Talent Partner

From day one, our mission has been to create an independent business with a unique culture – one that is controlled by the people who work for it. Finding the most talented and entrepreneurial people has always been key to our success. 

People come to Howden for lots of different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. That’s what sets us apart, and why we nurture and retain the best talent in the market. Whatever your priorities – work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering - you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

The role

As the Talent Partner, you will contribute to Howden’s strategic objectives through transformational talent-focused initiatives. You will work with the Group Leadership and Talent Lead and partner with HR colleagues across the group to implement Howden’s new talent strategy that will help unlock the potential of our people,empowering them to continuously develop and grow.

You will be part of a lean team of 3 within Leadership, Learning and Talent, accountable for succession planning, talent assessments, high potential management and leadership development. Success in this role requires a strong knowledge of talent management practices and the ability to collaborate with colleagues from across the group in a fast-paced and evolving environment. You must be resourceful, curious and able to adapt to change in an open and flexible way.

What will you be doing?

As a subject matter expert, you will work closely with the Leadership and Talent Lead todesign and implement key aspects of the group talent strategy e.g. talent identification methods, success profiles for critical roles, 360 assessments and calibration methods, succession planning, talent toolkits etc.

You will help to implement the best talent solutions to support the group strategy and enhance our People First culture.

As part of your role, working closely with the Leadership & Talent Lead - you will be responsible for helping to build, validate and implement a new talent management framework across the group. This will include the running of focus groups and senior stakeholder interviews across the group to ensure best practice and consistency.

Using your expert business partnering skills, you’ll help to influence andguide our leadersand HR colleagues, supporting andexecuting the talent strategy, while tailoring implementation to meet the different talent maturity levels across the group.

You will be instrumental in the design of our enterprise-wide talent development approach with specific focus on identifying and building future skills requirements and leveraging technology.

As an expert, you will also work closely with our broader learning, leadership and talent team to create, re-design and continually improve talent and development initiatives.

Who will you be working with?

This role has responsibility to build relationships and engagements with key stakeholders within Howden, including:

HR business partners

Senior leadership teams

What do we need from you?

An experienced consultant and expert used to working as part of a lean HR CoE. Able to think strategically while executing operational aspects at pace. Solutions orientated and able to confidently engage with a range of colleagues at senior leadership levels, across HR and the wider business.

Significant experience in global HR CoEs, with a strong background in topics such as talent management, succession planning, career development, performance management, learning, organisational development etc.

P revious experience working as part of an "internal talent acquisition" team or in a "talent partnering role" is essential

Ideal candidates will have a proven experience in navigating a global organisation, with the ability to build strong relationships effectively and quickly across the board which will include (but is not limited to) , senior stakeholders within the group

Patience and empathy when dealing with internal and external stakeholders.

Ability to work pro-actively, under pressure and independently with minimal direction.

Experience or knowledge of building behavioural frameworks, talent differentiation, talent assessments are essential

Tactful, diplomatic and able to thrive in an ever-changing environment.

Prior experience of working in an organisation with a Global matrix structure is essential

Prior experience with the ATS Workday would be a distinct advantage

Prior experience within the Insurance sector would be beneficial (but is not essential)

Proven experience of building and implementing an Internal talent marketplace such as Gloat, Eightfold or an AI led talent marketplace would be beneficial

Ability to work in a fast-paced dynamic environment with high degrees of ambiguity arising from a period of significant change

Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, working with demanding stakeholders and senior management with the ability to write and present complex technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences.

An understanding of the importance of excellent customer service and a “can do” attitude.

What technologies would you be using?

A good understanding of the following:

Workday ATS (ideal

Gloat or Eight fold would be beneficial

Analytical tools and visualisation software

Our Culture: People First

We’ve travelled far since opening our first office in 1994. Back then we were local experts – based in London, with direct access to the world’s biggest insurance market. We’re still locals, and we still deliver the right advice and the right insurance to our clients. But now, we’re local all over the world. With 15,000 global colleagues and a partner network spanning more than 100 territories, we are the largest independent insurance broker in the world. But our values haven’t changed since day one, when we set out to create a company grounded in:

• An employee-ownership model 
• Aligned external investors
• The trust and integrity born of friendship
• Expertise
• Independence

Our focus on being a people-first business has always been at the very heart of Howden. Our vision was to create an independent business with a unique culture; one that would survive and thrive as a business controlled by the people working for it. Our employee ownership model sets us apart in the market. It’s created a culture of collaboration and innovation, where we’re driven to think bigger and empowered to challenge convention. 

Our flat structure and entrepreneurial spirit help us attract the best people and empower them to be the best version of themselves. And when we bring in and nurture great talent, more follows. That makes us better – and that’s better for everyone. 

Diversity & Inclusion

At Howden we consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness and respect, regardless of their age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or family circumstances.

Howden began in 1994, as just three people and a dog. Now there are 17,000 of us, and we're a leading global insurance group, managing $38bn of premiums for our clients.

Our largest shareholder group is us – the people who work in the business – supported by three long-term, minority growth-equity partners who share our vision to build a business to last, one that will never be sold.

The owner's mindset is something that's embedded in our culture; our people readily take ownership of their decisions, their actions, and their outputs. They’re invested in every sense. And we all know that by working together to drive the business forward, everyone will benefit from the extraordinary results we can achieve.