Talent and Performance Manager

Talent and Performance Manager

6 - 12-month Contract Role

London - City

£55,000 - £65,000

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Talent Development Manager to shape and deliver a learning and succession strategy within a large, complex, customer-focused organisation.

This is a high-profile role with significant visibility across the executive leadership team, providing the opportunity to influence business continuity, leadership capability, workforce planning, and succession strategies at the most senior levels of the organisation.

Working closely with senior stakeholders, you will design and implement a practical and commercially focused talent framework that supports future growth, leadership development, and organisational resilience.

Key Responsibilities

Talent & Succession Planning

• Lead the development and implementation of a group-wide talent and succession strategy.
• Create succession plans for critical leadership and business-critical roles.
• Build internal talent pipelines to support future organisational needs.
• Identify key talent gaps and recommend targeted development solutions.
• Develop frameworks to improve leadership continuity and organisational resilience.

Strategic Workforce Planning

• Partner with senior leaders to understand future capability requirements.
• Support workforce planning initiatives across multiple business divisions.
• Analyse organisational capability, talent risks and succession readiness.
• Create practical plans to address skills shortages and future talent needs.

Leadership Development

• Design leadership development pathways for senior management and executive populations.
• Support the upskilling of leaders through targeted development initiatives.
• Establish talent review processes and leadership assessment approaches.
• Embed a consistent approach to identifying and nurturing high-potential talent.

Executive & Board Engagement

• Work directly with Executive Leadership Teams to shape talent priorities.
• Prepare talent, succession and workforce planning papers for Board and committee discussions.
• Present clear recommendations on talent risks, succession readiness and organisational capability.
• Translate complex talent data into meaningful business insights for senior stakeholders.

Programme Leadership

• Lead and deliver a strategic talent development project from design through to implementation.
• Conduct organisation-wide talent and succession assessments.
• Develop actionable roadmaps that can be sustained beyond the initial project period.
• Ensure talent initiatives align with business objectives and long-term growth plans.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Partner with HR, Learning & Development and business leaders across multiple brands and divisions.
• Facilitate cross-functional conversations around talent mobility and career progression.
• Encourage internal movement and development opportunities across the organisation.

About You

We are looking for a strategic talent professional who can combine big-picture thinking with practical delivery.

You will bring:

• Proven experience designing and implementing talent management and succession planning strategies.
• Experience operating within large, complex, matrix organisations.
• Strong workforce planning and organisational development expertise.
• Experience working with Executive Committees, Boards and senior leadership teams.
• The ability to analyse talent data and translate insights into practical recommendations.

For more information please get in touch to discuss further.

At Gleeson Recruitment Group, we embrace inclusivity and welcome applicants of all backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. We are proud to be a disability confident employer.

By applying you will be registered as a candidate with Gleeson Recruitment Limited. Our Privacy Policy is available on our website and explains how we will use your data.