Workday People Experience (PEX) Principal Consultant

Job description

The Workday People Experience (PEX) Principal Consultant is a senior functional consultant responsible for leading the design, configuration, and delivery of Workday People Experience solutions. Acting as a trusted advisor, this individual helps organisations create personalised, engaging, and intuitive employee experiences across the workforce lifecycle. The Principal Consultant combines deep PEX expertise with delivery leadership, pre-sales support, and mentoring responsibilities. They work closely with clients to design experiences that drive user adoption, employee engagement, productivity, and self-service through capabilities such as Workday Today, Journeys, Help, and other employee experience functionality. Responsibilities: Serve as a Workday People Experience (PEX) subject matter expert, providing guidance on employee experience strategy and Workday best practices. Lead client workshops and design sessions to define personalised employee experiences aligned to business objectives. Design and configure Workday PEX solutions, including Workday Today, Journeys, Help, and related employee experience capabilities. Advise clients on improving employee engagement, user adoption, productivity, and self-service experiences. Lead PEX workstreams on medium to large Workday implementations, managing solution decisions, risks, and dependencies. Partner with HCM, Talent, Learning, Recruiting, Change Management, Reporting, Security, and Integrations teams to deliver cohesive employee experiences. Support testing, deployment, cutover, and post-go-live transition activities. Provide guidance on persona-based experiences, employee journeys, communications, and critical moments that span the employee lifecycle. Mentor consultants and analysts, providing coaching, quality reviews, and functional leadership. Support business development activities including solutioning, estimations, proposals, demonstrations, and customer presentations. Contribute to practice development through internal training, asset creation, methodology enhancement, and knowledge sharing. Maintain expertise in Workday PEX functionality, employee experience trends, AI-driven experiences, and new product innovations. Skills & Requirements Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience. Active Workday People Experience (PEX) Certification preferred. 5+ years of Workday implementation experience. Experience leading Workday PEX, HCM, Talent, Learning, or Employee Experience workstreams on end-to-end implementations. Strong understanding of employee experience, workforce engagement, self-service, onboarding, career development, and talent processes. Experience with Workday Today, Journeys, Help, and related employee experience capabilities. Experience gathering requirements, facilitating workshops, solution design, configuration, testing, and deployment. Experience supporting pre-sales activities including estimations, proposals, and solution presentations. Strong consulting, stakeholder management, facilitation, and communication skills. Ability to mentor team members and provide functional leadership across projects. Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced consulting environment. Eligible for SC Clearance – you must have been a UK resident for the last five years and be legally entitled to work in the UK. Minimal travel required, but must be willing to travel on-site as needed. #LI-Remote Why choose Cognizant: Entrepreneurial environment that welcomes your ideas Opportunity to do great work Outreach programs that support communities and tap into your volunteer spirit Learning opportunities to help current needs and advancement Global operations, with opportunities in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific An abundance of Affinity groups to meet your needs Cognizant Core Values: Work as One: We think beyond roles, relying on each other’s strengths to win as a team. Raise the Bar: We always aim for excellence in how we work and what we deliver. Dare to Innovate: We push boundaries and take chances to reimagine what’s possible. Do the Right Thing: We all lead with integrity and always make the ethical choice. Own It: We own the outcomes for our company, colleagues, and community.