Head of Talent Management Programs and PMO

About the role

You own the end-to-end architecture and continuous improvement of Duolingo's most critical talent systems, translating people strategy into intuitive, scalable programs and a disciplined operating cadence. You will lead the evolution of performance management, promotion frameworks, 360-degree feedback, and succession planning while ensuring these systems align with our high-performance culture. You will build the "through line" across Talent Management and Rewards, creating clear metrics and crisp execution that match Duolingo's clock speed. You will architect standardized competency models and career ladders that provide transparent growth trajectories for all global functions. You will design and facilitate the talent review process, identifying high-potential leaders and building a data-backed succession pipeline to future-proof the organization. You will partner with cross-functional partners to ensure talent programs provide managers with the tools and insights needed to lead high-performing teams. You will act as the primary connector between Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, and Business Leadership to ensure talent initiatives are integrated and cohesive. You will develop an enterprise performance framework using key metrics to measure the ROI of our people programs and provide executive leadership with actionable insights.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead end-to-end program design for core talent cycles, including performance management, 360-degree feedback, and promotion frameworks, ensuring they align with a high-performance culture.
• Architect competency models and career ladders that provide clear, transparent growth trajectories for all global functions.
• Design and facilitate the talent review process, identifying high-potential leaders and building a data-backed succession pipeline to future-proof the organization.
• Partner with cross-functional partners to ensure talent programs provide managers with the tools and insights needed to lead high-performing teams.
• Own the TMR integrated roadmap, maintaining centralized visibility into project health, dependencies, and resource allocation to ensure on-time delivery.
• Establish and iterate on a "lean" project management methodology that prioritizes speed and impact over administrative overhead.
• Act as the primary connector between Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, and Business Leadership to ensure talent initiatives are integrated and cohesive.
• Develop an enterprise performance framework using key metrics such as promotion velocity, retention, and talent density to measure the ROI of our people programs.
• Leverage data to conduct root-cause analysis on organizational trends, providing executive leadership with actionable insights to inform policy and resource decisions.
• Drive continuous improvement across the talent program portfolio by identifying bottlenecks, refining workflows, and implementing best practices.
• Build and maintain cross-functional relationships to ensure alignment of talent initiatives with business objectives and execution needs.
• Own the governance structure for the talent program portfolio, ensuring clear decision rights, accountability, and timely issue resolution.
• Establish reporting cadences and dashboards that provide transparency into program health, risks, and outcomes for senior leadership.
• Champion an experimentation mindset, testing new talent programs and methodologies, measuring impact, and scaling what works.

Requirements

• 8+ years in Talent Management, People Operations and portfolio/program management, including senior‑level ownership of company‑wide talent programs in fast‑paced, product‑led or high‑growth environments.
• Comfort and curiosity with AI tools as applied to talent program design, analytics, and portfolio management, with a clear sense of where automation accelerates the work and where human judgment remains irreplaceable.
• A proven track record building or leading a PMO, with clear outcomes shipping complex, multi‑stakeholder programs on time.
• Depth in modern talent practices: performance management, succession planning, promotion frameworks, competency modeling, and manager enablement.
• Experience translating business strategy into operating models, programs, and metrics that drive measurable business impact.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with ambiguous problems and shifting priorities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization and across time zones.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent workstreams and balancing strategic thinking with detailed execution.
• Commitment to data-driven decision making and a disciplined approach to measuring program outcomes.
• Familiarity with HRIS, TMS, and other talent technology platforms and the ability to translate system needs into program requirements.