Director, Talent - Talent Management

MERGE•Chicago, IL

2h•$110,000 - $120,000

About The Position

The Director, Talent - Talent Management owns the execution and continuous improvement of MERGE’s core Talent Management programs and oversees the operating discipline of the broader Talent roadmap. This hands-on role creates structure, anticipates risks, establishes accountability and drives work through completion. The Director leads the day-to-day delivery of performance management, talent reviews, employee relations and employee programs, while ensuring broader Talent initiatives have clear owners, milestones and visibility. The role also develops sufficient payroll knowledge to provide continuity support during planned leaves, unexpected absences and other coverage periods. The Director partners across Talent, Finance, Legal, Operations and agency leadership; provides practical guidance to managers and employees; maintains reliable documentation and reporting; and mentors junior Talent team members. Success means that Talent programs and payroll coverage are accurate and on schedule, risks are surfaced early, employee matters are appropriately handled, and critical processes have dependable documentation and continuity coverage.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive HR experience.
Significant hands-on experience executing and operationalizing performance management, talent reviews and employee programs.
Demonstrated experience managing complex cross-functional projects and organizational roadmaps.
Strong employee relations judgment and working knowledge of employment law and regulatory requirements.
Proven success building scalable processes, SOPs, controls and operating rhythms.
Experience supporting payroll processes and working knowledge of payroll controls.
Strong leadership, critical-thinking, problem-solving and stakeholder-management skills.
Ability to work independently, make sound decisions, and distinguish matters to resolve directly from those requiring escalation.
Exceptional attention to detail, follow-through, and written and verbal communication skills.
Advanced proficiency with HRIS and performance-management systems, Google Workspace, and people reporting and analytics.
US work authorization that does not now or in the future require visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Experience in an agency, technology company or fast-paced professional services environment.
ADP experience is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end execution of performance management cycles, including planning, goal setting, talent reviews, assessments, systems, communications, training and follow-through.
Create project plans, assign ownership, and manage timelines, dependencies and risks for Talent programs.
Ensure leaders and employees understand Talent processes, expectations and required actions.
Maintain and improve Talent Management toolkits, workflows, templates and process documentation.
Monitor completion, exceptions and recurring challenges, and provide Talent leadership with concise reporting and recommendations.
Own offboarding processes, including exit interviews, documentation, reporting and identifying recurring themes.
Partner with Talent leadership to operationalize new or updated programs across the agency.
Serve as a primary resource for managers and employees on employee relations and performance matters; manage routine and moderately complex issues and escalate sensitive or high-risk matters appropriately.
Guide managers on employee concerns, documentation, coaching and performance development plans.
Address employee matters promptly and consistently in accordance with company practices and applicable employment requirements.
Coordinate processes, documentation, communications and follow-through for workforce changes, restructurings and other employee actions.
Maintain complete, accurate and appropriately confidential employee relations records; identify recurring themes, organizational risks and gaps in manager practice, and recommend action.
Own the integrated Talent roadmap, operating calendar and portfolio-management cadence across Talent functions.
Translate priorities into project plans with defined owners, milestones, dependencies, decisions and deadlines; hold initiative owners accountable while preserving functional leaders’ ownership of deliverables and outcomes.
Identify risks, resource constraints and competing priorities, escalate issues requiring leadership decisions, and project-manage priority cross-functional initiatives as assigned.
Report regularly to Talent leadership on progress, risks, decisions and next steps, and ensure completed initiatives are documented and transitioned into ongoing operations.
Cross-train on payroll and provide designated continuity support during planned or unexpected gaps in primary payroll coverage.
Maintain working knowledge of payroll timelines, controls and ADP processes, and partner with the payroll owner and stakeholders to keep payroll accurate and on schedule during coverage periods.
Create and maintain SOPs, controls and cross-training plans to reduce key-person dependency across critical Talent processes.
Mentor junior Talent team members and reinforce accountability, accuracy, responsiveness and open communication.
Support compliance requirements, audits and reporting by maintaining documentation, tracking deadlines and driving follow-through.
Partner across Talent, Finance, Legal, Operations and agency leadership to resolve issues and move work forward.