, Engineering
Compensation
The anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance-based bonus. Note, the range takes into account a broad spectrum of qualifications, including, but not limited to, years of relevant work experience, education, and other relevant qualifications specific to the role.
$200k - $250k
The firm also offers robust Benefits offerings. Ares U.S. Core Benefits include Comprehensive Medical/Rx, Dental and Vision plans; 401(k) program with company match; Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA); Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSA) with company contribution; Basic and Voluntary Life Insurance; Long-Term Disability (LTD) and Short-Term Disability (STD) insurance; Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Commuter Benefits plan for parking and transit.
Ares offers a number of additional benefits including access to a world-class medical advisory team, a mental health app that includes coaching, therapy and psychiatry, a mindfulness and wellbeing app, financial wellness benefit that includes access to a financial advisor, new parent leave, reproductive and adoption assistance, emergency backup care, matching gift program, education sponsorship program, and much more.
There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.
