About the Role
The Director, Talent Development & Strategy will serve as a strategic and operational leader responsible for advancing WME’s assistant-to-agent development ecosystem across the agency. This role will drive the design, integration, and execution of early-career development programs, ensuring a cohesive and scalable approach to onboarding, training, performance management, and career progression. The Director will play a critical role in shaping the next generation of WME agents by aligning development initiatives with broader business, talent, and operational priorities. Working cross-functionally with HR, Business Operations, Recruitment, Inclusion, and senior leadership, this role will help define and implement a best-in-class agent development infrastructure that supports both individual growth and long-term business success.
Responsibilities
- Lead the design and execution of a comprehensive agent development strategy across all business areas, including Music.
- Oversee and evolve core development programs, including assistant onboarding and training, Farmhouse and Trainee program integration, and early-career agent development initiatives.
- Ensure programming aligns with agency priorities, performance expectations, and long-term talent strategy.
- Identify gaps in development offerings and implement scalable, high-impact solutions.
- Lead the build-out, standardization, and execution of performance management frameworks in partnership with HR and Business Operations.
- Define and operationalize clear performance expectations and success metrics, feedback cadence and evaluation processes, and documentation and escalation pathways.
- Ensure alignment across departments on performance standards, accountability, and evaluation consistency.
- Partner with HRBPs and leadership to support managers in delivering effective, actionable feedback.
- Integrate performance management into broader development programming to ensure a clear link between performance, progression, and promotion readiness.
- Build out and utilize the Workday platform to administer performance management processes, including goal setting, review cycles, and performance documentation, ensuring consistency and data integrity across the organization.
- Serve as a key leader within the HR / Inclusion / Operations Sprints initiative, partnering across HRBPs, Business Operations, Recruitment, Inclusion, and development teams.
- Drive progress across critical workstreams, including performance management frameworks for early-career agents, standardized training curriculum, career progression pathways and promotion criteria, and onboarding and orientation optimization.
- Translate sprint outputs into practical, scalable tools and programming implemented across the agency.
- Ensure alignment across stakeholders and maintain momentum on cross-functional initiatives.
- Oversee the agency-wide onboarding and orientation experience for assistants and agents.
- Partner closely with HR and on-the-ground team members to ensure consistency across departments, strong in-person and virtual delivery, and alignment with WME culture and expectations.
- Continuously refine onboarding experiences using feedback, data, and evolving business needs.
- Ensure alignment across all early-career programs, including assistant training, Trainee Program, Farmhouse, and additional development initiatives.
- Create a connected and clearly defined development journey from entry-level roles through early agent years.
- Partner with leadership to ensure programs are integrated into broader talent and business strategies.
- Act as a central point of coordination across Human Resources, Business Operations, Recruitment, Inclusion, and Department and office leadership.
- Build strong relationships across all offices (Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, London) to ensure consistency and adoption of programming.
- Present updates, insights, and recommendations to senior leadership.
Requirements
- 5–7+ years of experience in talent development, organizational development, or related fields.
- Must have previous experience using Workday as an HRIS.
- Experience building out and utilizing the Workday platform to support performance management processes.
- Experience designing and leading scalable development programs in a complex, fast-paced organization.
- Strong understanding of early-career pipelines, performance management, and career progression frameworks.
- Experience working cross-functionally with HR, Operations, and business leadership.
- Entertainment, media, or agency experience is strongly preferred.
- Demonstrate ownership over agency-wide agent development initiatives and outcomes.
- Drive alignment across multiple stakeholders and departments.
- Deliver high-quality programming that supports both employee development and business performance.
- Maintain consistency, scalability, and operational excellence across all programs.
- Serve as a trusted partner to HR and senior leadership in shaping talent strategy.
Skills
- Strategic thinker with the ability to translate vision into execution.
- Exceptional stakeholder management and influence skills.
- Strong program design, facilitation, and curriculum development capabilities.
- Ability to operate both strategically and tactically.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and organizational skills.
- Data-informed mindset with strong analytical capabilities.
- Collaborative and highly relationship-oriented.
- Proactive, solutions-driven, and adaptable.
- High level of professionalism, discretion, and accountability.
- Passionate about developing talent and building high-performing teams.
- Comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving change across a complex organization.
Location
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Nashville
- London
Work Type
- Full-time
Experience Level
- Director
Salary/Compensations
- $105,000 - $140,000 annually
Benefits
- Health care
- Retirement
- Vacation and other paid time off
- Additional offerings
About the Company
- WME is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religion or belief.
Equal Opportunity
- WME is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religion or belief.
