Director, Business Application Operations

Overview

The Director of Business Application Operations is responsible for the stability, performance, and ongoing enhancement of DFCI’s enterprise applications, with a strategic emphasis on Workday and UKG. This role ensures the secure and reliable operation of critical systems supporting HR, Finance, Supply Chain, Operations, and Workforce Management for more than 14,000 users. The Director drives operational excellence by streamlining processes, supporting platform innovation, and ensuring compliance with regulatory and institutional requirements. As a strategic partner to both IT and business stakeholders, this leader helps extend best practices in support, optimization, and business relationship management across the broader application portfolio. This is a key leadership role for someone passionate about operational reliability, user satisfaction, and enabling digital transformation at scale.

Located in Boston and the surrounding communities, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a leader in life changing breakthroughs in cancer research and patient care. We are united in our mission of conquering cancer, HIV/AIDS, and related diseases. We strive to create an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where we provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients of all backgrounds, and design programs to promote public health particularly among high-risk and underserved populations. We conduct groundbreaking research that advances treatment, we educate tomorrow's physician/researchers, and we work with amazing partners, including other Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Application Operations Leadership

• Lead day-to-day operations and support for Workday, UKG, and other enterprise platforms, ensuring system performance, availability, and scalability
• Drive continuous improvement through process optimization, service standardization, and proactive monitoring

Release and Change Lifecycle Management

• Manage enterprise release and change lifecycles, minimizing disruption while maximizing platform adoption and value
• Implement robust change control and readiness processes, ensuring all system modifications are vetted, tested, and communicated across stakeholders

High-Performance Team Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing team, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and customer-focused service

• Define and communicate clear expectations, provide regular constructive feedback, and evaluate performance against objectives. Oversee team’s compliance with organizational policies and procedures. Monitor work for efficiency, effectiveness, and quality. Work with senior management and Human Resources to address performance issues, as appropriate. Promote and foster a healthy and productive work environment within the team and with groups across the Institute

Strategic Business Engagement

• Serve as a strategic advisor to business leaders, aligning technology roadmaps with organizational priorities and transformation goals.

Compliance, Risk, and Integration Management

• Oversee governance, compliance, and risk practices to ensure data integrity, security, and alignment with regulatory standards
• Collaborate with technical teams and vendors to maintain reliable system integrations

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Deep experience supporting enterprise platforms like Workday and UKG, with a focus on performance, reliability, and continuous improvement
• Proven ability to lead support operations, including incident management, user support, and service model development
• Skilled in change control, release management, and KPI tracking to ensure smooth deployments and measurable service effectiveness
• Strong collaboration and communication skills for partnering with technical teams and business stakeholders
• Experienced in leading high-performing support teams and using data-driven insights to drive process improvements and automation

MINIMUM JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree required in a relevant field.

Minimum Experience:

10 years of experience in ERP management or operations, preferably in healthcare or other highly regulated, complex environments.

Hands-on experience with Workday, UKG, or comparable enterprise platforms such as Oracle, SAP, or PeopleSoft.

Proven experience in service management for complex business applications, such as ERP, CRM, HRIS, or financial systems.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This role has direct leadership responsibility for a team of system analysts for the Workday and UKG platforms. The Director will oversee hiring, coaching, performance management, resource allocation, and professional development, while fostering a high-performing, collaborative, and customer-focused team culture.

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, we work every day to create an innovative, caring, and inclusive environment where every patient, family, and staff member feels they belong. As relentless as we are in our mission to reduce the burden of cancer for all, we are committed to having faculty and staff who offer multifaceted experiences. Cancer knows no boundaries and when it comes to hiring the most dedicated and compassionate professionals, neither do we. If working in this kind of organization inspires you, we encourage you to apply.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the right of every qualified applicant to receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability, age, ancestry, military service, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.

Pay Transparency Statement

The hiring range is based on market pay structures, with individual salaries determined by factors such as business needs, market conditions, internal equity, and based on the candidate’s relevant experience, skills and qualifications.

For union positions, the pay range is determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).