Talent & Performance Strategy Principal - Hybrid

The Cigna Group; Bloomfield (CT); Remote; USD 134,000 - 223,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus and long-term incentive

Comprehensive benefits

401(k) and life insurance

Paid time off and holidays

Job summary

The Cigna Group is seeking a seasoned leader to advance enterprise talent strategy and design modern performance management practices. This role will align HR initiatives with business priorities, drive accountability, and enable scalable talent solutions across the organization.

You will partner with HR leadership to ensure governance, data-driven decision making, and AI-enabled innovations are integrated into talent and performance programs.

Qualifications

• At least 7 years of experience in talent strategy, performance management, organizational effectiveness, or a related field.
• Experience developing integrated enterprise talent and performance strategies, navigating complex stakeholder environments, and building trusted partnerships.
• Strong consulting skills, including problem solving, solution design, executive communication, and storytelling.
• Ability to turn complex business needs and data into simple, scalable strategies and recommendations.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders and cross-functional HR teams to influence decisions and deliver enterprise change.
• Comfort using data, insights, and technology to challenge current practices and improve the user experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and evolution of the enterprise talent and performance strategy, aligned with long-term business and workforce priorities.
• During strategy refresh cycles, collaborate with senior HR leadership to design and refine the enterprise talent strategy, ensuring it aligns with the company's overarching business goals.
• Consult on the development of tailored talent strategies that address the unique requirements of each business, while maintaining alignment with the enterprise strategy and enterprise talent strategy.
• Translate business strategy into clear talent needs and performance solutions that HR and business teams can use and sustain.
• Identify the cultural shifts and ways of working needed to support enterprise strategy and stronger performance.
• Shape the performance management design, including goal setting, assessment, calibration, and measures of impact, ensuring strong connection to enterprise talent review processes.
• Define leadership and employee expectations that connect business outcomes, culture, and Lead to One behaviors.
• Connect talent and performance strategy with enterprise approaches to talent planning, workforce planning, learning, rewards, leadership development, and business needs across HR, in partnership with accountable leaders for those disciplines.
• Partner with the AI Workforce Innovation lead to test practical AI-enabled solutions for performance, talent, coaching, and the employee experience.
• Ensure talent strategy is translated into a strategic multi-year roadmap with critical capabilities, milestones, and resource needed identified.
• Establish governance frameworks to oversee the implementation of the talent strategy, ensuring consistency and alignment across the organization.
• Monitor progress and performance metrics, providing regular updates and recommendations to senior HR leadership
• Create executive-ready recommendations, presentations, and business cases that influence decisions and drive action, including gathering and consolidating input from cross-functional partners across HR.
• Use talent data, employee insights, and external research to recommend improvements to talent practices and employee experiences.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and best practices across HR disciplines.
• Maintain connectivity to the Enterprise Strategy team and broader strategy community to ensure alignment
• Lead or participate in special projects and initiatives as needed to support the company's strategic objectives.

Skills

Talent strategy

Performance management

Executive communication

Data-driven decisions

Stakeholder management

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's or master's in HR/organizational psychology/business

Job description

Reporting to the Head of Workforce Readiness, this role will advance The Cigna Group’s enterprise talent strategy and lead the design of its performance management approach, translating strategic direction and business and workforce priorities into clear, modern practices that strengthen accountability and organizational performance. This individual will be a critical connector across the HR function, creating both vertical and horizontal alignment of key strategic priorities, aligning focus to a strategic multi-year talent strategy roadmap, ensuring HR is positioned as an effective enabler of the business, and that accountable teams can activate and sustain talent practices at scale.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and evolution of the enterprise talent and performance strategy, aligned with long-term business and workforce priorities.
• During strategy refresh cycles, collaborate with senior HR leadership to design and refine the enterprise talent strategy, ensuring it aligns with the company's overarching business goals.
• Consult on the development of tailored talent strategies that address the unique requirements of each business, while maintaining alignment with the enterprise strategy and enterprise talent strategy.
• Translate business strategy into clear talent needs and performance solutions that HR and business teams can use and sustain.
• Identify the cultural shifts and ways of working needed to support enterprise strategy and stronger performance.
• Shape the performance management design, including goal setting, assessment, calibration, and measures of impact, ensuring strong connection to enterprise talent review processes.
• Define leadership and employee expectations that connect business outcomes, culture, and Lead to One behaviors.
• Connect talent and performance strategy with enterprise approaches to talent planning, workforce planning, learning, rewards, leadership development, and business needs across HR, in partnership with accountable leaders for those disciplines.
• Partner with the AI Workforce Innovation lead to test practical AI-enabled solutions for performance, talent, coaching, and the employee experience.
• Ensure talent strategy is translated into a strategic multi-year roadmap with critical capabilities, milestones, and resource needed identified.
• Establish governance frameworks to oversee the implementation of the talent strategy, ensuring consistency and alignment across the organization.
• Monitor progress and performance metrics, providing regular updates and recommendations to senior HR leadership
• Create executive-ready recommendations, presentations, and business cases that influence decisions and drive action, including gathering and consolidating input from cross-functional partners across HR.
• Use talent data, employee insights, and external research to recommend improvements to talent practices and employee experiences.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and best practices across HR disciplines.
• Maintain connectivity to the Enterprise Strategy team and broader strategy community to ensure alignment
• Lead or participate in special projects and initiatives as needed to support the company's strategic objectives.

Required Qualifications

• At least 7 years of experience in talent strategy, performance management, organizational effectiveness, management consulting, or a related field.
• Experience developing integrated enterprise talent and performance strategies, navigating complex stakeholder environments, and building trusted partnerships across the talent ecosystem.
• Strong consulting skills, including problem solving, solution design, executive communication, and storytelling.
• Ability to turn complex business needs and data into simple, scalable strategies and recommendations.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders and cross-functional HR teams to influence decisions and deliver enterprise change.
• Comfort using data, insights, and technology to challenge current practices and improve the user experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's degree in human resources, organizational psychology, business, or a related field.
• Experience applying AI or emerging technology to talent, performance, coaching, or employee experience solutions.
• Experience in a large, complex, or highly regulated organization.
• Background that blends strategy consulting, talent and performance expertise, and human-centered design.

How You Will Make An Impact

You will help create an integrated talent and performance strategy that strengthens how we attract, engage, develop, and retain talent across the enterprise, in partnership with HRBP and COE teams across the HR function. Success will come from pairing bold ideas with practical design, clear measures, and strong partnerships; it does not own workforce demand planning or skills supply-and-demand analysis.

If you will be working at home occasionally or permanently, the internet connection must be obtained through a cable broadband or fiber optic internet service provider with speeds of at least 10Mbps download/5Mbps upload.

For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary of 133,600 - 222,600 USD / yearly, depending on relevant factors, including experience and geographic location.

This role is also anticipated to be eligible to participate in an annual bonus and long term incentive plan.

At The Cigna Group, you’ll enjoy a comprehensive range of benefits, with a focus on supporting your whole health. Starting on day one of your employment, you’ll be offered several health-related benefits including medical, vision, dental, and well-being and behavioral health programs. We also offer 401(k), company paid life insurance, tuition reimbursement, a minimum of 18 days of paid time off per year, paid holidays, and leaves of absence. For more details on our employee benefits programs, click here.

About The Cigna Group

Doing something meaningful starts with a simple decision, a commitment to changing lives. At The Cigna Group, we’re dedicated to improving the health and vitality of those we serve. Through our divisions Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services, we are committed to enhancing the lives of our clients, customers and patients. Join us in driving growth and improving lives.

Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, age, disability, sex, childbirth (including pregnancy) or related medical conditions including but not limited to lactation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital or familial status, genetic information, status with regard to public assistance, citizenship status or any other characteristic protected by applicable equal employment opportunity laws.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete the online application process, please email [e-mail] for assistance. Please note that this email inbox is dedicated to accommodation requests only and cannot provide application updates or accept resumes.

The Cigna Group has a tobacco-free policy and reserves the right not to hire tobacco/nicotine users in states where that is legally permissible. Candidates in such states who use tobacco/nicotine will not be considered for employment unless they enter a qualifying smoking cessation program prior to the start of their employment. These states include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Washington State.

Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with all federal, state and local ordinances.