PMD Talent Effectiveness Associate Director

Grant Thornton is seeking a PMD Talent Effectiveness Associate Director to join the team. Approved office locations can be found below.

The PMD Talent Effectiveness Associate Director (AD) leads the strategy activation and end‑to‑end execution of the Partners and Managing Director (PMD) performance management process for the U.S. Aligned to the firm’s broader talent and performance agenda, this role is pivotal in enabling a high‑accountability, performance‑driven partner experience that reinforces clarity of expectations, transparency of outcomes, and continuous, high‑quality feedback for the firm’s most senior leaders.

While scope of responsibilities currently includes PMD performance for the U.S. only, the AD supports strategic design development and operational execution to facilitate the PMD performance process with a global mindset, establishing scalable standards, governance, and operating rhythms that can support future global expansion. Reporting to the Director, Global Talent Effectiveness, the AD serves as the U.S. PMD performance owner, accountable for translating global PMD performance strategy into a cohesive operating model for the U.S. firm. This role exercises significant autonomy, maintaining focus and navigating ambiguity to drive decisions. The AD is accountable for facilitating and governing the PMD performance execution model end-to-end (plans, timelines, cadence, tooling/data readiness including Oracle inputs, reporting/insights, and Canvas content stewardship).

The AD partners closely with colleagues in the firm’s Go to Market function under the Chief Operating Officer (scorecard strategy/design owner) and cross-functional stakeholders (HRIS, People Experience, Service Line Operations, Quality, etc.) to ensure accurate, timely, and well-governed design and execution. In this capacity, they will also independently engage PMDs and senior leaders across the firm, as well as serve as people manager for a direct report, the INDUS-based Global TE Senior Associate.

Qualifications (Personal Characteristics, Skills/Abilities, Academic):

The ideal candidate will be:

• A business‑minded talent effectiveness professional who excels at owning and operating complex programs and processes, with strong planning, coordination, and follow‑through.
• Operationally rigorous and outcome‑accountable, delivering accurate, high‑quality work in a fast‑moving, matrixed environment.
• Analytical and judgment‑driven, comfortable using metrics and data to drive decisions, and set timelines; an ability to engage with and provide clear guidance to senior executives.
• A concise, audience‑aware communicator who can independently write, edit, and sequence communications that drive clarity and action.
• A strong collaborator across GTM, People & Culture, Tech/HRIS, Service Line Operations, and Quality teams; adept at role clarity, RACI management, and influencing without direct authority.
• Trusted with highly confidential information; exercises sound judgment, discretion, and executive‑facing professionalism.

The Ideal Candidate Will Possess:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in performance management, HR program management, PMO/operations, or organizational effectiveness within a professional services environment; global experience preferred.
• Hands‑on experience owning and executing complex, multi‑stakeholder program plans (e.g., Smartsheet), including development and maintenance of SOPs and process documentation.
• Strong data and reporting capability (Excel, Power BI, or similar) and experience partnering with HRIS/Technology teams to ensure system and data readiness (e.g., Oracle workflow inputs and validations).
• Proficiency with MS Office, SharePoint/Teams, and content maintenance on Canvas or similar intranet platforms.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including independently drafting broad‑reach communications, FAQs, job aids, and leader‑ready talking points.
• People leadership experience preferred, including delegating work, quality‑assuring outputs, and developing junior team members.

Core Responsibilities:

1) U.S. PMD Performance Process Facilitation

• Own and build the annual calendar and execution plan for PMD expectation-setting, mid-year and year-end performance cycles, including milestones, dependencies, risks, and cutovers.
• Partner with GTM to provide strategic input into the PMD scorecard approach, informed by execution insights, PMD feedback, and process outcomes, while GTM retains scorecard design ownership.
• Design and maintain the operational playbook (SOPs, timelines, roles/RACI), serving as the single source of truth for all stakeholders.
• Lead and coordinate leader and participant briefings (slides, agendas, run of show) and align logistics with cross-functional partners (e.g. People Experience, Internal Communications, and Service Line Operations).
• Oversee and manage PMD support mailbox triage for related inquiries and ensure timely, accurate Q&A routing and closure

2) PMD Scorecard Partnership

• Partner with the Office of the COO on the PMD scorecard approach, providing strategic perspective informed by execution insights, PMD feedback, and downstream process impacts, while the COO retains scorecard design and strategy ownership.
• Lead the operationalization of the scorecard by coordinating with the Office of the COO and HRIS/Technology teams to ensure Oracle performance‑cycle data is prepared and delivered accurately and on time (data definitions, required fields, upload templates, load monitoring, issue resolution).
• Own and manage issue and risk logs tied to scorecard use (e.g., targets, sales crediting impacts, quality or lead integration points); assess implications, elevate tradeoffs, and escalate with clear recommendations.

3) Partner with the People Experience team to shape and steward the U.S. partner and managing director experience, ensuring the process align with overall expectations of the partner and managing director roles.

4) Communications, Training & Canvas Content

• Translate annual PMD scorecard updates and process changes into clear enablement resources, applying judgment to determine messaging emphasis, sequencing, and level of detail needed for senior audiences.
• Lead development and delivery of PMD performance process communications and supporting materials (cycle announcements, instructions, FAQs), ensuring alignment to strategic intent and clarity of required actions.
• Own PMD program content on Canvas (guidance, timelines, tool links), setting content standards for accuracy, version control, and usability; coordinate archival and structural improvements as needed.
• Partner with the Office of the COO and Service Line/Quality teams to provide clarifying guidance where PMD scorecard measures intersect with SL‑specific standards or lead behaviors; elevate themes and implications for broader alignment.

5) Data, Reporting & Insights

• Own PMD cycle reporting (participation, timeliness, exceptions, cycle progress), applying judgment to highlight insights, risks, and decision‑relevant themes for leaders.
• Ensure end‑to‑end data integrity for PMD‑related data flowing into and out of systems (Oracle uploads, dashboards); proactively partner with Technology, HRIS, and Analytics to resolve issues and improve reliability.
• Synthesize trends, recurring questions, and pain points from reporting, office hours, and mailboxes into actionable insights and recommendations to inform process improvements and future approach decisions.

6) Governance, Documentation & Continuous Improvement

• Own and maintain PMD SOPs, RACI, and decision logs, setting governance standards and ensuring version control across shared repositories.
• Lead post‑cycle retrospectives, assess effectiveness of timelines, tooling, and communications, and prioritize improvements based on impact and feasibility.
• Monitor external best practices in performance enablement and apply relevant insights to enhance clarity, quality, speed, or scalability of the PMD process.

7) People Leadership & Collaboration

• Directly manage the INDUS‑based Global Talent Effectiveness Senior Associate (U.S. PMD TE; U.S. Promotions; Global Core Succession); set priorities, provide coaching, and review outputs for quality and completeness; coordinate dotted‑line work with the Global Succession & Readiness Manager.
• Partner with Total Rewards to align PMD performance and rewards timelines and processes, anticipating downstream impacts and resolving interdependencies.
• Enable and train HRBPs on PMD core processes they support (e.g., calibration facilitation), providing guidance on complex or sensitive scenarios.
• Coordinate with Analytics and Finance to ensure PMD performance processes are supported with accurate data and reporting.
Act as business owner for PMD‑specific Oracle performance forms, defining requirements, validating usability, and driving continuous improvement based on user and process feedback.

The base salary range for this position in the firm’s Chicago, IL, Downers Grove, IL, Cleveland, OH, Minneapolis, MN, and Baltimore, MD offices only is between $144,000 and $216,000 per year.

The base salary range for this position in the firm’s Washington, DC, Boston, MA, Edison, NJ, and New York, NY, and Melville, NY offices only is between $155,520 and $233,280 per year.