Talent Manager (Manager, Talent Management)

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and execute an enterprise talent strategy aligned with Whelen’s business and workforce priorities.
• Connect workforce planning, talent acquisition, learning, performance, succession, career development, and internal mobility into an integrated talent agenda.
• Lead workforce planning frameworks and processes, partnering with HR Business Partners and leaders to identify future capability, capacity, and critical-role needs.
• Translate workforce needs into priorities for recruiting, development, succession, and learning.
• Lead enterprise talent reviews focused on performance, potential, readiness, mobility, and talent risk.
• Help operationalize Whelen’s job architecture as a foundation for career paths, internal mobility, development, succession, workforce planning, and talent acquisition.
• Build and continuously improve the Talent Management operating model, governance, tools, measures, and roadmap.

• Lead Whelen’s Learning & Development function, setting strategy, priorities, expectations, and measures for the L&D team.
• Own the enterprise L&D strategy and annual plan, aligning learning investments to business priorities and workforce capability needs.
• Ensure delivery of Whelen’s key learning commitments, including leadership development, career development, compliance learning, and other priority capability-building programs.
• Provide strategic leadership for Whelen University and the broader learning ecosystem.
• Partner with HR Business Partners and business leaders to identify capability gaps and prioritize learning solutions.
• Oversee the learning portfolio while empowering the L&D team to manage program design and day-to-day delivery.
• Connect learning to performance management, career pathways, job architecture, succession, internal mobility, and leadership development.
• Oversee learning technology, content, vendors, and external partners, including effective use of Workday Learning.
• Measure participation, effectiveness, capability development, behavior change, and business impact and adjust investments accordingly.
• Coach and develop the L&D team and evolve the capability as business needs change.

• Own Whelen’s enterprise performance management philosophy, framework, standards, and cycle design.
• Connect performance management to development, career growth, succession, recognition, and other talent programs.
• Partner with HR Operations and HR Business Partners to translate the framework into Workday processes, communications, reporting, and manager guidance.
• Equip HR Business Partners to advise leaders throughout goal setting, feedback, reviews, development planning, and performance improvement.
• Use performance data and feedback to identify talent priorities and continuously improve the process.

• Design and govern succession planning for leadership, critical, and hard-to-replace roles.
• Facilitate enterprise talent and succession reviews in partnership with HR Business Partners.
• Identify high-potential and high-impact talent and translate reviews into development, mobility, and retention actions.
• Lead the strategy for leadership development and ensure programs address Whelen’s current and future leadership needs.
• Use job architecture and career pathways to strengthen succession pipelines and clarify development paths.
• Monitor bench strength, readiness, mobility, and talent risk.

• Establish enterprise approaches to career development, internal mobility, and employee growth.
• Operationalize Whelen’s job architecture and Career Pathways as practical tools employees and leaders can use to understand roles, career opportunities, skills, and development needs.
• Connect career pathways to learning, performance, succession, recruiting, and internal mobility.
• Partner with HR Business Partners and leaders to identify development opportunities for individuals and teams.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and career growth.

• Use talent data, workforce analytics, and assessment tools to improve talent decisions.
• Establish measures across workforce planning, performance, succession, mobility, leadership development, and learning.
• Provide HR and business leaders with clear insights on talent trends, risks, and priorities.
• Measure the effectiveness of talent and learning programs and recommend improvements.

• Organizational Effectiveness
• Provide talent and capability expertise to organizational design, change, and business transformation initiatives.
• Partner with HR Business Partners to identify recurring workforce, capability, engagement, and performance needs.
• Use job architecture, talent data, and workforce insights to strengthen organizational capability and clarify development priorities.
• Partner with the Manager, Total Rewards to connect career architecture, talent practices, and rewards programs where appropriate.

• Serve as Whelen’s enterprise leader for Talent Management and Learning & Development, accountable for strategy, team effectiveness, execution, and outcomes.
• Lead, coach, and develop the L&D team.
• Provide enterprise talent frameworks, tools, analytics, and specialized expertise to the HR organization.
• Partner closely with HR Business Partners, who remain the primary relationship owners and business-facing delivery partners.
• Equip HR Business Partners with the tools and expertise needed to deliver talent programs and incorporate business feedback into enterprise design.
• Engage directly with leaders, in coordination with the relevant HR Business Partner, when specialized talent expertise or enterprise facilitation is needed.
• Serve as a core member of the HR Leadership Team and contribute to Whelen’s broader people strategy.

Education and Experience

• 5+ years of progressive experience in talent management, Learning & Development, organizational development, or related HR disciplines, including experience in a strategic or leadership capacity.
• Experience leading or providing significant oversight of an L&D function, team, or enterprise learning portfolio.
• Experience translating business and workforce needs into learning, development, and talent priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to set strategy, lead through others, and create accountability for execution and outcomes.
• Experience across multiple talent disciplines, such as workforce planning, succession, performance management, leadership development, career development, talent acquisition, or organizational effectiveness.
• Experience implementing or operationalizing job architecture, career frameworks, or related talent infrastructure.
• Strong understanding of talent acquisition strategy, sourcing, vendor management, and recruiting process improvement.
• Experience working across HR Business Partners, centers of expertise, and HR Operations or shared services.
• Strong executive presence, facilitation, coaching, analytical, change management, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing and developing direct reports.

• Experience in a manufacturing, engineering, or industrial environment.
• Experience with Workday Learning, Talent, or comparable platforms.
• Experience managing learning ovendors and service-level expectations.
• Experience with curriculum strategy, leadership development, or enterprise capability-building programs.
• Relevant SHRM, HRCI, coaching, talent assessment, L&D, or organizational development credentials.

All Employees Shall

• Comply with the EH&S Policy and applicable regulatory and company EH&S rules and requirements
• Report to supervision conditions or practices that are either unsafe or that may adversely impact the environment, to ensure prompt resolution of potential hazards
• Attend scheduled EH&S training program
• Actively support the organization’s efforts to meet or exceed EH&S goals and plans
• Recommend improved EH&S practices