Manager, People Systems

About Sound

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Nashville, TN, Sound Physicians is a nationally respected, physician-led medical group practicing in 400+ hospitals across 45 states. Our team of 4,000+ clinicians and 1,000+ business professionals across the country is united by one mission: to build exceptional clinical partnerships that unlock quality, affordable, dignified care for everyone – no matter who they are or where they live. With physician-led clinical teams and more than two decades of operational expertise, we’ve refined what it takes to consistently deliver exceptional care in hospital medicine, emergency medicine, critical care, anesthesia, and telemedicine.

Why join us?

• A remote-first culture that values flexibility and collaboration
• Opportunities to grow your career while making a real impact
• A team that champions inclusivity, innovation, and excellence

Whether working virtually or onsite at one of our practices, you’ll be part of a purpose-driven organization shaping the future of healthcare.

Sound Physicians offers a competitive benefits package inclusive of the items below, and more:

• Medical insurance, Dental insurance, and Vision insurance
• Health care and dependent care flexible spending account
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with a company match
• Paid time off (PTO) begins accruing immediately upon start date at a rate of 15 days per year, in accordance with Sound's PTO policy
• Ten company-paid holidays per year

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Manager, People Systems is the technical owner of Sound Physicians’ People Systems ecosystem and a strategic partner to stakeholders across the organization. This role owns the architecture, configuration, optimization, and ongoing development of UKG Pro alongside the broader HR technology stack, translating People strategy into scalable, sustainable system solutions while protecting day-to-day platform reliability, data integrity, and the colleague experience. 

Reporting to the Director, People Operations & Systems, this is a working leader role on a small but mighty team. The Manager owns one direct report today, sets the pace for the People Systems function, and partners deeply with other People teams, Payroll, Finance, and IT. Success depends on genuine ownership of the platform and its commitments, disciplined prioritization across competing requests, and a partnership-first mindset that keeps stakeholders informed and moving forward. This role is both a doer and a leader, comfortable moving between hands-on configuration work and leading the function. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

Platform Ownership 

• Serve as the primary technical owner and subject matter expert for UKG Pro, including Core HR, Payroll, Time and Attendance, Benefits, Learning, Performance, Compensation, BI reporting, Bryte AI and future modules. 

• Own platform health end-to-end.  Anticipate issues before stakeholders raise them, catch errors during design and testing, and escalate risks with proposed solutions. 

• Define and maintain system architecture, configuration standards, governance, and technical guardrails to ensure scalability, data integrity, and long-term stability. 

Roadmap and Delivery 

• Own the technical UKG roadmap in partnership with the Director, People Operations & Systems, aligning system capabilities with People Operations priorities. 

• Act as product owner and project manager for the platform: intake and triage requests, prioritize transparently, and deliver on commitments with clear status. 

• Lead hands-on configuration, testing, and deployment of enhancements, workflows, and integrations, validating rigorously before anything is released. 

• Serve as technical lead for UKG implementations, upgrades, and reconfigurations, coordinating vendors and consulting partners, and partner with Finance on the WFM (Workforce Management) platform RFP and future system evaluations. 

• Use AI tools (Claude and Copilot 365) to complement the HRIS and accelerate documentation, testing, workflow automation, and analytics. 

Data Integrity, Insights & Enablement 

• Own UKG BI reporting architecture, including standard reports, dashboards, and ad hoc analytics. 

• Serve as system owner for UKG internal controls, including access, validation, and audit-ready configuration. 

• Partner with People Operations and People Support on data quality audits and on the People Analytics reporting that informs People team decisions. 

• Equip People Operations, Payroll, and Finance with the system tools, documentation, and reporting they need for data integrity and audit processes. 

Partnership and Communication 

• Act as the primary technical liaison with UKG and external HRIS partners, driving issue resolution and accountability. 

• Build relationships proactively across the organization, and provide impact assessments and technical guidance. 

• Communicate proactively: Share status on active work and escalate risks early, with context and a proposed next step. 

• Train stakeholders and document workflows so the platform stays supportable once a project moves into operations 

People Leadership & Team Enablement 

• Manage and mentor the People Systems team as a leader, coach, and educator, building both technical capability and partnership skills. 

• Establish standards, documentation, and repeatable processes that support scalability and continuity. 

• Support hiring, onboarding, and growth planning as the team evolves. 

Values 

• Platform stewardship: Treats UKG as a system of record to be protected, not a tool to tinker with. Favors simplicity and sustainability over clever configuration. 

• Partnership-first: Removes silos through transparency and shared ownership. Treats stakeholders as partners, not ticket submitters. 

• Reliable & Accountable: Owns commitments end to end and communicates status and risk before being asked. 

• Data trust: Treats data accuracy as the foundation of every decision the People team makes. 

• Continuous learning: Stays current on UKG functionality, HR technology, and AI, and brings ideas forward unprompted. 

• Colleague-centered: Considers the human impact of system decisions. Every configuration choice shows up in someone's paycheck, benefits, or first day. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 

• Deep, hands-on knowledge of UKG Pro across Core HR, Payroll, Time and Attendance, Benefits, Learning, Performance, Compensation, and BI reporting, plus experience with UKG WFM or a comparable time and attendance platform. 

• Strong understanding of HRIS architecture, system design, and upstream and downstream data flows, with the ability to translate complex business needs into scalable, sustainable solutions. 

• Testing and quality discipline, with a bias toward validating in a controlled way before anything reaches colleagues 

• Change management instinct: Plans how a system change lands with the people using it, including sequencing, communication, and training, not only whether the configuration works. 

• Data fluency: A solid grasp of foundational data frameworks paired with curiosity about the business and how data can solve problems. 

• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple concurrent requests without losing quality or responsiveness, with sound judgment on when to solve independently and when to escalate. 

• Effective verbal and written communication, including translating technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders and keeping them proactively informed. 

• Ability to influence without authority: Moves work forward with Payroll, Finance, IT, and People teams who do not report to this role. 

• Ability to document system standards, decisions, and workflows clearly enough that others can support and extend the work. 

• Working knowledge of AI tools (Claude, Copilot 365) and demonstrated interest in applying them to HR technology workflows 

Education and Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Information Systems, Business, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. 

• 7+ years of progressive HRIS or People Systems experience, with significant hands-on ownership of UKG Pro in a complex, multi-functional environment. 

• Demonstrated experience as a technical system owner or platform lead over multiple release cycles, with a track record of stable operations and satisfied stakeholders. 

• Experience leading UKG implementations, enhancements, or major system changes, including coordination with vendors and internal partners. 
• Prior technical mentorship, coaching, or people leadership, ideally in a player-coach capacity within a small HRIS or People Systems team. 

Salary Range

This position offers an annual salary range of $90,000-$105,000. Exact salary will depend on the candidate’s experience, education and geographic location. This position is eligible for additional compensation beyond base pay.

Sound Physicians is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion at the bedside and in our workforce. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. 

This job description reflects the present requirements of the position.  As duties and responsibilities change and develop, the job description will be reviewed and subject to amendment.