Director, Talent Science

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. Our customers include the world's leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with 1200+ colleagues in 75+ countries and very few office based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.

The company is founder led, profitable and growing.

Our Talent Science team has a mission to ensure that we follow objective, scientifically rigorous and efficient processes to select the very best new colleagues regardless of location, culture or background. We work closely with our key stakeholders to ensure that decisions are being made in the right way and that our hiring model supports the selection of world class talent. We lead an effective hiring ecosystem to deliver talent acquisition excellence. We leverage data to enable evidence-based decisions, weaving behavioural science throughout our selection process, working closely with our Hiring Leadership team who drive hiring at Canonical.

We are hiring for a new senior leadership role in the Talent Science team to lead on delivery excellence. You will work directly with the Global Head of Talent Science and the people managers in the team. With overall accountability for project delivery relating to hiring outcomes you will deliver against strategic objectives, driving efficiencies and creating new processes whilst coaching and developing team members to grow their careers. 

You will bring an analytical and objective approach to work and be seasoned in making data driven decisions relating to talent outcomes. Your experience will include being able to drive complete project roadmaps, experience interacting with senior leadership on talent related topics leveraging your thought leadership experience and the ability to influence and steer talent agendas internally. You will be capable of stepping up to lead the function when required. Experience of working with career frameworks and hiring outcomes is an essential requirement of this role. 

Location: This role will be based remotely in the EMEA region.

The role entails

• Leading and delivering the strategic Talent Science project roadmap using exceptional project management capability and influencing skills to manage multiple projects at any given time
• Leveraging expertise from your career to date to design and implement solutions to complex problems that ultimately ensure we hire exceptional talent
• Ensuring all talent selection initiatives map to high performance outcomes and career frameworks
• Designing professional processes and frameworks while working closely with our management, allowing efficient delivery of our agenda
• Coaching and mentoring team members to grow and develop skill sets specifically around analytical capabilities and thought leadership, developing training materials and documentation to support team members
• Driving and representing the team in the absence of the Head of, acting as a credible and trusted adviser and an inspiring leader
• Working closely with company leaders to understand, appreciate and communicate our vision for talent at Canonical.

What we are looking for in you

• Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university, with an undergraduate degree in a psychology or people based subject
• Significant experience working with talent outcomes in the corporate space, ideally in the technology or consulting industry
• Deep understanding of career frameworks and how to ensure that talent selection criteria matches desired outcomes
• Advanced analytical ability to dissect and analyse data using SQL, R and/or Python
• Results driven with the ability to work at pace, with strong project management skills to roadmap, plan and deliver objectives working with the team
• A track record of leadership and commitment to delivering strategic objectives and developing team members, delivering outstanding results
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills
• Ability to travel internationally twice a year, for company events up to two weeks long

Nice-to-have skills

• Experience with or understanding of advanced psychometric assessments with an excellent understanding of the marketplace and vendors
• A deep understanding of human behaviour and what drives intrinsic motivation
• An expert view on the ATS market including previous experience of building automations to create hiring process efficiencies. 

What we offer colleagues

We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognise outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus or commission. We provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year
• Annual compensation review
• Recognition rewards
• Annual holiday leave
• Maternity and paternity leave
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
• Priority Pass, and travel upgrades for long haul company events

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open source projects and the platform for AI, IoT and the cloud, we are changing the world of software. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence - in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since its inception in 2004.​ Working here is a step into the future, and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.

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