Director of Talent Strategy and Development
About The Position
The Director of Talent Strategy & Development is the architect of PopStroke’s talent engine — responsible for attracting, onboarding, training, and developing the leaders and teams that power our venues. This role owns the full talent lifecycle: from hiring the right people, to ensuring an exceptional onboarding and training experience, to building leadership capability and bench strength across the organization. Embedded in the business and closely partnered with Operations, this leader ensures our venues are staffed, prepared, and continually developing strong talent ready to scale with our growth. This is a strategic talent leadership role with operational impact.
Requirements
- 8–12+ years in Talent, HRBP, Learning & Development, or Talent Strategy roles
- Proven success building recruiting systems and leadership development programs
- Experience in multi-unit hospitality, retail, or operations-driven environments
- Strong business acumen with the ability to translate strategy into field execution
- Executive presence and high emotional intelligence
- Bachelor’s Degree required
Nice To Haves
- Master’s Degree preferred
Responsibilities
- Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning (Primary Focus)
- Lead full-cycle recruiting strategy for venue leadership and key roles (OP, AOP, KM, and beyond)
- Partner with Operations to forecast workforce needs and hiring timelines
- Elevate hiring standards, interview processes, and candidate experience
- Train leaders on effective interviewing and selection practices
- Build proactive talent pipelines to support store openings and growth
- Ensure consistent, high-quality hiring across all venues
- Onboarding & Ramp Excellence (Primary Focus)
- Design and standardize onboarding experiences that reflect The PopStroke Way
- Develop structured 30/60/90-day ramp plans for leaders and team members
- Partner with Training and Operations to ensure onboarding execution is consistent and effective
- Measure and improve early tenure retention and readiness
- Support onboarding strategy for new store openings and leadership transitions
- Training & Leadership Development (Primary Focus)
- Partner with Training to ensure consistent skills development across venues
- Design and deploy leadership development programs
- Build clear development pathways from hourly team members to venue leadership
- Identify high-potential talent and support internal mobility
- Develop succession plans and leadership bench strength
- Prepare talent for Special Ops opportunities and expanded roles
- Performance & Talent Management
- Support performance management cycles and calibration discussions
- Coach venue leaders on feedback, accountability, and development conversations
- Align talent development efforts with business performance goals
- Reinforce a culture of ownership, growth, and continuous improvement
- Culture & Operational Partnership
- Champion and operationalize The PopStroke Way across venues
- Support store openings, turnarounds, and leadership transitions
- Partner closely with People Operations & Compliance to ensure talent strategies align with company policies and risk management
- Contribute to broader People initiatives as needed
- Additional HR & Business Support
- Select employee relations matters in partnership with People Operations & Compliance
- Cross-functional People projects and company-wide initiatives
- Leadership coaching and business advisory support
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
