Talent Development Programme Lead | Global Quantitative Research & Technology Firm in Slough

Location: London

Working Pattern: 5 days per week in office

The Opportunity:

Hawkwood is partnering on a confidential search for a Talent Development Programme Lead to join one of the fastest-growing quantitative and systematic investment managers globally. This technology-driven organisation applies a highly scientific approach to complex investment challenges, bringing together expertise across research, engineering, data science and technology. Having experienced extraordinary growth in recent years, the business has expanded from approximately 750 to 1,500 employees over the past 18 months alone, with ambitious plans to double in size again over the coming years.

As the organisation continues to scale globally, attracting, developing and retaining exceptional talent has become a strategic priority. To support this next phase of growth, the firm is continuing to invest in a high-performing People, Culture and Talent function focused on delivering a world-class employee experience and building the organisational capability required to support long-term success.

Reporting to the Global Talent Development Manager and working as part of an established international Talent Development team, this role will sit at the centre of a global portfolio of programmes. The mandate is to drive operational excellence, governance, stakeholder alignment and delivery quality across multiple talent initiatives that support a highly capable and intellectually rigorous employee population.

This is not a traditional Learning & Development role focused on facilitation, training delivery or content creation. Instead, the focus is programme leadership, governance, execution and scale. The programmes already exist; the challenge is ensuring they are delivered consistently, effectively and globally.

For an individual who enjoys bringing structure to complexity, partnering with senior stakeholders and driving outcomes across multiple workstreams, this role offers exceptional visibility, influence and scope. It is a rare opportunity to shape how Talent Development operates within a business that is still building, evolving and scaling at pace.

What you'll do:

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of global Talent Development programmes and initiatives
• Build and manage programme plans, delivery frameworks and implementation roadmaps
• Coordinate multiple concurrent workstreams across regions and stakeholder groups
• Establish governance structures, reporting mechanisms and programme tracking processes
• Identify delivery risks and implement effective mitigation strategies
• Partner closely with senior leaders, HR Business Partners and programme owners
• Manage relationships with external vendors and development partners
• Drive stakeholder alignment across complex and matrixed environments
• Build reporting dashboards and programme performance metrics
• Analyse programme effectiveness and use data to inform decision-making
• Support continuous improvement through insight, measurement and operational discipline
• Create scalable processes that enable global consistency and sustainable growth
• Improve programme governance, visibility and delivery quality across the Talent Development portfolio
• Help enable Talent Development initiatives to scale effectively alongside continued organisational growth

You will bring:

• Proven programme management experience across Talent, People, Learning, Organisational Development or HR transformation
• The ability to lead complex, multi-workstream programmes with structure, pace and accountability
• Strong experience operating in fast-moving, high-growth or scaling environments
• Confidence partnering with senior stakeholders and influencing across a global, matrixed organisation
• Excellent project planning, governance and delivery discipline
• A highly organised, execution-focused style with the ability to manage competing priorities without losing detail
• Strong analytical capability, with the ability to use data to track progress, measure impact and improve decision-making
• Experience creating reporting, dashboards or programme metrics; Power BI or similar tools would be a strong advantage
• A clear interest in technology, automation and operational excellence
• Ideally, experience gained in a technology-led, highly analytical or intellectually rigorous environment
• Exposure to Talent Development, Learning & Development or People Programmes is advantageous
• French language skills would be beneficial but are not essential

Please note: this role is best suited to someone with strong programme management experience. It is not a facilitation-led, training delivery or content design role.

We recognise how challenging this current job market is for candidates, and Hawkwood are therefore striving to provide the best candidate experience we can. If you are interested in this opportunity, we kindly request that you apply via this LinkedIn advert, as opposed to sending us an email or LinkedIn direct message. We are eager to ensure that each candidate application is considered fairly, and receives a consistent experience. Unfortunately, we cannot ensure this standard if you inquire about a role via email or LinkedIn message, as it falls outside of our established process.