Young Talent Programme Manager

Job Description

The Young Talent Programme (YTP) Manager is responsible for the design, governance, and end-to-end delivery of the organisation's Young Talent Programme, ensuring a seamless and engaging experience from attraction and onboarding through development, rotations, performance management, and transition into permanent roles.

The role serves as the central point of contact and trusted advisor for programme participants, providing ongoing coaching, development support, and career guidance while partnering closely with business leaders, people managers, and HR stakeholders to build a strong pipeline of future talent for the organisation. Combining operational excellence with creativity and energy, the role creates engaging and impactful experiences that excite, develop, and retain young talent, ensuring they remain connected to the organisation's culture, purpose, and future opportunities

Responsibilities

Programme Design & Governance

• Design, implement, and continuously enhance the Young Talent Programme framework, including programme structure, development journeys, rotation models, competency requirements, milestones, and success measures.
• Establish programme governance, policies, processes, and standards to ensure consistent delivery and participant experience.
• Define clear career pathways and progression criteria to support participants' long-term growth within the organisation.
• Benchmark against market practices and emerging talent trends to ensure the programme remains relevant, competitive, and future-focused.

Talent Attraction & Selection

• Partner with Talent Acquisition team to develop and execute attraction strategies that position the organisation as an employer of choice for young talent.
• Support the design and delivery of selection methodologies, including assessments, interviews, assessment centres, and evaluation criteria to identify high-potential candidates.
• Collaborate with Employer Brand & Experience team to establish and maintain relationships with universities, educational institutions, and external partners to strengthen the young talent pipeline.
• Represent the organisation at career fairs, campus engagements, networking events, and employer branding initiatives

Onboarding & Participant Experience

• Design and deliver engaging onboarding experiences that accelerate integration, build organisational connections, and support early success.
• Create meaningful and memorable participant experiences that foster engagement, belonging, and connection to the organisation's culture and purpose.
• Act as the primary point of contact for programme participants, providing guidance, support, and advocacy throughout their programme journey

Learning & Development

• Curate and manage structured learning journeys that support functional, leadership and behavioural development.
• Partner with Capability Development team, business leaders, and external providers to deliver impactful development solutions.
• Facilitate learning interventions, capability-building initiatives, and experiential development opportunities aligned to programme objectives.
• Track participant progress and development outcomes, ensuring learning experiences translate into measurable capability growth

Rotation Management

• Design and oversee rotation experiences that provide meaningful exposure, development opportunities, and business impact.
• Collaborate with business leaders and managers to secure rotation placements and establish clear development objectives and performance expectations.

Performance & Talent Development

• Conduct regular coaching conversations, development check-ins, and performance reviews to support participant growth and success.

Stakeholder & Programme Management

• Build and maintain strong partnerships with business leaders, people managers, HR teams, learning partners, and external stakeholders to ensure programme success.
• Own programme budget, reporting, and governance, tracking KPIs such as retention, engagement, and conversion-to-permanent rates.

Transition & Career Placement

• Partner with business leaders, Talent Acquisition, and HR stakeholders to facilitate successful participant placement into permanent roles.
• Support workforce planning discussions to identify suitable career opportunities for programme participants

Requirements

Experience

• 8–10 years of experience in HR, talent management, learning & development, or a related field, with prior exposure to graduate/young talent programmes preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing a programme or portfolio end-to-end.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with senior stakeholders and influencing across multiple functions.
• Experience working with early-career talent, graduate programmes, internship programmes, management trainee programmes, or leadership development initiatives is highly preferred.
• Experience representing an organisation externally through university engagement, employer branding initiatives, or talent attraction activities is an advantage.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong programme and project management skills, with the ability to design, implement, and govern structured programmes with clear milestones, outcomes, and accountability.
• Creative mindset with the ability to design engaging participant experiences that inspire, develop, and retain young talent while balancing operational excellence and programme objectives.
• Confident and engaging communicator with strong presentation and facilitation skills, comfortable interacting with diverse audiences, including students, programme participants, business leaders, and senior management.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build collaborative partnerships across all levels of the organisation.