Senior Manager, Strategic Talent Elevation - Remote Opportunity

Futures start here. Where first steps, new friendships, and confident learners are born. At KinderCare Learning Companies, the first and only early childhood education provider recognized with the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award , we offer a variety of early education and child care options for families. Whether it's KinderCare Learning Centers, Champions, or Crème de la Crème, we build confidence for kids, families, and the future we share. And we want you to join us in shaping it-in neighborhoods, at work, and in schools nationwide. At KinderCare Learning Companies, you'll use your skills and expertise to support the work (and fun) that happens in our sites and centers every day. From marketers and strategists to financial analysts and data engineers, and so much more, we're all passionate about crafting a world where children, families, and organizations can thrive. The Senior Manager, Strategic Talent Elevation is an enterprise talent architect and builder - a rare profile who co-owns talent strategy with the VP and then operationalizes it with precision across a $2.5B, 45,000-person organization. This is not a "run the playbook" role, nor a pure strategy seat. It is deliberately both: you help shape the philosophy, frameworks, and governance for how KLC identifies, develops, and retains talent. You also own the disciplined execution that turns those frameworks into programs that run on time across a distributed, matrixed, multi-brand environment. This role sits within KinderCare's newly formed Enterprise Center of Excellence, Talent Strategy & Elevation, working directly with the VP as a strategic thought partner and execution engine. The full talent portfolio runs through this role: performance management, talent reviews, succession and pipeline, workforce planning, and organizational effectiveness. This is a build role - systems aren't complete, calendars aren't consistent, and standards need to be set. The right person has architected talent systems before (not just administered someone else's), knows how to move work through influence rather than authority, and genuinely wants to get into the field to learn our brands, our centers, and the people who run them. Responsibilities: Co-own the strategy - Bring a developed point of view to framework design: calibration philosophy, succession methodology, performance differentiation, and segmentation criteria; you draft, challenge, and co-author enterprise talent strategy alongside the VP - not wait for it to be handed down Execute with precision - Own the operational spine: calendars, toolkits, launch governance, readiness checks, analytics, and follow-through; s you are accountable for programs running cleanly, consistently, and on time across every brand and corporate function; build a strong partnership with Talent Program Manager Build through partnership - Nothing in this portfolio ships alone. L&D, HR Operations, and HRBPs are your co-builders and delivery partners - this role succeeds or fails on the strength of those relationships TALENT STRATEGY CO-OWNERSHIP Partner with the VP, Talent Strategy & Elevation to architect the enterprise talent management strategy (philosophy, governance model, and multi-year roadmap) and evolve it based on outcomes data Bring a credible, developed point of view to design decisions: what good calibration looks like, why succession plans fail, and how performance differentiation connects to business outcomes Represent this function in cross-functional settings and serve as an extension of the VP with HRBPs, L&D, and HR Operations partners PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Co-design and operationalize the enterprise performance management framework - structure, rating philosophy, calibration process design, and governance Build the annual calibration process and manager toolkits, partnering with HRBPs who lead field delivery and with L&D on manager capability building Govern PIP and coaching standards for consistency across brands, in partnershi