Emerging Talent Program Manager Jobs in California

Inside Disney's People & Culture organization, the Talent & Growth team (Corporate) partners with our functional organizations (Legal & Global Affairs, Finance, Communications, People & Culture) to know, grow, and prepare talent - supporting employee growth at every career stage and across all lines of business.

The Senior Manager, Talent & Growth (Talent Management) is responsible for driving talent outcomes across core TM practices - succession, talent reviews, and differentiated talent development. This role partners closely with People & Culture Business Partners, functional teams, and senior leaders to design talent strategies that develop and mobilize our best people, ensuring the organization is proactively building bench strength for today’s and tomorrow’s critical roles.

Reporting to the Head of Talent & Growth, Corporate, you'll define what good looks like for talent health in the segment, build the strategy to get there, and direct the work of your team to deliver it.

• Own the TM operating model - how the work is planned, resourced, delivered, and measured.

• Shape the talent outcomes the pillar is accountable for moving (e.g., retention of critical roles, internal mobility/fill rate, successor readiness) and track progress against them.

• Partner with People & Culture Business Partners to develop and deliver a talent management and mobility strategy connected to functional priorities.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (e.g., People Insights, Talent Connections) and segment/regional T&G partners to advance the work and report out on emerging talent trends.

• Oversee succession planning and talent reviews for the segment. Advise Business Partners and executives on talent decisions and partner on development, bringing data and a point of view.

• Create streamlined, standardized approaches to strengthen successor readiness and address backfill needs across a broad portfolio of roles and functions, in close partnership with partner teams like Market Intelligence, People Insights, and OD.

• Align development actions with organizational needs by continually tracking themes across development areas and skill gaps.

• Design the differentiated talent development strategy across the pipeline, from early career to people to watch, including development experiences, rotational experiences, exposure opportunities, and sustained investment over time.

• Facilitate targeted development investments, such as 360 reviews and assessment debriefs.

• Partner with the T&G COE and Business Partners to advance future-ready talent planning by identifying core and emerging skills across functional groups and critical roles, informing development efforts and workforce planning.

• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of talent processes and initiatives, making data-driven recommendations for continuous improvement.

• Embraces new technologies and evolving AI capabilities, with a willingness to experiment, learn, and help shape innovative solutions that improve how talent work gets done across the organization.

• Stay abreast of industry trends and best practices in talent management and workforce planning.

• Direct the work of your team by setting priorities, elevating quality standards, and providing development expectations.

• 7+ years of experience in HR, talent management, organizational development, learning and development, or equivalent experience.

• A track record of having built or meaningfully redesigned a talent management process.

• The ability to consult with senior leaders credibly and independently by displaying fluency in connecting talent data to business outcomes.

• The ability to think systemically, connecting decisions across performance, succession, and mobility to their downstream effects on business outcomes, rather than solving for one talent cycle in isolation.

• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to lead cross-functional work from idea through implementation.

• Exceptional verbal, written, and storytelling skills, with the ability to influence and engage stakeholders at every level, including senior leadership.

• Strong people leader with a demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop high-performing teams, fostering accountability, engagement, and growth while creating opportunities for individuals to expand their impact and capabilities.

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.

The hiring range for this position in Burbank, CA is $168,200 to $205,400. per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.