Talent and workforce capability director

About the role

The Director of Talent is responsible for shaping and delivering the firm’s workforce, talent and capability strategy to ensure the organisation has the skills, leadership and talent needed for current and future business priorities.

The role leads workforce planning, experienced and executive hiring, early careers, talent development, capability building and career frameworks. Combining all these areas into a total talent pillar within the People function alongside a People Operations pillar will allow us to drive the entire talent lifecycle as one. A core focus of the role is modernising the firm’s talent approach through workforce insight, technology, automation and scalable delivery models.

This role will play a critical role in helping the firm evolve towards a more strategic, data-led and future-focused workforce model.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition

Lead early careers, experienced hire and executive talent acquisition strategy.

Improve quality, speed and effectiveness of hiring activities.

Review recruitment processes, tools and supplier arrangements.

Identify opportunities to improve scalability and candidate experience through: automationATS optimisationprocess redesignshared service support outsourcing models where appropriate

Workforce Strategy & Planning

Develop and lead the firm’s workforce and capability strategy aligned to business priorities.

Build strategic workforce planning capability across headcount, skills and future demand.

Partner with business leaders to identify capability gaps and future workforce requirements.

Improve forecasting and workforce visibility across the organisation.

Talent Development

Lead leadership and partner/director development initiatives.

Build leadership capability aligned to firm values, growth and strategic priorities.

Develop succession and future leadership capability frameworks.

Oversee professional, technical and capability development across the firm.

Develop future-focused learning and skills frameworks.

Lead AI and digital capability initiatives across the workforce.

Ensure learning investment supports business and client needs.

Careers & Mobility

Develop clear career pathways and progression frameworks.

Improve internal mobility and career development opportunities.

Oversee principles and frameworks linked to global mobility.

Drive retention and workforce agility through better career visibility and movement opportunities.

Employee Experience

Lead and deliver a firm-wide employee experience and DEI strategy aligned to business priorities

Embed inclusive practices across the end-to-end talent lifecycle (hire, develop, progress, retain)

Use employee insight and data to identify gaps and drive targeted experience and inclusion improvements

Integrate DEI and experience into workforce planning, leadership capability and talent processes

Leverage technology and scalable models (including automation/shared services) to enhance delivery and impact

Leadership & Team development

Build and lead a high-performing total Talent function

Develop capability across workforce planning, TA, learning and careers teams

Create a culture of innovation, accountability and continuous improvement.

What we’re looking for

Key Skills and Experience

Significant senior talent leadership experience within professional services or another complex people-intensive environment.

Strong experience across workforce planning, talent acquisition, learning and leadership development.

Experience implementing talent transformation and workforce initiatives.

Strong understanding of future workforce trends and capability development.

Experience operating strategically with senior business stakeholders.

Commercial and strategic thinking

Data and workforce analytics capability

Ability to translate business strategy into workforce action

DirectorPermanentBIRMINGHAMHuman Resources