HCM Systems Manager

About the opportunity 

We are in Year one of a business-wide people and performance transformation, spanning every People & Culture function and stream.  

Dayforce, our tier-one global HCM platform, went live in 2026. The Horizon One establishment has gone live, incorporating Payroll, WFM and Talent.  Now we need an HR systems leader to own it, stabilize it and make it better every quarter — turning a successful implementation into a platform people continue to enjoy using. There are more horizons to roadmap, upgrades to lead, governance to maintain and integrations to enable including a key service desk to lead and support. 

Our Vision is to enable an integrated digital HCM ecosystem that improves workforce efficiency, decision making and employee experience. We will achieve this by bringing all people data, processes and systems into one platform, delivering a consistent, user-friendly digital experience across the employee lifecycle. 

Purpose of the role 

The Dayforce HCM HR Systems Manager owns the Dayforce HCM platform end to end, moving it from project to business-as-usual and driving its continuous improvement. You will make sure the platform is stable, well governed, well integrated with our core systems and service desk, and steadily delivering more value to employees and people leaders. 

You will lead a small, capable team and act as the bridge between People & Culture, IT, the vendor and the wider business — translating people strategy into a clear, prioritised systems roadmap. 

Key responsibilities 

Platform ownership and BAU 

• Own Dayforce HCM in BAU, ensuring stability, performance, data integrity and a high-quality user experience across all modules in use. 

• Manage the transition from implementation to steady state, knowledge transfer and support model design. 

• Oversee configuration, testing and release management, including Dayforce's scheduled platform upgrades. 

Roadmap, enhancements and continuous improvement 

• Build and maintain a prioritised HR systems roadmap aligned to the People & Culture strategy, transformation goals and annual calendar. 

• In collaboration with the Transformation team enable enhancements that simplify processes, increase self-service and lift productivity for people leaders. 

• Use platform data and user feedback to measure adoption and target improvements. 

Integration and service management 

• Partner with IT to manage integrations between Dayforce and core business systems (e.g. finance, payroll, identity and access, reporting). 

• Embed Dayforce support within the service desk, defining request categories, service levels, escalation paths and knowledge articles. 

Governance and change 

• Establish and run platform governance: change request intake, impact assessment, prioritisation, approvals and release cadence. 

• Maintain security roles, access controls, audit requirements and data privacy compliance. 

• Support change management and communications so that employees and leaders adopt new features with confidence. 

People leadership and stakeholders 

• Lead, coach and develop the HR Systems Analyst/Product Owner, and direct the work of the IT Business Analyst. 

• Manage the Dayforce vendor relationship, and support partner relationship including account management, support cases and product roadmap influence. 

• Work closely with People & Culture leaders, Payroll, IT, Finance and senior stakeholders across the business. 

Key requirements 

Essential 

• 5+ years in HR systems or HCM platform roles, including at least 2 years leading a platform or team. 

• Hands-on experience with a tier-one HCM platform in an organisation of 1,000+ employees. Dayforce experience is highly regarded; Workday, SAP SuccessFactors or Oracle HCM backgrounds will be considered. 

• Proven experience moving a platform from implementation into BAU and running continuous improvement. 

• Strong understanding of HR, payroll and workforce management processes and how they connect end to end. 

• Experience managing system integrations and working with IT on service desk and ITSM processes. 

• Track record running governance: change requests, release and upgrade management, testing and access controls. 

• Experience leading product owners or analysts, and working in agile or product-based delivery. 

• Excellent stakeholder management, with the ability to explain technical trade-offs in plain language to leaders. 

Desirable 

• Dayforce certification or deep Dayforce configuration knowledge. 

• Change management qualification or experience (e.g. Prosci, ADKAR). 

• Experience with HR analytics, reporting tools and data governance. 

• Experience with Australian payroll, awards and enterprise agreements. 

• Tertiary qualification in Information Systems, HR, Business or a related field. 

What success looks like in the first 12 months 

1. A stable BAU support model is in place, with clear service desk pathways, dashboards and service levels. 

1. A governance forum is running, with a transparent change request process and an agreed release and upgrade calendar. 

1. A 12–18 month HR systems roadmap is endorsed by People & Culture and IT leadership. 

1. Priority integrations with core systems are documented, monitored and reliable. 

1. Measurable gains in adoption, self-service and people leader satisfaction with the platform. 

1. A high-performing systems team with clear roles, development plans and capacity for growth. 

Why join us 

• Shape the next chapter of a brand-new, tier-one HCM platform rather than inherit legacy debt. 

• Real influence: your roadmap will directly change how 2,000+ people and their leaders work every day. 

• A visible leadership role at the heart of a business-wide transformation, with strong executive sponsorship. 

• Flexibility on location, with hubs in Hobart and Sydney. 

How to apply 

Submit your CV and a short cover letter outlining your HCM platform experience and one example of an improvement you led after go-live.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, including neurodivergent candidates. If you need adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, let us know.