Futures start here. Where first steps, new friendships, and confident learners are born. At KinderCare Learning Companies, the first and only early childhood education provider recognized with the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award, we offer a variety of early education and child care options for families. Whether it’s KinderCare Learning Centers, Champions, or Crème de la Crème, we build confidence for kids, families, and the future we share. And we want you to join us in shaping it—in neighborhoods, at work, and in schools nationwide.

At KinderCare Learning Companies, you’ll use your skills and expertise to support the work (and fun) that happens in our sites and centers every day. From marketers and strategists to financial analysts and data engineers, and so much more, we’re all passionate about crafting a world where children, families, and organizations can thrive.  

The Senior Manager, Strategic Talent Elevation is an enterprise talent architect and builder — a rare profile who co-owns talent strategy with the VP and then operationalizes it with precision across a $2.5B, 45,000-person organization. This is not a "run the playbook" role, nor a pure strategy seat. It is deliberately both: you help shape the philosophy, frameworks, and governance for how KLC identifies, develops, and retains talent. You also own the disciplined execution that turns those frameworks into programs that run on time across a distributed, matrixed, multi-brand environment.

This role sits within KinderCare’s newly formed Enterprise Center of Excellence, Talent Strategy & Elevation, working directly with the VP as a strategic thought partner and execution engine. The full talent portfolio runs through this role: performance management, talent reviews, succession and pipeline, workforce planning, and organizational effectiveness. This is a build role — systems aren't complete, calendars aren't consistent, and standards need to be set. The right person has architected talent systems before (not just administered someone else's), knows how to move work through influence rather than authority, and genuinely wants to get into the field to learn our brands, our centers, and the people who run them.

Responsibilities:

• Co-own the strategy — Bring a developed point of view to framework design: calibration philosophy, succession methodology, performance differentiation, and segmentation criteria; you draft, challenge, and co-author enterprise talent strategy alongside the VP — not wait for it to be handed down

• Execute with precision — Own the operational spine: calendars, toolkits, launch governance, readiness checks, analytics, and follow-through; s you are accountable for programs running cleanly, consistently, and on time across every brand and corporate function; build a strong partnership with Talent Program Manager

• Build through partnership — Nothing in this portfolio ships alone. L&D, HR Operations, and HRBPs are your co-builders and delivery partners — this role succeeds or fails on the strength of those relationships

TALENT STRATEGY CO-OWNERSHIP

• Partner with the VP, Talent Strategy & Elevation to architect the enterprise talent management strategy (philosophy, governance model, and multi-year roadmap) and evolve it based on outcomes data

• Bring a credible, developed point of view to design decisions: what good calibration looks like, why succession plans fail, and how performance differentiation connects to business outcomes

• Represent this function in cross-functional settings and serve as an extension of the VP with HRBPs, L&D, and HR Operations partners

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

• Co-design and operationalize the enterprise performance management framework — structure, rating philosophy, calibration process design, and governance

• Build the annual calibration process and manager toolkits, partnering with HRBPs who lead field delivery and with L&D on manager capability building

• Govern PIP and coaching standards for consistency across brands, in partnership with HRBPs and Employee Relations

• Own performance outcomes analytics: distribution, manager compliance, and correlation to attrition, mobility, and business results

• Maintain and enhance HRIS talent modules in partnership with HR Operations and Principal Talent Program Manager

TALENT REVIEWS & CALIBRATION

• Architect and govern the enterprise talent review process — calibration methodology, assessment framework (6-box), readiness ratings, and talent segmentation criteria

• Design the facilitation approach and calibration guides alongside L&D partners

• Own hi-potential identification criteria and program design, collaborating with L&D on development programming

• Define program efficacy metrics and run measurement and success criteria

SUCCESSION & PIPELINE

• Build and own the succession planning methodology: successor identification criteria, readiness laddering, depth targets, and development plan integration

• Drive documentation of critical-role succession plans with depth ratings and clear development linkage

• Drive internal mobility strategy and governance, defining how movement happens across brands and corporate functions and moving the needle on cross-brand mobility and career velocity

• Design career pathing frameworks for key role families and coordinate with HRBPs on field-level implementation

WORKFORCE PLANNING & ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

• Serve as the talent voice in enterprise workforce planning: connect succession depth, skills gap analysis, and readiness data to the organization's 1–3 year workforce plan

• Co-own mission-critical role identification with HR-ELT, ensuring successor health is visible in planning conversations and pipeline risk is flagged early to TA and the business

• Partner with HRBPs on spans-and-layers analysis and organizational effectiveness diagnostics

• Apply OE frameworks to measure people program efficacy across the CoE portfolio — not just whether programs ran, but whether they moved outcomes

PROGRAM OPERATIONS & ENTERPRISE CALENDAR

• Accountable for the enterprise talent calendar — performance, succession, and talent review cycles — anticipating conflicts, advocating for sequencing, and driving cross-functional readiness; Talent Program Manager responsible for driving calendar and project plans

• Lead program launch governance in partnership with the Principal Talent Program Manager: stakeholder alignment, readiness checks, communication cadence, and post-launch retrospectives

• Track and report program efficacy metrics (succession pipeline conversion, performance completion, talent movement) to the VP and CHRO

FIELD & BRAND ENGAGEMENT

• Travel regularly to centers and field sites to learn brand nuances and build relationships with brand and field leaders

• Learn our brands from the inside — how they operate, what their talent realities are, and where enterprise frameworks need to flex — and bring that field intelligence back into program design

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3 years owning or co-owning enterprise-level talent management programs and leading a team

• Proven experience architecting talent review, succession, and performance systems — designing frameworks from the ground up, not just running someone else's — inside a large, distributed organization (10,000+ employees strongly preferred)

• A developed talent philosophy and the confidence to bring a point of view to strategy conversations with the VP and senior stakeholders — paired with the humility to co-create rather than dictate

• Exceptional operational discipline: you build calendars, design toolkits, track milestones, and follow up without being asked; execution precision is a point of pride, not an afterthought

• Skilled at facilitation, stakeholder management and executive presence, and influencing without authority in a matrixed environment; strong collaborative instincts with L&D, HR Operations, and HRBP partners

• Strong data orientation: comfortable owning program analytics and building a compelling narrative from talent outcomes data

• Workday Talent or equivalent HRIS experience required

• A genuine desire to get into the field — visiting centers, learning our brands, and building relationships beyond the corporate center; comfortable with periodic travel for program delivery

• Ability to travel up to 25%

#LI-Remote

Our benefits meet you where you are. We’re here to help our employees navigate the integration of work and life:
- Know your whole family is supported with discounted child care benefits.

- Breathe easy with medical, dental, and vision benefits for your family (and pets, too!).
- Feel supported in your mental health and personal growth with employee assistance programs.
- Feel great and thrive with access to health and wellness programs, paid time off and discounts for work necessities, such as cell phones.
- … and much more.

We operate research-backed, accredited, and customizable programs in more than 2,000 sites and centers across 40 states and the District of Columbia. As we expand, we’re matching the needs of more and more families, dynamic work environments, and diverse communities from coast to coast. Because we believe every family deserves access to high-quality child care, no matter who they are or where they live. Every day, you’ll help bring this mission to life by building community and delivering exceptional experiences. And if you’re anything like us, you’ll come for the work, and stay for the people. 

KinderCare Learning Companies is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law.