Head of Skills Strategy and Implementation

Description

This senior leader drives the enterprise-wide integration of Citizens’ skills-based organization strategy and Leadership Quotient (LQ) framework. Reporting to the Head of Talent, this role owns the governance, adoption, and cross-HR enablement of foundational strategies—ensuring they are embedded, refreshed, and activated across the colleague experience. The Skills/LQ Lead is responsible for harnessing talent intelligence and translating it into actionable insights that partners can leverage to close skill gaps and build future-ready leadership capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy Ownership & Governance

• Lead the development and ongoing governance of the enterprise skills framework, ensuring alignment with business capabilities and evolving job architecture.
• Work in close partnership with the Total Rewards team, who owns the skills taxonomy (roles and mapping skills to roles), to ensure seamless integration and clarity of responsibilities.
• Define protocols for evaluating, embedding, and evolving skills—including managing diminishing and emerging skills.
• Ensure alignment with Citizens’ future-focused HR strategy and organizational structure.

HR Integration & Enablement

• Partner across HR disciplines (Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Performance Enablement, etc.) to embed skills and Leadership Quotient principles into core processes.
• Build capability and ownership within each HR area to champion and sustain the strategy.
• Facilitate workshops and design sessions to align skills updates and use cases.

Insight Activation

• Partner with the Talent Matters team, Talent Management and HR Analytics to derive actionable insights from platforms and data sources.
• Translate talent intelligence into strategic opportunities for workforce planning, development, and succession.
• Monitor taxonomy usage and ensure alignment across systems and teams.

Change Leadership

• Lead change management efforts to drive understanding, engagement, and adoption of skills-based and LQ frameworks across HR and the colleague population.
• Ensure the strategy is accessible, relevant, and sustained through clear communication and enablement.
• Champion continuous improvement, refreshing frameworks to meet evolving business needs.

Compliance & Data Governance

• Oversee adherence to legal, regulatory, and internal data policies for skills data quality, consistency, and lifecycle management.
• Maintain version control and audit trails for framework updates. Skills & Competencies

Required Skills

• Skills framework design and governance
• Strategic workforce planning
• Change management and cross-functional collaboration
• Leadership development frameworks (LQ, EQ, IQ, TQ, MQ, RQ)
• Technology fluency (AI, HR platforms, analytics tools)
• Data governance and compliance

Behavioral Competencies

• Adaptability and learning agility
• Influence and communication
• Equity and inclusion mindset
• Systems thinking and sensemaking
• Collaboration / partnership

Impact & Outcomes

• Build a dynamic, future-ready workforce by embedding skills and leadership capabilities at the core of talent strategy.
• Drive measurable improvements in career mobility, leadership readiness, and business agility.
• Ensure Citizens remains competitive and resilient in a rapidly changing environment.

Hours and Work Schedule: (4days in office, 1 day remote)

Hours per Week: 40

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday

Pay Transparency

The salary range for this position is $148,320-$200,000 per year, plus an opportunity to earn an annual discretionary bonus. Actual pay is based on various factors including but not limited to the work location, and relevant skills and experience.

We offer competitive pay, comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, maternity/paternity leave, flexible work arrangements, education reimbursement, wellness programs and more. Note, Citizens’ paid time off policy exceeds the mandatory, paid sick or paid time-away policy of every local and state jurisdiction in the United States. For an overview of our benefits, visit https://jobs.citizensbank.com/benefits .

Citizens will not sponsor an applicant for a work visa, such as an H-1B, for this position

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Some job boards have started using jobseeker-reported data to estimate salary ranges for roles. If you apply and qualify for this role, a recruiter will discuss accurate pay guidance.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Citizens, its parent, subsidiaries, and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, citizenship, physical or mental disability, perceived disability or history or record of a disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, genetic characteristic, marital or domestic partner status, victim of domestic violence, family status/parenthood, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy/childbirth/lactation, colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state and/or local laws. At Citizens, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, performance and capability.