POSITION SUMMARY:The Director, Talent is the network leader responsible for establishing and evolving core talent practices across the UConn Health Community Network. This role leads the design, implementation, and ongoing refinement of how the network approaches workforce planning, talent acquisition, onboarding, performance management, development, learning, and succession as the organization grows.
Operating within a networked HR environment, the Director, Talent sets standards, priorities, and ways of working for talent-related activities, with accountability for consistency, scalability, and outcomes across the network. The role enables local HR and operational leaders to execute effectively within defined guardrails, while retaining accountability for network-level priorities, standards, and approaches.
This position is well suited for a senior talent leader who is comfortable building practices from the ground up, exercising sound judgment in areas without established precedent, and partnering with senior leaders and peer network HR leaders to shape a sustainable, enterprise-ready talent function within a complex healthcare environment.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:- Bachelor's degree required (Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business, or related field).
- 10+ years of progressive experience across talent acquisition, talent management, and/or learning and development, with increasing scope and accountability.
- 5+ years of experience in enterprise-level or multi-site roles, including responsibility for designing or establishing talent practices, not solely executing them.
- Demonstrated experience building or significantly evolving talent practices in environments with limited existing infrastructure or during periods of growth or integration.
- Proven ability to exercise sound judgment and make precedent-setting decisions affecting multiple leaders, teams, or sites.
- Experience partnering closely with senior or executive leaders to shape talent priorities and guide decisions where network consistency and local needs intersect.
- Strong analytical skills, with experience using data and insight to guide workforce and talent decisions.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:- Master's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, or related field.
- Experience in healthcare, academic medical centers, or other highly regulated environments.
- Experience operating within a networked or system-level HR model.
- Professional certification (SPHR, SHRM-SCP, or equivalent).
- Experience supporting organizational integration, scaling, or transformation efforts.
COMPETENCIES:- Enterprise Talent Leadership: Thinks across the organization; understands cross-functional impacts and dependencies.
- Practice Building & Design: Able to create practical, scalable talent practices where none or few exist.
- Judgment & Decision-Making: Comfortable making informed decisions in ambiguous or evolving environments.
- Leadership & Workforce Development: Brings experience designing development and learning practices that strengthen leadership capability and workforce readiness across multiple sites.
- Collaborative Partnership: Builds strong working relationships with peer network HR leaders, local HR leaders, and senior operational leaders.
- Change & Scale Readiness: Adapts talent practices as the organization grows and complexity increases.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES: Disclaimer: Job descriptions are not intended, nor should they be construed to be, exhaustive lists of all responsibilities, skills, efforts or working conditions associated with the job. They are intended to be accurate reflections of the principal duties and responsibilities of this position. These responsibilities and competencies listed below may change from time to time.- Network Talent Strategy & Practice Design
- Establish and evolve network-wide talent practices, priorities, and operating expectations.
- Lead the design of scalable approaches across workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, development, learning, and succession planning.
- Establish and maintain talent-related standards and ways of working across the network.
- Partner with external talent-related vendors and partners (e.g., recruiting, learning, assessment providers) to reinforce network standards and support delivery of talent priorities.
- Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning
- Provide network-level oversight for recruiting strategy and prioritization, including hard-to-fill and network-critical roles.
- Establish standards and guidance for recruiting, selection, and onboarding processes across network entities.
- Use workforce and hiring data to inform capacity planning, prioritization, and recruiting focus areas.
- Partner with hospital and operational leaders to reinforce consistent, disciplined talent practices and expectations that support long-term workforce quality and stability.
- Performance, Development & Learning
- Define network expectations for performance management, feedback, and talent review processes that support leadership effectiveness and workforce engagement.
- Establish a practical, scalable approach to leadership development, workforce development, and learning, aligned to network maturity and needs.
- Partner with local leaders and HR teams to support consistent application and continuous improvement of development and learning practices.
- Succession & Talent Risk Management
- Establish and maintain a network-level approach to succession planning for critical leadership and select non-leadership roles critical to network stability.
- Partner with senior leaders to identify talent risks, readiness gaps, and development implications.
- Use qualitative insight and available data to support proactive workforce and leadership risk discussions.
- Data, Insights & Continuous Improvement
- Own the use and interpretation of network-level talent data and insights, including hiring, workforce planning, and succession-related themes.
- Partner with local HR and Talent Acquisition leaders to incorporate site-level data and context into network-wide analysis and planning.
- Identify workforce risks, capability gaps, and improvement opportunities across the network, using both quantitative data and qualitative insight.
- Use insights to inform the evolution of network talent standards, workforce planning, and expectations over time.
- Network Enablement & Partnership
- Partner closely with local HR leaders to enable adoption of network standards while respecting site-specific needs.
- Collaborate with peer network HR leaders (Total Rewards, HR Operations, HR Technology) to reinforce integrated and aligned people practices.
- Support readiness for integration of new sites by ensuring talent practices are clear, transferable, and scalable.
- Provide regular insights to network and local HR leadership and hospital leaders to support informed discussions and prioritization.
- Contribute to continuous improvement of HR processes, tools, and service delivery in alignment with network standards.
