HR Program Manager - Performance

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders.

Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

The People & Talent (HR) Program Manager (Performance Management) is a recognized subject matter expert and senior individual contributor responsible for leading the design, strategy, and continuous evolution of the organization’s performance management and broader talent management programs. This role has significant organizational influence; translating business strategy into scalable talent solutions that strengthen performance, engagement, and organizational effectiveness.

This individual owns enterprise-level program design and governance, leads highly complex and cross-functional initiatives, and provides strategic guidance to HR and business leaders. This role ensures performance and talent management programs are effectively integrated, data-driven, and aligned with organizational priorities, while establishing leading practices, frameworks, and standards across the enterprise.

• Lead the strategy, design, and evolution of enterprise performance management and talent management programs, including performance reviews, talent reviews, succession planning, and career development frameworks.

• Ensure programs are strategically aligned to organizational priorities, mission, and values, driving employee engagement and long-term performance outcomes.

• Define and maintain enterprise frameworks, methodologies, and standards that support consistency, scalability, and effectiveness across talent processes.

• Serve as the enterprise owner of performance management philosophy, including alignment to pay-for-performance practices and talent outcomes.

• Establish and oversee program governance, controls, and operating models, ensuring consistent execution and accountability across functions.

• Continuously assess program effectiveness through data, metrics, and stakeholder feedback, identifying opportunities to optimize processes, user experience, and business impact.

• Lead large-scale process redesign and transformation efforts, introducing innovative solutions and best practices.

• Lead highly complex, enterprise-wide initiatives involving multiple HR functions and business stakeholders.

• Act as a strategic advisor to senior HR leaders and business executives, influencing decisions related to talent strategy, performance outcomes, and organizational effectiveness.

• Partner across teams to integrate performance management with broader talent lifecycle processes, ensuring cohesive and aligned employee experiences.

• Serve as the functional authority for performance and talent systems (e.g., Workday), setting strategic direction for system capabilities and roadmap.

• Define complex business requirements and system strategies, guiding configuration, enhancements, and integrations in partnership with HRIS.

• Ensure systems effectively support scalable, data-driven talent processes, reporting, and insights.

• Lead advanced analysis of performance outcomes, talent data, and organizational trends to generate actionable insights.

• Develop executive-level reporting and dashboards to inform strategic workforce decisions.

• Identify talent gaps and organizational risks, recommending solutions to strengthen capability, engagement, and retention.

• Oversee development of enterprise communications, training strategies, and enablement resources that build capability and drive adoption.

• Lead change management strategies for major program enhancements and implementations.

• Ensure leaders and employees are equipped to effectively engage in performance and talent processes.

• Serve as a thought leader and subject matter expert in performance and talent management practices.

• Establish and promote best practices, continuous improvement methods, and innovation within the function.

• May mentor senior analysts and provide guidance on complex issues, strategic initiatives, and solution design.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required responsibilities or work activities. The contents of this document or related job requirements may change at any time with or without notice.

• Expert-level knowledge of performance management and talent management frameworks, including performance cycles, talent reviews, succession planning, and career development.

• Deep understanding of pay-for-performance principles and ability to align performance outcomes with compensation and organizational strategy.

• Advanced expertise in HR systems and talent technologies (e.g., Workday), including system strategy, business requirements definition, and large-scale optimization.

• Exceptional ability to conduct complex data analysis and translate insights into strategic recommendations.

• Advanced process design and transformation capability, including governance models, operating frameworks, and large-scale change initiatives.

• Strong executive-level communication, consultation, and influencing skills, with the ability to guide senior leaders through complex decisions.

• Demonstrated ability to lead enterprise-wide initiatives and highly complex workstreams with full autonomy.

• Expertise in organizational effectiveness, talent strategy, and workforce planning concepts.

• Ability to operate with extensive independent judgment, managing ambiguity and balancing long-term strategy with operational execution.

• Proven capability to mentor and develop others, contributing to team and function capability building.

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field

• 8+ years of progressive experience in performance management, talent management, HR strategy, HR operations, or related disciplines

• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise-level program design, strategy, and large-scale initiatives

• Advanced knowledge and experience using Workday

• Master’s degree

Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager. A minimum of a high school diploma/GED is required.

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

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Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.