Director, Talent - Talent Management

MERGE•Kansas City, MO

8h•$110,000 - $120,000•Hybrid

About The Position

MERGE is a marketing and technology agency focused on health and wellness. The Director, Talent – Talent Management owns the execution and continuous improvement of core Talent Management programs and oversees the operating discipline for the broader Talent roadmap. This hands-on role establishes structure and accountability, anticipates risks, and drives work through completion. It 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 working familiarity with payroll to provide continuity support during coverage periods. The Director partners across Talent, Finance, Legal, Operations, and agency leadership; mentors junior Talent team members; and supports compliance requirements, audits, and reporting. Success includes timely and accurate Talent programs, clear roadmap visibility and accountability, sound guidance for leaders, well-documented employee matters, dependable process documentation and cross-training, and accurate payroll during coverage gaps.

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 employment authorization that does not now or in the future require visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

HR experience in an agency, technology company, or fast-paced professional services environment.
ADP experience.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end execution of performance management cycles, including planning, goal setting, talent reviews, assessments, systems, communications, training, and follow-through.
Develop project plans, establish ownership, and proactively manage timelines, dependencies, and risks.
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 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 to managers and employees on employee relations and performance matters.
Manage routine and moderately complex employee relations matters, escalating sensitive or high-risk issues appropriately.
Guide managers on employee concerns, documentation, coaching, and performance development plans.
Ensure employee relations matters are handled promptly, consistently, and in accordance with company practices and applicable employment requirements.
Coordinate processes, documentation, communications, and follow-through for workforce changes, organizational 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 appropriate 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 for timely execution while functional leaders retain ownership of deliverables and outcomes.
Identify risks, resource constraints, and competing priorities, escalating issues that require leadership decisions.
Project-manage priority cross-functional initiatives as assigned.
Provide Talent leadership with regular reporting on progress, risks, decisions, and next steps.
Ensure completed initiatives are documented and transitioned into ongoing operations.
Cross-train on payroll processes and provide designated continuity support during planned or unexpected gaps in primary payroll coverage.
Maintain working knowledge of payroll timelines, controls, and ADP processes to provide hands-on support when needed.
Partner with the primary payroll owner and internal stakeholders to maintain accurate, on-schedule payroll 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.