Head of Talent Management Programs and PMO

Drive Capital; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 183,200 - 274,800; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

Duolingo is seeking a Head of Talent Management Programs & PMO in Pittsburgh to architect and improve critical talent systems. This role requires deep expertise in talent management, program management, and data fluency, ensuring alignment with a high-performance culture.

The ideal candidate will have over 8 years of related experience and a proven track record in developing effective talent initiatives. This position comes with a competitive salary range of $183,200—$274,800, supplemented by equity compensation.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in Talent Management or People Operations.
• Experience leading company-wide talent programs.
• Strong communication and influence skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and improve talent management programs.
• Partner with managers to facilitate talent reviews.
• Develop performance analytics dashboards.

Skills

Talent Management

People Operations

Program Management

Data Fluency

Executive Communication

Tools

Agile methodologies

Lean principles

Job description

Our mission at Duolingo is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. Itâs a big mission, and thatâs where you come in!

At Duolingo, youâll join a team that cares about educating our users, experimenting with big ideas, making fact-based decisions, and finding innovative solutions to complex problems. Youâll have limitless learning opportunities and daily collaborations with world-class minds â while doing work thatâs both meaningful and fun.

Join our life-changing mission to develop education for our half a billion (and growing!) learners around the world.

Read our blog to learn more.

About the role...

Weâre hiring a Head of Talent Management Programs & PMO to architect, run, and continuously improve Duolingoâs most critical talent systems. Reporting to the Head of Talent Management & Rewards, you will translate people strategy into intuitive, scalable programs and a disciplined operating cadenceâspanning performance and promotion frameworks, talent reviews and succession, manager enablement, and the portfolio governance that keeps everything on time and highâquality. Youâll build the âthrough lineâ across Talent Management and Rewards, with clear metrics and crisp execution that match Duolingoâs clock speed.

ð§ You will...

âTalent Program Architecture & Strategy

• End-to-End Program Design: Lead the evolution of core talent cycles, including performance management, 360-degree feedback, and promotion frameworks, ensuring they align with a high-performance culture.
• Competency & Career Mapping: Architect standardized competency models and career ladders that provide clear, transparent growth trajectories for all global functions.
• Succession & Talent Readiness: Design and facilitate the talent review process, identifying high-potential leaders and building a data-backed succession pipeline to future-proof the organization.
• Manager Enablement: Partner with cross-functional partners to ensure talent programs provide managers with the tools and insights needed to lead high-performing teams.

âPortfolio Leadership & PMO Governance

• Strategic Roadmap Management: Own the TMR integrated roadmap, maintaining centralized visibility into project health, dependencies, and resource allocation to ensure on-time delivery.
• Operational Excellence: Establish and iterate on a "lean" project management methodology that prioritizes speed and impact over administrative overhead.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: Act as the primary connector between Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, and Business Leadership to ensure talent initiatives are integrated and cohesive.

âPerformance Analytics & Insights

• The Talent Dashboard: Develop an enterprise performance framework using key metrics (e.g., promotion velocity, retention, talent density) to measure the ROI of our people programs.
• First-Principles Analysis: Leverage data to conduct root-cause analysis on organizational trends, providing executive leadership with actionable insights to inform policy and resource decisions.

â You have...

• 8+ years in Talent Management, People Operations and portfolio/program management, including seniorâlevel ownership of companyâwide talent programs in fastâpaced, productâled or highâgrowth environments.
• Comfort and curiosity with AI tools as applied to talent program design, analytics, and portfolio management, with a clear sense of where automation accelerates the work and where human judgment remains irreplaceable.
• A proven track record building or leading a PMO, with clear outcomes shipping complex, multiâstakeholder programs on time.
• Depth in modern talent practices: performance systems, org design, competency/career frameworks, succession planning, and manager effectiveness.
• Expert operational rigor with program/project management frameworks and process improvement (e.g., PMP/PgMP/Agile, Lean principles) applied pragmatically.
• Strong data fluency and a product mindset for people analyticsâable to design dashboards that tell a story, inform tradeâoffs, and drive accountability.
• Excellent executive communication and influence; you simplify complexity, align stakeholders, and make crisp, wellâreasoned recommendations.

â Exceptional candidates will have...

• Talent Subject Matter Expertise: Deep understanding of modern talent management theories, including performance psychology, organizational design, and succession modeling.
• Operational Rigor: Expert-level proficiency in project management frameworks (PMP, PgMP, or Agile) and process improvement methodologies (Lean Six Sigma).
• Strategic Influence: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to simplify complex operational challenges for executive stakeholders.
• Data Fluency: A "product mindset" regarding HR data capable of building dashboards that tell a story and drive accountability.

The offered salary is dependent upon several factors, including work experience, skills, and internal peer comparisons. The posted range is subject to change in the future. For this role, base salary is supplemented by equity compensation. We encourage you to talk with your recruiter for more information related to compensation for this role!

Salary Range: $183,200—$274,800 USD

Take a peek at how we care for our employees' holistic well-being with our benefits here.

We will do everything we can within reason to make sure that your interview takes place in an environment that fairly and accurately assesses your skills. If you need assistance or accommodation, please contact [e-mail].

Duolingo is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

By applying for this position your data will be processed as per the Duolingo Applicant Privacy Notice.

Unfortunately, there is a rise in scammers pretending to be real Duolingo employees. Duolingo and our employees will never ask for your Social Security number, bank details, or passport info, and weâll never ask you to deposit a check, purchase equipment, or exchange money during the interview process. Real Duolingo employees always use an email that ends in @duolingo.com or @recruiting.duolingo.com. Stay alert and double-check these details before sharing any information.

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