Principal HCM Implementation Consultant
Dayforce is a global human capital management (HCM) company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, with operations across North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and the Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) region. Our award-winning Cloud HCM platform offers a unified solution database and continuous calculation engine, driving efficiency, productivity and compliance for the global workforce. Our brand promise - Makes Work Life Better™- Reflects our commitment to employees, customers, partners and communities globally. About The Opportunity We are seeking experienced professionals to join our Services Consulting team as Principal Implementation Consultants. In this role, you will work with enterprise clients to implement Dayforce HCM, with a focus on time, attendance, scheduling, and payroll connectors that directly impact how organizations manage and pay their people. This strategic consulting role involves solving complex business problems, leading solution design, and guiding clients through transformational change. The Principal Implementation Consultant leads the overall design and delivery of the Dayforce HCM solution and provides oversight throughout all stages of the implementation lifecycle. This role collaborates closely with the Project Manager to plan the project, identify critical dependencies, facilitate requirements gathering, design scalable solutions, manage customer expectations, and proactively identify and communicate risks. What You’ll Get To Do
- Document and validate customer HCM business requirements and map them to Dayforce functionality.
- Design and document innovative solutions that address complex customer needs.
- Share best practices and challenge customer requirements where appropriate.
- Configure Dayforce to meet customer-specific business requirements.
- Conduct remote and in-person consulting sessions and produce design documentation and meeting minutes.
- Provide ongoing consulting and post-implementation support in areas of expertise.
- Participate actively in customer testing cycles and resolve issues promptly.
- Act as a subject matter expert on strategic implementations for internal teams, customers, and partners.
- Attend internal project meetings and provide progress updates on activities and deliverables.
- Contribute to internal solutions repository development and documentation of best practices.
- Participate in internal process improvement initiatives.
- Contribute to internal knowledge sharing and provide continuous feedback.
- Mentor junior consultants on implementation best practices, including new end-to-end customer implementations.
- Lead Continuing Education sessions and participate in best-practice development.
- Complete new release training and stay current on new or enhanced functionality.
- Expand your Dayforce product expertise through cross-training and ongoing learning.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
- 10+ years of experience in human capital management application consulting or 5+ years in a consultant role with Dayforce HCM.
- Excellent understanding of relational database systems and advanced proficiency with SQL, XML, and/or XSLT.
- Familiarity with web services technologies such as RESTful APIs.
- Experience working with SaaS or cloud-based software environments.
- Experience with applications such as Dayforce (preferred), Workday, Salesforce, SAP, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Kronos, Workbrain/Infor, RedPrairie/JDA, Ultimate, Oracle HR/Payroll, or Sage.
- Strong customer relationship management skills and business acumen.
- Ability to lead complex implementations and make sound decisions to drive project outcomes.
- Proven ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, and stakeholders.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a strategic mindset.
- Ability to mentor junior consultants and conduct peer reviews.
- Demonstrated ability to guide solution design, configuration, and quality.
- Experience providing subject matter expertise on large, strategic implementations.
- Ability to travel internationally and work onsite with clients.
- Deep hands-on Dayforce experience, especially in HR, Integrations, or Time & Attendance, with a track record of leading complex, multi-module implementations.
- Strong solution architecture mindset with the ability to design scalable, future-proof configurations aligned with business strategy.
- Exceptional customer leadership skills, including influencing decision-making, resolving escalations, and navigating executive conversations.
- Proven ability to drive outcomes independently by owning solution direction, identifying risks early, and guiding teams toward successful delivery.
- A collaborative, high-impact approach that contributes to knowledge-sharing, mentorship, and continuous improvement.
- A strategic systems thinker capable of breaking down complex problems, connecting data and processes, and designing streamlined end-to-end solutions.