Director, Talent and Culture

Role Summary

The Director of Talent and Culture is responsible for shaping and executing HR strategies that align the organization’s workforce capabilities with business objectives. This senior HR leader oversees the full talent lifecycle—from acquisition and onboarding through development and performance management—while driving cultural initiatives that promote engagement, diversity and employee well-being. The role is attuned to the needs of global teams, ensuring that high-potential talent pipelines support both product innovation and market execution.

Responsibilities

• Designs and leads a comprehensive talent-acquisition strategy that targets scientific, clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, and commercial skill sets essential to the pipeline. This includes globally coordinated recruitment campaigns, employer-branding initiatives, and strategic partnerships with academic institutions and professional societies to build a robust pipeline of qualified candidates.
• Oversees the employee onboarding experience to ensure seamless integration of new hires into the company’s mission, compliance frameworks, and collaborative culture.
• Drives performance management initiatives, which are designed to develop and retain top talent. This includes goal-setting and feedback systems that tie individual objectives to corporate milestones. Working closely with business-unit leaders, calibrates performance metrics, and conducts regular talent reviews.
• Champions and evolves a strong, inclusive, and high-performance culture.
• Leads culture initiatives, and employee-engagement programs that reinforce the organization’s purpose-driven identity.
• Leverages HR analytics to monitor key indicators of employee sentiment, turnover risk, and engagement, translating insights into actionable interventions that enhance retention and productivity across all functional areas.
• Partners with leadership to forecast talent demand to inform budget allocations, talent-pipeline development, and succession planning for critical roles, ensuring that the organization maintains the right talent at the right time.
• Ensures HR policies and practices are compliant with employment laws and regulations.
• Oversees employee relations matters, investigations, and resolution strategies.
• Promotes and utilizes HR technology platforms to drive operational efficiency.
• Performs ad-hoc and cross-functional duties and/or projects as assigned to support business needs and provide developmental opportunities.

Qualifications

• Required: 10+ years of progressive HR-leadership experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology sectors, demonstrating a track record of building high-performing talent functions that support complex R&D and commercial operations.
• Required: Experience managing multi-regional HR teams, overseeing large-scale recruitment initiatives, and leading cultural-transformation programs in fast-changing environments.
• Preferred: Master’s Degree or advanced professional certification (e.g., SHRM-SCP, SPHR).

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Life Sciences, or a related field is required.

Skills

• Strong business acumen, with the capacity to interpret financial and operational data to inform talent decisions that directly impact pipeline progress and market performance
• Proven ability to influence senior leadership and drive cross-functional collaboration, coupled with strong communication skills that translate strategic talent objectives into clear, actionable plans for diverse stakeholder groups.
• Deep expertise in global talent acquisition, performance management, and workforce analytics is essential, as is a thorough understanding of industry-specific regulatory requirements.
• Strong technical capabilities with the ability to engage in strategic discussions with internal clients throughout the organization and third-party vendors.
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills; ability to communicate effectively across all areas of the business
• Problem solver mindset with the ability to multi-task and meet constantly changing deadlines
• Able to maintain a high level of confidentiality
• Ability to anticipate and identify problems and use sound judgment and fact-based analysis to develop effective and efficient solutions
• Ability to inspire a shared vision and empower and motivate a team

Additional Requirements

• This position works on site in El Segundo, CA
• Regular work schedule is Monday – Friday, within standard business hours. Flexibility is available with manager approval.
• This is primarily a position that works at a computer most of the time