Manager, Talent Management-Skills and Career

CDW•Vernon Hills, IL

2d•$114,000 - $158,800

About The Position

At CDW, we make it happen, together. Trust, connection, and commitment are at the heart of how we work together to deliver for our customers. It’s why we’re coworkers, not just employees. Coworkers who genuinely believe in supporting our customers and one another. We collectively forge our path forward with a level of commitment that speaks to who we are and where we’re headed. We’re proud to share our story and Make Amazing Happen at CDW. Job Summary Manager, Talent Management — Skills and Career is a strategic and operationally-focused role responsible for architecting, launching, and scaling a global skills-based talent infrastructure across the enterprise. This individual will serve as the primary owner of the organization's skills taxonomy, competency framework, and skills intelligence ecosystem — shifting the organization from a traditional job-title-centric model to one where skills are the foundational currency of all workforce decisions, including hiring, mobility, development, performance, and succession. Reporting to the Director of Talent Strategy and working in close partnership with HR Business Partners, L&D, HRIS, Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, and senior business leaders, this role will ensure that skills data is accurate, actionable, and embedded across all talent platforms and people processes. This is a high-visibility, enterprise-wide transformation role that requires equal parts strategic thinking, program management, change leadership, and analytical acumen.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business, or related field; Master's degree or MBA preferred.
5+ years of progressive HR or talent management experience, with at least 3 years directly focused on skills management, workforce planning, competency frameworks, or organizational capability building, & 1+ years of managerial experience.
Demonstrated experience translating strategy by designing or scaling a skills taxonomy, job architecture, or competency framework in a large, complex organization (5,000+ employees preferred).
Strong understanding of skills-based talent management principles and the strategic shift from job-based to skills-based workforce models.
Experience working with Workday.
Proven ability to manage enterprise-scale HR programs with cross-functional stakeholders and global scope.
Strong data literacy — able to interpret workforce analytics, build business cases, and present data-driven insights to executive audiences.
Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder influence skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience implementing or operating an internal talent marketplace or gig platform.
Familiarity with AI-powered skills intelligence tools and their application in large-scale workforce strategy.
Prior exposure to global or multi-regional HR environments with matrixed teams, including navigating cultural and regulatory nuances.
Consulting or transformation experience.
Experience leveraging Censia for skills.

Responsibilities

Skills Taxonomy & Framework Architecture: Design, build, and maintain an enterprise-wide skills taxonomy, partnering with business leaders and domain experts to validate and regularly refresh the skills library, ensuring relevance as roles evolve and new capabilities emerge.
Build and govern a skills data infrastructure that aggregates skills signals through Workday including LMS, ATS, performance management, and other to-be-designed assessments into a unified talent profile.
Translate workforce planning inputs into prioritized skill gaps and future capability needs.
Develop and implement a skills taxonomy governance approach, establishing processes for ongoing skills gap analysis at individual, team, function, and enterprise levels.
Integrate across talent processes, embedding skills as an organizing principle within career pathing, performance management, succession planning, talent acquisition, and total rewards.
Partner with L&D to ensure learning pathways, reskilling programs, and development content are mapped directly to priority skills.
Work with Talent Acquisition to shift sourcing criteria from credentials to skills, expanding the accessible talent pool.
Collaborate with Total Rewards on competency-based pay frameworks that reflect skills contribution and market value.
Support the development of an Internal Talent Marketplace & Mobility program, partner with HRIS and technology teams to design or configure an internal talent marketplace that enables employees to discover projects, gig assignments, and full-time roles based on skills matching.
Develop governance models for internal mobility that balance organizational needs with employee career aspirations.
Facilitate the development and execution of a global change management strategy to shift cultural mindsets from role-based to skills-based thinking among leaders, managers, and employees.
Drive adoption of skills-based practices through enablement, tools, and change leadership.