Senior Manager, Talent Development Programs

Jobtailor; Calgary; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

BDO is seeking an experienced Talent Development leader to direct the enterprise portfolio in Canada. The role focuses on strategic alignment, governance, and partnership with senior leaders to drive leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, and continuous improvement.

You will coach a multidisciplinary team, manage resources, and promote succession planning while leveraging data and AI-enabled solutions to demonstrate impact and guide decisions.

Qualifications

• Significant progressive experience in talent development, leadership development, learning and development, organizational capability, or related field.
• Experience ideally within professional services or another complex, distributed organization.
• Demonstrated experience leading an enterprise or large-scale portfolio of talent or leadership development programs.
• Proven success leading, coaching, and developing a high-performing team with multiple areas of responsibility.
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen.
• Ability to connect organizational priorities to capability and development needs.
• Ability to build trusted relationships, influence senior leaders, and navigate complex stakeholder environments.
• Strong portfolio, program, and operational leadership skills.
• Experience prioritizing resources and managing competing business needs.
• Experience using data, insights, and business measures to evaluate effectiveness, demonstrate impact, and inform decisions.
• Strong consulting, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated adaptability and resilience.
• Relevant professional certifications are considered an asset.
• Ability to communicate professionally in both French and English is considered an asset.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and people leadership for enterprise Talent Development program portfolio.
• Translate Talent Development strategy into portfolio priorities, investments, and plans.
• Evaluate, scale, redesign, integrate, consolidate, or sunset programming based on business need, evidence, and impact.
• Establish governance, quality standards, and decision-making processes across the portfolio.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Talent Development professionals.
• Set team priorities, roles, accountabilities, and expectations.
• Allocate team capacity and resources across the portfolio.
• Provide coaching, feedback, and development opportunities.
• Build talent pipelines through succession planning and knowledge sharing.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Advise leaders on talent and leadership development needs.
• Represent Talent Development in senior-level discussions.
• Influence decisions through recommendations, impact demonstration, and stakeholder alignment.
• Partner with Talent Development technology and measurement teams on measurement, reporting, and evaluation.
• Use program data, participant feedback, stakeholder insights, and business measures to evaluate effectiveness.
• Oversee portfolio resources, risks, vendor partnerships, and delivery requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement, innovation, and thoughtful use of technology and AI-enabled solutions.
• Report to the Director, Talent Development

Skills

Talent Development

Leadership Development

Organizational Capability

Program Management

Data Analysis

Resource Allocation

Continuous Improvement

AI-Enabled Solutions

Succession Planning

Performance Evaluation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Adult Education, Organizational Development, Business, or related discipline

Job description

• Provide strategic and people leadership for BDO’s enterprise Talent Development program portfolio
• Translate Talent Development strategy into portfolio priorities, investments, and plans
• Evaluate, scale, redesign, integrate, consolidate, or sunset programming based on business need, evidence, and impact
• Establish governance, quality standards, and decision-making processes across the portfolio
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Talent Development professionals
• Set team priorities, roles, accountabilities, and expectations
• Allocate team capacity and resources across the portfolio
• Provide coaching, feedback, and development opportunities
• Build talent pipelines through succession planning, stretch opportunities, knowledge sharing, and individualized development
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders
• Advise leaders on talent and leadership development needs
• Represent Talent Development in senior-level discussions
• Influence decisions through recommendations, impact demonstration, and stakeholder alignment
• Partner with Talent Development technology and measurement teams on measurement, reporting, and evaluation
• Use program data, participant feedback, stakeholder insights, and business measures to evaluate effectiveness
• Oversee portfolio resources, risks, vendor partnerships, and delivery requirements
• Drive continuous improvement, innovation, and thoughtful use of technology and AI-enabled solutions
• Report to the Director, Talent Development

Requirements

• Significant progressive experience in talent development, leadership development, learning and development, organizational capability, or a related field
• Experience ideally within professional services or another complex, distributed organization
• Demonstrated experience leading an enterprise or large-scale portfolio of talent or leadership development programs
• Proven success leading, coaching, and developing a high-performing team with multiple areas of responsibility
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen
• Ability to connect organizational priorities to capability and development needs
• Ability to build trusted relationships, influence senior leaders, and navigate complex stakeholder environments
• Strong portfolio, program, and operational leadership skills
• Experience prioritizing resources and managing competing business needs
• Experience using data, insights, and business measures to evaluate effectiveness, demonstrate impact, and inform decisions
• Strong consulting, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and presentation skills
• Demonstrated adaptability and resilience
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Adult Education, Organizational Development, Business, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Relevant professional certifications are considered an asset
• Ability to communicate professionally in both French and English is considered an asset

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in Talent Development and Leadership Development, with a strong focus on strategic planning, program evaluation, and stakeholder engagement. Proven ability to lead high-performing teams and drive continuous improvement through data-driven decision-making.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Talent Development Leadership
• Strategic Thinking
• Program Evaluation
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Team Development

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Talent Development
• Leadership Development
• Organizational Capability
• Program Management
• Data Analysis
• Resource Allocation
• Continuous Improvement
• AI-Enabled Solutions
• Succession Planning
• Performance Evaluation

Soft Skills

• Communication
• Influencing
• Coaching
• Problem-Solving
• Adaptability

Certifications & Qualifications

• Relevant Professional Certifications

Industry Keywords

• Professional Services
• Complex Organizations
• Stakeholder Alignment
• Governance
• Quality Standards