Talent Development Leader

Benson Executive Search; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Benson Executive Search seeks a Talent Development Leader for its client to build leadership capability, talent routines, and execution discipline essential for growth. This hands-on builder/operator will translate strategy into clearer priorities, stronger coaching, better talent decisions, and accountable execution.

The role focuses on establishing leadership routines, refining OKR quality, and embedding high-performance culture into performance and talent processes.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in talent development or related discipline.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide talent, culture, or organizational transformation initiatives.
• Deep expertise in strengthening leadership capability, performance enablement, accountability, and behavior-based talent practices.
• Ability to translate executive direction into practical plans, operating cadences, governance mechanisms, and measurable outcomes.
• Strong knowledge of leadership development, performance management, succession planning, talent reviews, OKRs, and organizational effectiveness frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement an enterprise talent development roadmap that supports growth and a High-Performance Culture.
• Convert priorities into annual and quarterly OKRs with owners, milestones, governance, and measures.
• Focus the roadmap on leadership capability, OKR effectiveness, performance enablement, and succession readiness.
• Create simple, practical tools and leader experiences that improve coaching quality, execution discipline, and manager consistency.
• Embed purpose and behaviors into leadership routines, performance conversations, development plans, and talent processes.
• Establish governance cadences for roadmap progress, OKR quality, talent review follow-up, and leadership routine adoption.

Skills

Leadership development

OKRs

Talent reviews

Coaching

Executive partnership

Job description

The Talent Development Leader will play a visible role in helping our client build the leadership capability, talent routines, and execution discipline required for its next stage of growth.

This is a hands-on builder/operator role for someone who enjoys creating practical solutions, influencing senior leaders, and helping managers translate strategy into clearer priorities, stronger coaching, better talent decisions, and more consistent follow-through.

• Shape the roadmap for how our client develops leaders, strengthens manager effectiveness, and embeds a High-Performance Culture into everyday work.
• Partner with senior leaders to improve OKR quality, leadership routines, development planning, talent review follow-through, and accountability.
• Build tools, playbooks, sessions, and operating cadences that leaders will actually use and that produce visible business impact.
• Help translate our client’s purpose and behaviors into practical leadership expectations that improve how teams work, develop, and deliver.

In the first year, this leader will help rebuild the foundation of the function by establishing the talent development roadmap, improving enterprise OKR and development plan discipline, strengthening leadership routines, embedding high-performance expectations into performance and talent processes, and creating a simple measurement system to track adoption and impact.

The role offers meaningful visibility and access to senior leaders. Over time, the successful candidate is expected to build and lead a small team that scales talent development and organizational effectiveness capabilities across our client’s organization.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and execute an enterprise talent development roadmap that supports our client’s growth agenda, leadership expectations, and High-Performance Culture.
• Convert priorities into annual and quarterly OKRs with owners, milestones, governance routines, and measures of impact.
• Focus the roadmap on leadership capability, OKR effectiveness, performance enablement, development planning, succession readiness, talent reviews, and high-performance culture adoption.
• Create simple, practical tools and leader experiences that improve coaching quality, execution discipline, and manager consistency.

Leadership, Culture & Performance Enablement

• Embed our client’s purpose and behaviors into leadership routines, performance conversations, development plans, talent processes, and team operating rhythms.
• Work directly with executive and business leaders to strengthen leadership effectiveness, organizational performance, and accountability.
• Improve OKR quality by increasing focus, alignment, measurable outcomes, ownership, and follow-through.
• Identify leadership, talent, and organizational capability gaps and convert them into targeted interventions.
• Facilitate and coach leaders using real business examples tied to organizational behaviors, priorities, and execution patterns.

Program Leadership, Measurement & Governance

• Establish governance cadences for roadmap progress, OKR quality, talent review follow-up, development plan progress, and leadership routine adoption.
• Define a focused set of metrics that show adoption, effectiveness, execution discipline, and leadership accountability.
• Use data, feedback, and business insights to evaluate impact, identify risks, and adjust priorities quickly.
• Bring clear, data-informed insights to senior leaders on leadership capability, culture adoption, talent effectiveness, and organizational health.

Business Partnership & Change Leadership

• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leaders, HR, and business partners by helping turn talent and culture expectations into practical business execution.
• Build alignment across stakeholders, clarify trade-offs, remove barriers, and elevate risks when needed.
• Reinforce enterprise expectations by making commitments visible and ensuring consistent follow-through.
• Influence through business acumen, constructive challenge, clear communication, and disciplined execution.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• A clear talent development operating plan is in place, with visible owners, milestones, governance routines, and measurable outcomes.
• Our client has more consistent leadership routines for OKR discipline, accountability, development planning, talent review follow-up, and performance conversations.
• High-performance expectations are embedded into practical leader behaviors, team routines, talent processes, and development plans.
• Leaders demonstrate stronger prioritization, coaching, decision-making, ownership, and execution follow-through.
• Talent development tools and frameworks are simple, scalable, adopted by leaders, and tied to business outcomes.
• Executive leadership has sharper visibility into leadership capability, culture adoption, talent risks, and organizational health.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• 15+ years of progressive experience in talent development, organizational effectiveness, leadership development, performance enablement, talent strategy, or a related discipline. Experience operating within a business function is a plus.
• Proven success leading enterprise-wide talent, culture, leadership, or organizational transformation initiatives within complex, global, matrixed organizations.
• Deep expertise in strengthening leadership capability, performance enablement, accountability, and behavior-based talent practices.
• Demonstrated ability to translate executive direction into practical plans, operating cadences, governance mechanisms, and measurable outcomes.
• Strong knowledge of leadership development, performance management, succession planning, talent reviews, employee engagement, OKRs, and organizational effectiveness frameworks.
• Track record designing and scaling talent tools, playbooks, routines, and programs that improve leader effectiveness and execution discipline.
• Experience defining meaningful success metrics and leveraging data to assess impact, guide decisions, and drive continuous improvement.
• Exceptional facilitation, coaching, communication, storytelling, project management, and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and partner effectively with senior executives while driving execution across all levels of the organization.
• Recognized as a trusted advisor who builds credibility through sound judgment, strategic thinking, and consistent follow-through.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity, align stakeholders, and lead complex change initiatives.
• Experience in both large, established organizations and smaller, fast-paced growth environments is preferred.
• Prior Director-level experience is preferred, or demonstrated capability to operate at a Director-level scope, influence, complexity, and accountability.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Business-oriented talent leader who can translate enterprise objectives and leadership vision into actionable strategies, roadmaps, and measurable outcomes.
• Builder and operator who is energized by creating structure, driving adoption, and seeing practical solutions take hold.
• Results-oriented self-starter with a hands-on approach and a bias for action.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and drive results across a complex, matrixed organization.
• Learning agile, intellectually curious, and continually seeking new ideas and perspectives to improve organizational effectiveness.
• Thrives in fast-paced, evolving environments and is motivated by growth, transformation, and the chance to build enduring capability.
• Trusted advisor and coach who builds strong relationships and credibility with leaders at all levels of the organization.
• Strong facilitator, communicator, and storyteller with the ability to translate complex business and talent challenges into practical solutions.
• Skilled at navigating ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and building commitment across functions and geographies.
• Understands business priorities and their talent, culture, and organizational implications; proactively develops solutions that advance organizational goals.
• Executive presence with the ability to challenge constructively, communicate strategically, and influence decision-making at the highest levels of the organization.
• Deeply collaborative leader who values diverse perspectives, builds broad support, and fosters strong cross-functional partnerships.
• Models accountability, empowerment, resilience, and continuous improvement.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with a data-informed approach to decision-making.
• Brings positive energy, authenticity, and a visible leadership presence that inspires trust, engagement, and confidence.

WHY CANDIDATES SHOULD BE EXCITED

This is a high-visibility opportunity to rebuild and elevate a critical enterprise capability: the talent, leadership, and organizational effectiveness function that will help our client scale its High-Performance Culture.

• You will have access to senior decision-makers and the opportunity to influence how leadership expectations are defined, adopted, and measured across the company.
• You will build practical mechanisms that improve leadership behavior, OKR discipline, accountability, and talent development—not simply deliver programs.
• You will work at the intersection of business strategy, leadership effectiveness, organizational capability, and culture activation.
• You will join an organization where the executive team is actively investing in leadership, culture, and talent as critical enablers of business performance.
• You will begin as a hands-on builder and, over time, have the opportunity to build and lead a small team that scales talent development and organizational effectiveness across our client’s organization.