Description
The Chicago Studio Talent Manager acts as a strategic partner and trusted advisor to studio leadership—championing the full employee lifecycle, aligning HR strategy with business goals, and fostering a culture of growth and development throughout the organization.
In this dual strategic and hands-on role, the Talent Manager ensures that people programs and processes enhance the studio’s performance and culture. This includes translating firmwide HR and L&D strategies into local action, guiding leaders on organizational priorities, and supporting an inclusive, equitable, and high-performing environment.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic HR Partnership & Lifecycle Ownership
Serve as the primary HR business partner for the studio—owning all aspects of the employee lifecycle, from attraction and onboarding through development, retention, and offboarding.
Partner with studio and practice leadership to translate business objectives into actionable people strategies and workforce plans.
Advise on organization design, talent deployment, and succession planning to strengthen leadership pipelines and long-term capability.
Partner closely with the firmwide team to ensure local implementation aligns with firmwide strategy and standards.
Learning & Development Execution (Firmwide Programs)
Act as the local executor of firmwide Learning & Development strategy—ensuring consistent delivery of training, professional development, and leadership programs created by the firmwide L&D team.
Coordinate the rollout of manager training, leadership pathways, mentorship programs, and onboarding experiences.
Promote participation and track outcomes to reinforce a culture of growth and development, linking learning efforts to performance and retention goals.
Talent Operations & Employee Experience
Lead daily HR operations, including recruitment, onboarding, compensation guidance, benefits support, career pathing, performance management, recognition, and recordkeeping.
Serve as a trusted resource to employees and leaders—coaching on feedback, communication, and navigating complex or sensitive issues.
Champion fairness, consistency, and inclusivity across all people processes; actively support firmwide J.E.D.I. (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) goals.
Ensure compliance with employment legislation and company policy; escalate issues to Corporate HR as appropriate.
Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding
Manage the full recruitment cycle: define needs with leaders, source and interview candidates, negotiate offers, and onboard new hires effectively.
Partner with Communications and leadership to strengthen the studio’s employer brand, highlighting our people and culture to attract top talent.
Build diverse candidate pipelines and promote equitable hiring practices across disciplines and studios.
Data, Systems & Policy
Maintain data accuracy within HRIS systems; generate and analyze reports on turnover, hiring, learning participation, and engagement.
Use insights to identify trends, opportunities, and solutions for leadership action.
Partner with firmwide HR to operationalize firmwide policies and ensure compliance across regions and offices.
Core Competencies
Strategic mindset and business acumen
Full lifecycle ownership and integrated HR thinking
Growth mindset and commitment to continuous learning
Strong interpersonal, facilitation, and coaching skills
Excellent written and verbal communication
Comfort navigating ambiguity and complex issues
High emotional intelligence, discretion, and integrity
Technical Skills & Tools
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (including Teams)
Experience with UKG Pro or equivalent HRIS platforms
Familiarity with Deltek Vision and Cognos BI preferred
Experience using LMS platforms and analytics dashboards
Education & Credentials
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Psychology, or related field
SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR credential strongly preferred
10+ years of progressive HR or HRBP experience within professional services, architecture, design, or related creative industries
We foster a culture that is diverse and inclusive and strive for pay practices that are fair, and competitive and reflect our commitment to pay equity. Our compensation decisions include but are not limited to a candidate’s qualifications including skill sets, education, experience and training, licensure and certifications credentials if applicable, and business-related factors. This practice extends to all employees, including performance considerations for merit increases, job promotions, and transfer opportunities. We additionally review our pay practices; conduct pay equity audits and ensure our managers are trained in our pay practices on an annual basis.
At the time of posting this job advertisement, the annual pay range for this position is between $110,000 - $145,000 commensurate with qualifications
*Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Perkins&Will has established and adopted an Equal Employment Opportunity Employment policy (“EEO”), which is part of the Company’s Human Resources Policy. The purpose of this EEO policy is to ensure that all employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis, and without regard to sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, gender reassignment, citizenship, pregnancy or maternity, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable national, federal, state, or local law. In some cases, local laws and regulations may provide greater protections than those outlined here and employees will be covered by the laws of their local jurisdiction.
Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision
Perkins&Will will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.
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