Director Talent Management
Purpose & Overall Relevance
Lead and drive the end-to-end Talent Management strategy for Greater China, ensuring a strong leadership pipeline, accelerated talent growth, and sustainable organizational performance aligned with business priorities.
Key Responsibilities
1. Talent Strategy & Leadership Pipeline
- Define and drive GCA Talent Strategy, aligned with business growth priorities and global frameworks
- Lead “Build vs. Buy” talent strategy, balancing internal pipeline development and external hiring
- Drive succession planning for key and critical roles, ensuring ready-now and ready-future pipelines
- Provide visibility and governance on leadership pipeline, including alignment with global talent pools
- Translate business strategy into actionable talent priorities and workforce plans
2. Talent Management & Core Processes
- Own and evolve core talent processes (performance, potential, succession) to ensure consistency, quality, and scalability
- Lead SLT-level talent sessions (e.g., Talent Reviews, Succession, TLU) with strong data-driven storytelling
- Drive integrated talent solutions with HRBPs to address business needs (e.g., pipeline gaps, retention risk, capability building)
- Ensure effective execution of locally developed programs, aligned with global standards and best practices
3. Leadership Development & Learning
- Define GCA leadership development agenda, including HiPo, executive development, and critical role readiness
- Identify capability gaps and design or localize high-impact learning solutions
- Foster a continuous learning culture, embedding development into the flow of work
- Ensure clear career pathways and development plans for critical talent segments
4. Early Career Strategy & Future Talent Development
- Define and drive the GCA Early Career strategy, establishing a sustainable pipeline of future talent to support long-term business and organizational growth.
- Lead the design and evolution of early career programs to attract, develop, and retain high-potential young talent, building future leadership capability.
- Partner with business leaders and HRBPs to identify emerging talent needs and develop targeted talent pipelines through internship, management trainee, and early career programs.
5. Talent Mobility, Engagement & Experience
- Drive internal mobility strategy to accelerate talent growth and improve retention
- Enhance onboarding and early experience, ensuring strong integration and engagement
- Lead key engagement initiatives, leveraging insights to improve employee experience and culture
- Strengthen connection across talent lifecycle (hire → develop → retain)
6. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
- Embed DEI across all talent decisions and processes (selection, succession, development)
- Drive diverse talent pipelines, including gender and other priority dimensions
- Deliver against DEI KPIs and ensure equitable access to opportunities
- Provide thought leadership on inclusive talent practices
7. Employer Branding & Talent Attraction Interface
- Partner with TA and Employer Branding to ensure strong EVP and candidate experience
- Ensure alignment between external attraction strategy and internal talent pipeline needs
- Leverage market insights to strengthen adidas employer positioning in GCA
Knowledge, Skills & Capabilities
- Strong strategic thinking with business acumen
- Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders in a matrix environment
- Excellent facilitation and storytelling capability (especially for SLT settings)
- Strong data analytics mindset; ability to translate insights into action
- Deep expertise in Talent Management topics (performance, succession, leadership development)
- Capability to lead complex, cross-functional transformation initiatives
- Strong consulting and problem-solving skills
- Experience driving DEI integration in talent practices
Requisite Experience & Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred)
- ~10+ years experience across Talent Management / HR / Talent functions
- ~8+ years leadership experience managing high-performing teams
- Proven track record driving end-to-end talent strategy and transformation
- Experience operating in a global, matrix organization
- Strong exposure to multiple business functions and markets
- Demonstrated success influencing senior leadership and driving change
At adidas, we strongly believe that embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into our culture and talent processes gives our employees a sense of belonging and our brand a real competitive advantage.
– Culture Starts With People, It Starts With You –
By recruiting talent and developing our people to reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities, we foster a culture of inclusion that engages our employees and authentically connects our brand with our consumers.