Washington University in St. Louis

Executive Director, Leadership, Talent & Organizational Development (Hybrid) - Human Resources

4240 Duncan Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110

Full-time

First seen by offpeak October 4, 2026

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Location

SAINT LOUIS, MO 63130

Scheduled Hours

Position Summary

Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), a global leader in research, teaching, patient care, and innovation, seeks an accomplished and strategic leader to serve as Executive Director, Leadership, Talent and Organizational Development (Executive Director).

This newly expanded role reports to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Development and Organizational Effectiveness within Human Resources and serves as the university's senior-most expert responsible for organizational development, leadership development, talent management, succession planning, organizational design, executive coaching, and enterprise change initiatives. The Executive Director leads the integration of the university's Organizational Development and Leadership & Management Development functions, working to provide integrated and proven solutions.

The Executive Director serves as a strategic partner to senior leaders across the institution, including Cabinet members, University Council, Deans, Chairs, and other key stakeholders to identify organizational opportunities and design customized solutions that optimize team and leadership effectiveness, strengthen talent, and accelerate organizational performance.

Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

Provides strategic leadership for the university’s organization development, leadership development, talent management, succession planning, organizational design, and change management strategies.
- Consults independently with senior leaders, including Cabinet, Council, Deans, Chairs, school leaders, department leaders, and managers, to assess, diagnose, design, and implement individual, group, team, and organization-wide solutions that improve performance.
- Applies existing assessments or designs custom qualitative and quantitative assessments to analyze individual, team, leadership, and organizational behavior. Interprets results and recommends practical strategies for change, improvement, and sustained effectiveness.
Leads talent management and succession planning strategies that identify organizational talent needs, strengthen leadership pipelines, support readiness planning, and align talent decisions with institutional priorities.
- Defines and deploys processes such as performance management, succession planning, leadership development planning, talent review support, and new leader assimilation.
Provides confidential one-on-one leadership and managerial coaching, with or without assessment, to department, division, school, and institutional leaders to strengthen leadership effectiveness and performance.
Leads advanced leadership and manager development strategies, including senior leader development, leadership coaching, assessment-based development, and customized interventions that strengthen leadership effectiveness.
- Leads the design and delivery of large-scale organization development, talent management, leadership development, manager effectiveness, succession planning, and change management solutions.
- Provides senior-level consultation on organizational design, operating model effectiveness, leadership transitions, team effectiveness, culture interventions, and complex organizational challenges.
- Provides customized team and leadership interventions for complex team dynamics, senior team effectiveness, organizational performance challenges, and change-related team issues.
- Leads targeted culture assessments and interventions when culture is a barrier to leadership effectiveness, organizational performance, change adoption, or team effectiveness.
Works closely with institutional leaders, HR leadership, HR Business Partners, Learning and Development, Employee Relations, and other HR Centers of Excellence to integrate organization development, talent management, leadership development, succession planning, and change strategies into broader workforce and organizational plans.
Tracks success metrics and uses data, evaluation, and continuous improvement to expand the reach, effectiveness, and impact of OD and leadership development offerings.
- Manages budgets, resources, external consultant relationships, vendor partnerships, and priorities for the Organization Development and Leadership and Management Development portfolios.
- Performs leadership and managerial duties for the Leadership, Talent & Organizational Development team, including performance management, hiring, selection, prioritization, workload management, development, and resource alignment.
- Determines focus areas for consultants and aligns resources to support the university’s most critical organizational, leadership, talent, succession, and change priorities.
- Partners with the Assistant Vice Chancellor, Learning, Culture & Team Development to ensure leadership development, organization development, talent management, succession planning, and change initiatives are supported by scalable learning solutions, staff development resources, culture tools, and consistent development practices.

Working Conditions:
Job Location/Working Conditions

Normal office environment

Physical Effort

Typically sitting at desk or table
Repetitive wrist, hand or finger movement

Equipment

Office equipment

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by the personnel so classified. Management reserves the right to revise or amend duties at any time.

Required Qualifications

Education:

Master's degree

Certifications /Professional Licenses :

No specific certification/professional license is required for this position.

Work Experience:

Development (7 Years), Relevant Experience (10 Years)

Skills:

Not Applicable

Driver's License:

A driver's license is not required for this position.

More About This Job

Required Qualifications:

Master’s degree in Organization Development, Human Resources, Leadership Development, Business, Psychology, Education, or a related field.
Ten (10) years of experience in organization development, leadership development, talent management, succession planning, change management, human resources, or a related field in a complex organization.
Seven (7) years of experience in leadership development, management development, facilitation, learning, coaching, or development-related work.
Experience implementing large-scale change initiatives in complex, decentralized, or matrixed environments.
Significant experience leveraging leadership, team, organizational, and personal assessment tools and instruments.
Experience consulting with senior leaders to diagnose organizational needs and recommend actionable solutions.
Experience leading complex projects, managing multiple priorities, and working across organizational boundaries.
Demonstrated ability to lead teams, manage resources, and deliver results in a complex organization.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience in higher education, healthcare, academic medicine, or another complex mission-driven organization.
External consulting experience is highly desired.
Experience effectively interacting with, advising, and challenging leaders and managers across the leadership continuum, from senior executives to front-line managers.
Experience with survey design, administration, analysis, reporting, and results interpretation.
Experience leading organizational design, succession planning, performance management, leadership development planning, talent reviews, or executive coaching initiatives.
Experience managing budgets, external consultant relationships, contracts, and OD or leadership development vendors.
Certifications in organization design, executive coaching, facilitation, leadership development tools, change management, succession planning, or assessment instruments.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

No additional education unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.

Certifications/Professional Licenses:

Certified DiSC Trainer - DiSCprofiles, Hogan 360 - Hogan, MBTI Certified - Myers-Briggs Company, Professional Certified Coach (PCC) - ICF Credentials and Standards, Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) - Society for Human Resource Management

Work Experience:

No additional work experience unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.

Skills:

Adult Learning Principles, Analytical Thinking, Change Management, Communication, Confidentiality, Data Analysis, Deadline Management, Facilitation, Group Presentations, Human Resources (HR), Interpersonal Communication, Leadership, Leadership Training and Development, Matrix Management, Microsoft Office, Organizational Assessment, Organizational Development (OD), Persuasion, Qualtrics Survey Software, Relationship Building, Social Influence, Sound Judgment, Talent Management

Grade

G00

Questions

For frequently asked questions about the application process, please refer to our External Applicant FAQ.

Accommodation

If you are unable to use our online application system and would like an accommodation, please email CandidateQuestions@wustl.edu or call the dedicated accommodation inquiry number at 314-935-1149 and leave a voicemail with the nature of your request.

All qualified individuals must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship.

Pre-Employment Screening

All external candidates receiving an offer for employment will be required to submit to pre-employment screening for this position. The screenings will include criminal background check and, as applicable for the position, other background checks, drug screen, an employment and education or licensure/certification verification, physical examination, certain vaccinations and/or governmental registry checks. All offers are contingent upon successful completion of required screening.

Benefits Statement

Washington University in St. Louis is committed to providing a comprehensive and competitive benefits package to our employees. Benefits eligibility is subject to employment status, full-time equivalent (FTE) workload, and weekly standard hours. Please visit our website at https://hr.wustl.edu/benefits/ to view a summary of benefits.

EEO Statement

Washington University in St. Louis is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity. It is the University’s policy to provide equal opportunity and access to persons in all job titles without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, citizenship (where prohibited by federal law), age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.

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