Senior Specialist, People Systems

About this role

About Ancestry:
When you join Ancestry, you join a human-centered company where every person’s story is important. Ancestry®, the global leader in family history, connects everyone with their past so they can discover, preserve, and share their unique family stories. With our unparalleled collection of more than 65 billion records, over 3.5 million subscribers, and over 27 million people in our growing DNA network, customers can discover their family story and gain a new level of understanding about their lives. Over the past 40 years, we’ve built trusted relationships with millions of people who have chosen us as the platform for discovering, preserving, and sharing the most important information about themselves and their families.

We are committed to our location flexible work approach, allowing you to choose to work in the nearest office, from your home, or a hybrid of both (subject to location restrictions and roles that are required to be in the office- see the full list of eligible US locations HERE). We will continue to hire and promote beyond the boundaries of our office locations, to enable broadened possibilities for employee diversity.

Together, we work every day to foster a work environment that's inclusive as well as diverse, and where our people can be themselves. Every idea and perspective is valued so that our products and services reflect the global and diverse clients we serve.

Ancestry encourages applications from minorities, women, the disabled, protected veterans and all other qualified applicants. Passionate about dedicating your work to enriching people’s lives? Join the curious.
The Senior Specialist, People Systems serves as the operational backbone of the People Systems team. This role is responsible for delivering long-term People Systems strategies, driving continuous improvement, and enhancing functional capabilities. The position ensures alignment with business objectives and incorporates feedback from customers to inform ongoing development.

• Leads the People Systems delivery engine, providing organisational partners with the necessary insights, tools, processes, and systems to support high-impact strategic partnerships.

• Drives modernization, scalability, and operational excellence across People Systems, including technology stacks, workflows, and cross-functional processes, to encourage greater engagement and adoption.

What you’ll do:

• Acts as a Workday subject matter expert across Core HCM and Hire-to-Retire (HTR) processes, including Talent, Payroll, and Leave & Absence, with a comprehensive understanding of functional configuration and Workday security.

• Owns and optimises Workday configurations, business processes, integrations, and security frameworks to maintain system stability, scalability, and alignment with organisational requirements.

• Utilises Workday reporting, data extracts, and advanced Excel-based modelling to analyse workforce data, identify trends, and support strategic HR and business decisions.

• Designs and delivers impactful analytics and dashboards using Power BI or similar business intelligence tools, facilitating clear data storytelling from Workday and related HR systems.

• Leads continuous improvement initiatives by reengineering Workday-enabled processes and implementing workflow automation and RPA solutions (e.g., UiPath, Alteryx) to boost efficiency and data quality.

• Defines, tracks, and delivers against process performance KPIs for Workday services and operational outcomes.

• Leads and contributes to Workday projects and releases, including enhancements, optimisations, and large-scale transformations, utilising Agile, Scrum, or Waterfall methodologies as appropriate.

• Partners with senior HR leaders and business stakeholders to translate Workday system capabilities and data insights into actionable strategies and informed decision-making.

• Serves as a trusted advisor to stakeholders by presenting Workday insights and recommendations that influence workforce planning, operational performance, and continuous improvement roadmaps.

• Diagnoses and resolves complex Workday system, data, and process issues through structured problem-solving and data-driven analysis.

• Coaches and mentors’ junior analysts and functional partners on Workday capabilities, reporting, and analytics, promoting self-service and enhancing overall system adoption and maturity.

• Effectively communicates complex Workday and people-data concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences through clear storytelling, documentation, and presentations.

Who you are:

• 5+ years of experience in HRIS or People Systems, with a deep specialization in Workday across Core HCM and the full Hire-to-Retire lifecycle (Talent, Payroll, Leave & Absence).

• A Workday Expert with hands-on mastery of functional configuration, business process (BP) design, and complex security frameworks.

• A "Builder" by nature who thrives on transforming under-optimized systems into scalable, best-practice environments rather than just maintaining the status quo.

• Data-driven storyteller proficient in advanced Excel modeling and business intelligence tools like Power BI, with the ability to turn complex system data into actionable executive insights.

• Automation-focused professional with experience re-engineering processes and a working knowledge of RPA or workflow tools (e.g., UiPath, Alteryx) to drive operational efficiency.

• Strategic partner who can navigate complex stakeholder relationships, translating technical system capabilities into business solutions for People Business Partners and COEs.

• Agile project leader experienced in managing Workday releases and large-scale optimizations using Agile, Scrum, or Waterfall methodologies.

• Natural mentor who enjoys coaching junior analysts and empowering non-technical teams to embrace system self-service and data literacy.

• Clear communicator capable of explaining sophisticated technical concepts…