People Operations Implementation Manager

Locations Available: Lisbon, Portugal or London, UK

Duration: Fixed term contract until December 2027

What you'll do

Cloudflare is undergoing an accelerated global payroll transformation. Our focus is getting the best people to work at Cloudflare and then allowing them to do their best work. We are looking for a technical, operational minded, hands-on and highly motivated People Operations Implementation Manager to join our People Ops team as a dedicated project lead. In this role, you aren’t just doing HR, you are leading the rollout and implementation of a global payroll system (Workday to ADP) across 16 countries.

In this role, you aren't just managing the implementation, you are the architect of our new global payroll operating model from a People Operations perspective. You will manage a team of two People Operations Specialists and act as the primary bridge between People Ops, Payroll, and our HRIS team. You will be responsible for ensuring that as we scale, our processes are standardized, our data is bulletproof, and our transition from project-state to Business-As-Usual is seamless.

Key Responsibilities

• Active Implementation Lead: Manage the end-to-end People Operations transition to ADP for 4–6 countries simultaneously, taking joint ownership of the project from initial design through to a stable "Post-Go-Live" Hypercare ensuring long-term operational success.


• Standardization: Move away from bespoke local processes. Directly define and build the new standardized payroll operating model. You will create the technical "playbook" that the People Ops specialists will use to ensure consistency across all 16 countries.


• Change Management & Knowledge Transfer: Review and finalise post-implementation Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). You will lead the "shift" in how local teams work, ensuring they move from manual spreadsheets to Workday or AI automation. You will provide training, workshops, and dedicated support to ensure a seamless handoff from the project phase to BAU (Business As Usual).


• Operational Excellence: Raise your hand if a solution drifts from company standards or data integrity is compromised. Manage the end-to-end People Operations transition to ADP for 4–6 countries simultaneously, taking joint ownership of the project from initial design through to a stable "Post-Go-Live" Hypercare ensuring long-term operational success.

• Data Integrity & Technical Execution: Ensure high-volume data cleansing and rigorous validation in Excel/G-Sheets to ensure Workday remains the single source of truth. You will lead detailed audits between Workday and ADP to guarantee 100% data parity during Post/Go-Live and Hypercare.


• UAT & Testing: Audit and validate the Testing Tracker. You will perform rigorous testing to ensure system tasks (Hire-to-Retire) trigger as expected and reflect real-world daily operations. You will actively perform integration testing with the PPS team to confirm system tasks trigger as expected.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner proactively with the wider People Team, Benefits, Legal, and IT to manage and gain further clarity on specific local legislation and flag discrepancies during project calls.


• Leadership & People Management: Managing and developing high-performing team members. You must be comfortable leading two Senior People Operations Specialists, providing them with technical guidance, setting clear performance expectations, and acting as an escalation point during complex implementation phases.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience: 8+ years in People Operations or Payroll with a proven track record of supporting large-scale payroll system rollouts.


• Adaptable & Project-Minded: Experience managing multiple projects with competing deadlines. You know how to "raise your hand" early when a project timeline or data point is at risk.


• Workday Literacy: High proficiency in Workday, specifically in running/validating reports and understanding how data flows from Workday to third-party payroll providers (ideally ADP Celergo integrations).


• AI automation: Demonstrates curiosity about AI tools and emerging technologies, with a willingness to learn and leverage them to enhance productivity, collaboration, or decision-making.


• Payroll Knowledge: Deep understanding of the HR-to-Payroll pipeline and the technical nuances of the Hire-to-Retire lifecycle across different geographies is required. A working knowledge and understanding of processing payrolls, end to end is highly desirable.

Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to lead workshops and translate technical system requirements for non-technical local experts.