Manager, Talent Strategy

Bain & Company; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 104,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Medical insurance

Dental and vision

Paid time off

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Fitness reimbursement

Job summary

Bain & Company is seeking a Manager, Global Talent Strategy in the United States to drive execution of the talent agenda across the CTO’s office and senior leadership. The role emphasizes running talent fora, coordinating cross-functional priorities, and delivering executive-ready materials with strategic problem solving.

You will shape the talent operating model, oversee transformation programs, and introduce AI-assisted processes to increase efficiency.

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of professional experience in consulting or equivalent client-facing roles.
• Experience at Bain consulting at Senior Associate Consultant through Consultant level is strongly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional collaboration to drive talent strategy across the CTO organization.
• Manage talent fora and executive-ready materials, agendas, and follow-ups.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI tools to improve process efficiency and quality of outputs.

Skills

Program management

Stakeholder management

Executive communications

Strategic thinking

Analytical reasoning

Change management

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or master's preferred

Job description

We are proud to be consistently recognized as one of the world’s best places to work. We are currently the top ranked consulting firm on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list and have earned the #1 overall spot a record seven times. Extraordinary teams are at the heart of our business strategy, but these don’t happen by chance. They require intentional focus on bringing together a broad set of backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perspectives, and skills in a supportive and inclusive work environment. We hire people with exceptional talent and create an environment in which every individual can thrive professionally and personally.

WHAT MAKES US A GREAT PLACE TO WORK

We are proud to be consistently recognized as one of the world’s best places to work. We are currently the top ranked consulting firm on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list and have earned the #1 overall spot a record seven times. Extraordinary teams are at the heart of our business strategy, but these don’t happen by chance. They require intentional focus on bringing together a broad set of backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perspectives, and skills in a supportive and inclusive work environment. We hire people with exceptional talent and create an environment in which every individual can thrive professionally and personally.

WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH

The Manager, Global Talent Strategy sits at the center of the Chief Talent Officer's organization, serving as a key operational and strategic execution resource for the VP, Talent Strategy.

This individual ensures that the CTO's critical forums run smoothly, that cross-functional talent priorities are tracked and communicated, and that work is delivered with strong judgment, independence, and executive readiness.

WHERE YOU’LL FIT WITHIN THE TEAM

Success in this role is defined less by responding to what is asked and more by anticipating what is needed — looking around corners, staying ahead of the agenda, and driving work forward before it is requested. The role operates at the intersection of program management, chief-of-staff support, and strategic project delivery — with approximately 60–70% focused on running and optimizing the talent function's core business processes and 30–40% dedicated to change-the-business initiatives including Talent Transformation and related workstreams. This fluctuates across the year depending on the current focus areas.

While much of the role is operational in nature, it requires consistent strategic discretion — knowing what to surface, when, and how, and owning the answer rather than just the output. The Manager, Global Talent Strategy is proactively shaping the Talent agenda materials, flagging risks before they surface, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. The role is well-suited to a highly organized, proactive operator who can move fluidly between process management, stakeholder coordination, and strategic problem-solving.

Work at the center of Bain’s global talent agenda: This role sits at the intersection of the CTO’s office and Bain’s most critical talent priorities — providing direct exposure to board- and GOC-level topics and the senior leaders driving them.

Own meaningful work from day one: The breadth of the 60/40 model means no two months look the same — you will move fluidly between running core business operations and contributing to transformation initiatives that reshape how Bain manages its talent function globally.

Build a rare cross-functional skill set: You will develop deep fluency in how a global professional services firm operates — working across talent sub-functions, regional leaders, finance, and senior executives in a way few roles at this level allow.

Opportunity to innovate: Build and deploy expertise in AI tools to improve process efficiency and quality of output — this role has genuine license to identify and implement better ways of working.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Run-the-Business / Chief of Staff Support (60–70%)
  • Talent Forum Management
    • Lead proactive agenda-setting, material compilation, and pre-read drafting for recurring CTO talent forums: quarterly all-hands talent town halls, monthly global and regional talent syncs, bi-weekly CTO Leadership Team meetings, and the annual in-person Talent Strategy and Experience LT Meeting.
    • Support broader firm forums — annual firmwide town hall, Board Meeting, GOC meeting, and GLS meeting — owning agenda material compilation, planning, stakeholder coordination, talking points drafting, and post-meeting follow-up logistics.
    • Cross-Functional Coordination
      • Serve as connection and coordination point across talent sub-functions and regions to facilitate best-practice sharing, reduce duplication, and ensure alignment on shared priorities.
      • Support development and tracking of talent priorities: receiving inputs from stakeholders, consolidating and communicating priorities, and tracking progress against them.
    • Operational Programs
      • Manage the ongoing hiring exception process end-to-end; lead efforts to innovate on the process, including leveraging AI tools to improve efficiency and quality of analysis.
      • Support budgeting conversations and related financial tracking as needed.
      • Support the Highsight benchmarking effort, including coordinating data gathering and synthesizing insights.
      • Own continued operation and stakeholder communication for the Attendance Tracking Dashboard, including oversight of data accuracy and rollout of updates.
  • Change-the-Business / Strategic Project Execution (30–40%)
    • Talent Transformation PMO
      • Serve as part of the PMO for the Talent Transformation initiative: tracking initiatives and potential savings, ensuring anticipated freed capacity is realized and thoughtfully redistributed, supporting cross-regional coordination across workstreams, and contributing to implementation of selected workstreams.
      • Maintain the opportunity model making necessary updates as new data is available.
      • Maintain close coordination with the Finance Transformation to ensure alignment and minimize gaps.
    • Future State Talent Model
      • Support the implementation of future state operating model changes within the talent function (i.e., continued build-out of updated HR delivery models across business units and regions).
    • Ad Hoc Strategic Support
      • Support ad hoc projects as they arise and fit within the team's mandate (e.g., in 2025, supported the FP travel connectivity workstream).

  ABOUT YOU

  • Experience
    • 5–8 years of professional experience that includes:
    • Current or recent Bain consulting experience at the Senior Associate Consultant through Consultant level, or equivalent client-facing consulting experience, strongly preferred.
  • Education
    • Bachelor's degree required. MBA or master's degree preferred.
  • Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
    • Strong organizational and program management skills with proven ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities and commitments.
    • Proactive and independent operator — anticipates what is needed, communicates ahead of problems, and closes the loop without prompting.
    • Strong analytical capability with a hypothesis-first orientation — able to define the core business question, develop a point of view on the answer before building analysis, and ensure every deliverable is decision-ready and executive-ready with minimal revision; comfortable zero-defect'ing their own work before it reaches leadership.
    • Ability to absorb, retain, and connect context across workstreams over time — carries institutional knowledge forward independently and does not require prior direction to be reintroduced.
    • Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to draft executive-ready materials (talking points, agendas, briefing documents) with limited revision needed.
    • Strong stakeholder management skills and comfort engaging across levels, functions, and geographies.
    • High degree of professional judgment, discretion, and ability to manage sensitive information appropriately.
    • Familiarity with or interest in AI tools and process innovation; comfort testing and implementing new approaches to increase efficiency.
    • Deep knowledge of management consulting talent and business operating model preferred.
  • Personal Attributes
    • Entrepreneurial and proactive — identifies what needs to happen and drives it forward without being asked.
    • Structured thinker who can translate ambiguity into organized plans and communications.
    • Collaborative and relationship-oriented; invests in partnerships across functions and levels.
    • High accountability for commitments — reliable, consistent, and transparent about timelines and tradeoffs.
    • Fast integrator of feedback — actively incorporates direction, adjusts quickly, and demonstrates sustained behavior change rather than one-time course corrections.
    • Positive contributor who brings energy and models an inclusive, high-performance team culture.

  U.S. COMPENSATION INFORMATION

  Compensation for this role includes base salary, annual discretionary performance bonus, 401(k) plan with an annual employer contribution based on years of service and Bain’s best in class benefits package (details listed below).

  Some local governments in the United States require a good-faith, reasonable salary range to be included in job postings for open roles. The estimated annualized compensation for this role is as follows:

  • In Georgia, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $99,000 - $119,000.
  • In Texas, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $104,000 - $125,000.
  • In Massachusetts, California, District of Columbia, and Washington, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $114,000 - $137,000.
  • In Illinois, the good-faith, reasonable annualized full-time salary range for this role is between $109,000 - $131,000.
  • Annual discretionary performance bonus.

  This role may also be eligible for other elements of discretionary compensation.

  4.5% 401(k) company contribution, which increases after 3 years of service and is 100% vested upon start date.

  Bain & Company's comprehensive benefits and wellness program is designed to help employees achieve personal independence, protection and stability in the areas most important to you and your family.

  Bain pays 100% individual employee premiums for medical, dental and vision programs, offering one of the most comprehensive medical plans for employees without impacting your paycheck.

  Generous paid time off, including parental leave, sick leave and paid holidays.

  Fully vested 401(k) company contribution.

  Paid Life and Long-Term Disability insurance.

  Annual fitness reimbursements.