Program & Project Manager HR, Legal & Compliance

Julie Darby

Windsor, CO ***** ********@*****.*** 720-***-**** https://www.linkedin.com/in/julierdarby/

Project & Program Manager

People-focused HR, Legal, IT and Compliance Program and Project Manager with a strong track record of driving transformation, policy governance, and process improvements. Proven executive partner supporting cross-functional efforts delivering solutions in fast-paced, complex environments, with a focus on managing programs and projects to meet business needs. A skilled problem-solver with vital communication skills, adept at building strong relationships and making complex concepts accessible and easy to understand for diverse stakeholders.

Core Competencies

Project & Program Management Executive Partnership Human Resources Legal Compliance

Project Planning Relationship Management Change Management/Transformation

Process Improvement Team Building Issue Resolution SDLC System Development Risk Management

Professional Experience

WORKDAY 2025 - current

HR Project Manager (Remote)

Partnering with HR, Legal, Technology, Business teams, and Executive leadership to strengthen and evolve global HR operations, governance, and compliance practices across a highly distributed organization.

Manages global compliance timelines and deliverables including policy reviews, mandatory trainings, annual surveys, and audit readiness documentation across EMEA, APAC, and North America – examples: SOC/SOX, EL-03 Onboarding, global Gender Pay Gap metrics and government reporting, Labor Law audits, global Occupational Health alignments.

Partners closely with the HR Chief of Staff to introduce consistent intake, prioritization, and tracking practices, improving visibility and coordination, increasing transparency, and enabling automation of processes and reporting to support scale.

Acts as a central point of coordination across multiple HR initiatives, helping teams stay aligned on priorities, timelines, and ownership as new programs are introduced.

LYTX 2024 (short term contract)

HR Program Manager (Remote)

Focusing on program management and policy governance with significant cross-functional influence. Ensuring alignment among teams, projects, policies, and compliance frameworks while facilitating shared timelines, managing change, and mitigating risks. Provided core support for ISO 27001 certification and global real-estate expansion initiatives, requiring adaptability in response to leadership direction and organizational change.

Collaborated for seamless alignment between HR Operations, Legal, Benefits, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Compensation, Facilities, Change Management, and Learning & Development teams for ongoing operational efforts and special projects.

Supported policy development and governance alignment for expansion efforts across HR, Legal, and Compliance functions to ensure adherence to internal controls, data privacy standards, and audit requirements.

Served as a coordination hub across HR Operations, Legal, Finance, Facilities, and Talent teams, helping maintain shared timelines and clarity as priorities shifted.

Created project-management resources and templates used for policy implementation, control audits, and compliance reporting.

PAYPAL 2021 – 2024

HR Project Manager (Remote)

Overseeing and supporting multiple HR projects with cross-operational implications for Legal, Governance, Risk, IT, and HR business teams within a PMO structure. Performed change management and business analysts (requirements gathering and testing) roles for many projects. Focus areas include onboarding (I-9 software), Workday (HRM software enhancements), performance management, and employee engagement. Creating structured processes to mitigate risk and enhance workflow and communication, while fostering strong relationships across diverse HR teams. Managed global RFPs, new vendor SAAS/cloud installations, plus served as Scrum master for Workday update requests. Engaged and educated HR teams on PMO model.

Navigated complex stakeholder interactions - collaborating with C-level executives and external vendors - for seamless integration, reducing issues and conflicts and improving project flow

Eliminated barriers to monthly reporting to leadership and saved time by eliminating manual reporting. Set up Smartsheet system to allow for faster project updates and dashboards.

Earned accolades for completing several global projects (including AI automations, Service Now, HRIS system improvements) ahead of schedule.

Managed legal, risk/compliance needs, policy updates/audits, communications, timelines, project plans, and change management solutions.

Received outstanding feedback from team directors, including Legal and Facilities Management, for responsiveness, quickness to learn, and strong coordination of tasks and teams.

JBS USA 2018 – 2021

Legal Operations Program Manager (2018 – 2021)

Leading multiple complex legal matters collaborating with global multi-disciplinary business teams and external legal partners, with a focus on HR data and discovery. Recognized as a key resource for both internal teams and external global law firms seeking to understand internal policies, governance frameworks, legal operations, data collection processes, and cross-functional communication channels within the company.

Led antitrust cases (DOJ), serving as primary contact for global law firms, managing data collection, and addressing complex case requirements.

Implemented global policy implementation and review processes (including internal audits) and mitigated risks to strengthen a compliant, well-governed environment, delivering policy creation/updates and tracking structure.

Streamlined workflows across HR and Legal teams, law firms, and vendors, achieving 100% deadline compliance during pandemic constraints.

Onboarded legal teams and vendors, introducing processes and governance guidebook, reducing onboarding meeting times by 70%.

IT Project Manager (2019 – 2021)

Supported IT business projects - RFPs, Vendor Invoice Management software installation and $2.4M customized order management system redesign/implementation. Maintained project scope and adherence to SDLC, collaborated with business and IT teams in hybrid Agile/Scrum environment utilizing change control and risk management guidelines.

Communicated and measured project progress by creating and maintaining timelines, enhancement lists, Smartsheet, PowerPoint dashboard slides, and Excel tracking spreadsheets.

Facilitated lessons learned process at project completion and participated in daily standups, sprint reviews, and monthly business steering meetings that included IT teams and C-Level management.

Spearheaded creation of efficient process for monthly reporting by setting up Smartsheet structure for project dashboard reporting for leadership.

Initiated policy creation for new projects to align with SOX governance process and performed audit reviews to validate control adherence.

INDEPENDENT CONSULTING 2015 – 2018

Consultant/Program Manager

Assisted long-term clients with SaaS/cloud environments with program management and policy governance. Demonstrated exceptional focus on detail and online communication with global stakeholders and internal teams. Supervised vendors, budgets, and timelines while developing contingency plans based on potential gaps in resources.

Conducted analysis of complex workflows and maintained awareness of personality strengths across teams and stakeholder needs and investments.

Maintained customer relationships, satisfaction reviews, and follow up support.

Additional roles:

HR Validation Risk & Policy Manager - HRIS, ELI LILLY & CO. Technical Support Analyst, IBM

Project Coordinator, AMERICAN EXPRESS

Education & Career Development

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology & Sociology (Business Administration Minor), Indiana University (Dean’s List)

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