GALLUP

Director - Talent Assessment Science, Omaha

GALLUP$150K — $175K *
Omaha, NE 68104In-Person
Business Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Ph.D. in I-O psychology or a closely related field
  • 10+ years building real-world client assessments
  • Experience with item writing, scale development, and IRT modeling
  • In-depth knowledge of EEOC regulations and employment selection guidelines
  • Proficient in statistical analysis using R, Python, or similar tools
  • Availability to work in Omaha office at least 3 days a week
  • U.S. work eligibility without visa sponsorship

Responsibilities

  • Lead assessment construction and validation across various methodologies
  • Partner with clients to identify needs and deliver data-driven solutions
  • Develop structured interview systems that align with scientific principles
  • Analyze Gallup's vast pre-hire assessment dataset for actionable insights
  • Advance assessment methodology employing CAT, IRT, and AI techniques
  • Guide and develop a senior team through hands-on involvement in projects

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching
  • Employee stock ownership program
  • Family-building benefits
  • Employee assistance program
  • Wellbeing enhancement reimbursements and activities
Full Job Description
Set the direction and shape the science behind who gets hired.

The work of our Hiring Analytics practice spans the full range, from building proprietary instruments to curating and validating the best of what already exists. Leading this practice requires exceptional judgment to choose the right solution and strategic vision to modernize and advance assessment science in a rapidly evolving industry.

This is a player-coach role in the truest sense: senior enough to set where the portfolio goes, yet close enough to the methods that the work still carries your fingerprints. You will guide the practice into adaptive testing, AI-augmented assessment and modern validation while developing a small, senior team that grows because you are in the work alongside them.

What You'll Do
  • Lead the construction and validation of assessments from the ground up across cognitive, behavioral, situational and work-sample formats: item writing at scale; scale development; IRT calibration; and the criterion, content and construct validation that hold up to EEOC and Uniform Guidelines scrutiny.
  • Partner directly with clients, scoping needs, shaping solutions, presenting psychometric findings and defending the science with equal fluency to legal teams, executives and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Build structured interview systems at speed, developing behaviorally anchored, job-relevant guides that balance scientific rigor against commercial timelines - two demands that rarely agree - so clients have tools they can actually use.
  • Draw discoveries out of our data, mining Gallup's 17M+ pre-hire assessment dataset for novel validity evidence, performance predictors, subgroup patterns and insights that serve clients and advance the field, including the occasional inconvenient result.
  • Advance the methodology in CAT, IRT, AI-assisted item generation, automated scoring, and candidate evaluation models; connect that science to CliftonStrengths® and the talent philosophy the firm is built on; and serve as the authoritative voice on AI in assessment and where its fast-moving regulation is heading.
  • Develop your people through real reps on real problems. Set the scientific standard; coach researchers and psychometricians on method and craft; and guide the assessment science on major client engagements alongside strategy, analytics, technology and client-service colleagues.

What Makes You Stand Out
  • Validation rigor across the full arc: You have done confirmatory factor analysis for construct validity, criterion-related designs that predict rather than merely correlate, norming and standardization, and adverse impact analysis that you have taken through to remediation.
  • A researcher's instinct for discovery: You treat a dataset as territory to explore rather than merely validate, alongside fluency in AI as both tool and context, building with it and thinking ahead about what it means for the integrity and fairness of hiring decisions.
  • Assessment science expertise: You have deep knowledge of EEOC regulations, the Uniform Guidelines and SIOP principles, and you have confidently defended assessment methodologies to legal stakeholders and regulatory audiences.
  • The temperament of a player-coach: You are senior enough to set the standard, secure enough to stay in the craft, and willing to tell a room of executives something it would rather not hear. Your credibility comes from your science, not your title.

What You Need - Requirements
  • A Ph.D. in I-O psychology or a closely related field
  • At least 10 years of experience building assessments for clients, on commercial timelines, that businesses paid for and used, with at least five years in an applied, non-academic setting
  • Demonstrated test construction, not merely an acquaintance with it; you have experience writing items at scale with quality and bias review, scale development you have actually shipped, and IRT modeling
  • Deep knowledge of EEOC regulations, the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures and SIOP principles, with experience conducting job analyses and defending assessments in legal/EEOC contexts
  • Statistical analysis experience using R, Python or similar tools
  • A commitment to working on-site at Gallup's Omaha office at least three days per week
  • Eligibility to work in the United States; this position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship

Why Lead Hiring Analytics at Gallup

We exist for our clients, and they come to us to answer a simple question: Who should we trust with this work? The answer reshapes a person's career and a company's trajectory, and getting it right is our mission. The science is how we keep that promise, drawn from the same body of research that produced CliftonStrengths, employee engagement, and manager and leadership development - some of the most recognized workplace science in the world.

Gallup's hiring analytics are backed by a foundation few organizations can match:
  • 60+ years studying how organizations find, select and develop top performers, and a conviction about human potential that has not wavered across any of it
  • 17 million completed pre-hire assessments: a dataset built to fuel validation, benchmarking and the next generation of adaptive, AI-augmented hiring tools
  • A deep, loyal client base and the appetite to invest in what the AI era now demands

About Gallup

At Gallup, we change the world, one client at a time, through extraordinary analytics and advice on everything important facing humankind. Learn more about our work and life at Gallup.

Gallup offers a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, life and other insurance options; a fully vested 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching; an employee stock ownership program; family-building benefits; an employee assistance program; and various reimbursements and activities that enhance our associates' wellbeing. We also offer an estimated annual salary range of $150,000-$175,000 for this role. Salaries are based on a variety of factors, including an individual's education, experience and skills.

#LI-Hybrid

#LI-JM1

About GALLUP

Gallup is a global analytics and advice firm that provides insights and advice to help organizations solve their most pressing problems. The company was founded in 1935 by George Gallup, who is known for developing the Gallup poll. Gallup's services include public opinion polling, employee engagement surveys, and consulting services. The company has offices in more than 20 countries and serves clients in a variety of industries, including healthcare, education, and government. Gallup is known for its research on employee engagement, which has been widely cited in the business press.
Learn more about GALLUP
Size
2,000 employees
Industry

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at GALLUP

  • GALLUP
    Senior Product Designer
    $108K — $138K *
    Omaha, NE 68104 (Douglas County)
    Consumer Technology
    In-Person
  • GALLUP
    Senior User Researcher
    $120K — $135K *
    San Francisco, CA 94112 (San Francisco County)
    Consumer Technology
    In-Person
  • GALLUP
    Mobile Designer
    $97K — $126K *
    Omaha, NE 68104 (Douglas County)
    Consumer Technology
    In-Person
  • GALLUP
    Mobile Designer
    $123K — $162K *
    San Francisco, CA 94112 (San Francisco County)
    Consumer Technology
    In-Person
  • GALLUP
    Engineering Manager - Innovation
    $150K — $180K *
    Omaha, NE 68104 (Douglas County)
    Enterprise Technology
    In-Person

More Business Services Jobs

Find similar Director - Talent Assessment Science, Omaha jobs: