Head of Talent & Learning

Industry: Banking

Job Summary

Our client, a leading commercial bank, is seeking an experienced and strategic professional to lead its Talent & Learning function. This role will be responsible for building and institutionalizing an integrated talent and capability framework that strengthens leadership pipelines, workforce capability, succession planning, and organizational performance.

The Head of Talent & Learning will transform the function from a traditional training-focused department into a business capability engine that directly supports productivity, leadership readiness, workforce effectiveness, and long-term organizational growth.

This role carries enterprise-wide accountability for talent development outcomes, capability building, and leadership succession readiness.

Main Responsibilities

Talent Management & Succession Planning

• Develop and implement enterprise-wide succession planning frameworks for critical roles.
• Identify and manage high-potential talent pools and leadership pipelines.
• Establish talent review governance processes with senior leadership participation.
• Monitor internal mobility and leadership readiness across the organization.
• Ensure sustainable talent pipelines for key business and leadership positions.

Learning & Capability Development

• Design and execute the Bank's learning and capability-building strategy.
• Establish structured learning academies for Sales, Risk, Leadership, and key functional areas.
• Align learning initiatives with business priorities and strategic objectives.
• Embed continuous learning into day-to-day business operations.
• Drive capability development programs that improve workforce performance.

Workforce Capability Planning

• Assess current and future capability requirements across the organization.
• Identify critical skills gaps and develop capability-building roadmaps.
• Support workforce planning and organizational design initiatives.
• Align talent development priorities with business growth and transformation strategies.

Learning Effectiveness & Performance Impact

• Develop frameworks to measure learning effectiveness and return on investment (ROI).
• Evaluate the impact of learning initiatives on productivity, sales performance, and risk management.
• Eliminate low-impact training programs and optimize learning investments.
• Ensure learning activities deliver measurable business outcomes.

Leadership Development & Culture

• Design leadership development pathways for emerging, mid-level, and senior leaders.
• Support onboarding and integration of senior hires and expatriate leaders.
• Promote leadership behaviors aligned with the Bank's values and strategic direction.
• Drive culture initiatives that strengthen accountability, performance, and collaboration.

Main Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, Psychology, Education, or a related field.
• Minimum 12–18 years of experience in Talent Management, Learning & Development, Leadership Development, or Organizational Development.
• Proven experience designing and implementing succession planning and talent management frameworks.
• Strong experience leading large-scale capability-building and learning initiatives.
• Deep understanding of workforce capability development and leadership pipeline management.
• Experience measuring learning effectiveness and linking capability initiatives to business outcomes.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills at Executive Committee (ExCo) level.
• Banking or financial services industry experience is highly preferred.

Preferred Profile

• Senior Talent & Learning leader from a commercial bank or large financial institution.
• Strong track record in succession planning, leadership development, and workforce capability transformation.
• Experience building scalable talent and learning frameworks across large organizations.
• Commercial mindset with the ability to link talent investments to business performance.
• Strong strategic thinking, execution discipline, and change management capability.

Success Measures (12–18 Months)

• Succession plans established for all critical positions.
• Improved leadership pipeline strength and talent visibility.
• Increased internal promotion and key-role fill rates.
• Measurable productivity improvements across business units.
• Reduced low-impact training spend and improved learning ROI.
• Successful implementation of learning academies with measurable outcomes.
• Positive executive feedback regarding talent readiness and workforce capability.