Director, Talent Management

The Opportunity:

The Director, Talent, Learning & Inclusion is the senior division leader accountable for setting and delivering the full talent agenda for the Consumer division. This role integrates talent management, learning, and inclusion into a cohesive agenda that strengthens leadership pipelines, builds critical capabilities, and drives consistent execution of talent practices across the division. This role is responsible for the development, coordination and execution of talent management, succession planning, leadership development, learning and capability building, engagement, and inclusion — translating enterprise frameworks into outcomes that matter for the business. Success is defined by improved succession coverage, stronger leadership pipelines with visibility into bench strength, improving critical role coverage, enabling consistent talent practices across business segments, and measurable gains in leadership capability and talent mobility. A key aspect of this role is working across multiple key stakeholders to ensure the voice of the consumer talent agenda is represented and aligned across regional processes, governance and frameworks. The role may represent the Consumer division in enterprise and regional talent forums, ensuring alignment while advocating for solutions tailored to divisional needs. A key element of success is building a strong collaborative and aligned talent agenda in partnership with the HRVP, Consumer and the HRBPs for the division.

How you will impact Smurfit Westrock:

Set the division Talent, Learning & Inclusion operating cadence in coordination and alignment with the HRVP, Consumer and the Talent and Inclusion COE, aligned to enterprise and regional governance.

Support and execute the operating model transformation, including establishing role clarity, aligning resources to the business, and driving adoption across the division.

Design and scale the leadership development ecosystem from frontline through key leadership, aligned to enterprise frameworks.

Define the learning and capability requirements for both operations and provide input to functional learning requirements. Will ensure practical, scalable solutions tied to performance.

Lead talent management processes (talent reviews, performance, succession) in coordination with HRBPs for the respective areas, ensuring data integrity, consistency, and actionable outcomes that strengthen bench strength.

Mobilize HRBPs and leaders to own and execute talent strategies.

Support execution of engagement and inclusion strategy, including listening approach, prioritization, action planning, and impact tracking.

Establish divisional talent analytics visibility (bench strength, readiness, mobility, capability), aligned to regional standards.

Represent the Consumer division in enterprise and regional talent councils; influence direction and ensure divisional needs are met.

Lead and develop a multi-disciplinary team (~8 FTE), elevating capability and shifting the function toward strategic business enablement.

What you need to succeed:
Required:

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, or related field.

10+ years of progressive experience across talent management, learning and development, and/or organizational effectiveness, including leadership scope.

Demonstrated experience setting talent strategy and leading execution across a division or large business unit.

Track record leading organizational transformation or operating model redesign with sustained adoption.

Deep capability in succession planning, talent reviews, and leadership development with measurable business impact.

Executive presence and strong influence skills across senior leaders and enterprise governance environments.

People leadership experience developing teams and building capability in multi-disciplinary talent organizations.

Data-driven orientation with experience using talent analytics to drive decisions and measure outcomes.

Preferred:

Master’s degree in HR, Organizational Development, I/O Psychology, or MBA.

Experience in a manufacturing, packaging, or industrial multi-site environment.

Experience supporting post-merger integration, culture harmonization, or large-scale change.

Certification or experience with talent assessment tools (e.g., Hogan, DiSC, 360 instruments).

Experience with LMS platforms and HR technology ecosystems supporting learning delivery and analytics.

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