Sr. Manager, Workforce Capability Strategy

With a career at The Home Depot, you can be yourself and also be part of something bigger.

Position Purpose:
The Sr. Manager, Workforce Capability Strategy serves as a strategic advisor and force multiplier within the Learning and Organizational Development organization, helping The Home Depot prepare associates and leaders for the future of work.

This role combines strategic research, external benchmarking, workforce capability assessment, and cross-functional project leadership to identify the capabilities, learning investments, and workforce development strategies needed to support future business priorities.

Working across Learning, Organizational Development and Effectiveness, Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Compensation, Culture and Communications, and business stakeholders, this individual will lead high-impact initiatives focused on skills development, workforce readiness, trades development, credentialing and certification programs, and enterprise upskilling and reskilling strategies.

This role serves as both strategist and operator, translating emerging workforce trends and business needs into actionable recommendations, innovative programs, and scalable solutions that strengthen associate capability and organizational performance.

Key Responsibilities

30% - Workforce Capability Strategy

Develop and advance enterprise strategies that strengthen workforce capability and readiness for future business priorities.

Partner with business, human resources, talent and organizational development leaders to identify emerging skill needs, capability gaps, and workforce development opportunities across frontline, field, supply chain, technology, and corporate populations.

Bring together a cohesive plan that ties together:

• Skills strategy and capability frameworks
• Enterprise upskilling and reskilling
• Workforce readiness
• AI literacy and workforce enablement
• Trades and technical capability development
• Certifications and credentialing
• Career pathways and learning journeys

Partner with business leaders to ensure workforce capability investments are aligned with organizational priorities and future workforce needs.

25% - External Benchmarking & Strategic Research

Serve as subject matter expert on external workforce capability, learning, and future-of-work trends.

Research and benchmark leading practices across Fortune 500 companies, retailers, learning organizations, and workforce innovators.

Assess trends and opportunities related to:

• Skills-based organizations
• Workforce readiness
• AI capability development
• Education and tuition reimbursement programs
• Trades development and skilled workforce pipelines
• Credentials, certifications, and alternative learning pathways
• Talent mobility and workforce development

Translate research and insights into executive-ready recommendations and business cases.

25% - Strategic Initiative Leadership

Lead high-priority workforce development and capability-building initiatives from concept through implementation.

Examples may include:

• Enterprise skills strategy
• AI readiness and adoption programs
• Tuition reimbursement strategy and redesign
• Trades certification and workforce development programs
• Workforce capability assessments
• Future-of-work initiatives
• Talent mobility through learning and development
• External education and workforce partnerships

Partner across HR and the business to align stakeholders, manage project plans, establish success measures, and deliver sustainable solutions.

10% - Executive Support & Strategic Planning

Provide strategic support to Learning & Talent leadership by helping identify, frame, and advance emerging workforce capability priorities.

Develop executive presentations, board materials, business cases, and strategic recommendations related to workforce readiness, skills development, and future workforce trends.

Support annual planning activities and special projects requiring enterprise-wide influence and coordination.

10% - Measurement & Executive Storytelling

Develop success measures and reporting approaches for workforce capability and readiness initiatives.

Translate data, research, workforce trends, and business insights into compelling executive narratives that inform investment decisions and enterprise priorities.

Communicate progress, outcomes, and recommendations to senior leadership in a clear and actionable manner.

Direct Manager / Direct Reports

• Reports to a Director or Sr. Director within Learning and Organizational Development
• No direct reports

Minimum Qualifications

• Must be eighteen (18) years of age or older
• Must be legally permitted to work in the United States

Minimum Education

Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Education, Strategy, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in strategy, learning strategy, workforce development, talent strategy, management consulting, organizational development, workforce transformation, or a related field
• Experience operating in a large, complex, matrixed organization
• Demonstrated ability to lead enterprise-wide strategic initiatives
• Experience conducting external benchmarking and translating findings into actionable recommendations
• Experience designing or supporting workforce capability, skills, learning, or workforce development strategies
• Strong knowledge of future workforce trends, skills-based organizations, AI enablement, and workforce transformation
• Proven ability to influence senior leaders without direct authority
• Strong project leadership experience across multiple stakeholders and business functions
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills
• Experience developing executive business cases and recommendations

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strategic thinking and structured problem-solving
• Strong business acumen and understanding of organizational performance drivers
• Ability to identify emerging workforce trends and translate them into business strategies
• Strong research and benchmarking capabilities
• Knowledge of AI, automation, and technology trends impacting the future of work
• Ability to synthesize data, research, and business priorities into actionable recommendations
• Strong project and stakeholder management skills
• Executive communication and storytelling capabilities
• Ability to influence across highly matrixed environments
• Comfort building programs, frameworks, and strategies from the ground up
• Ability to balance long-term strategic thinking with practical execution

Key Competencies

Strategic Mindset
Anticipates future workforce and capability needs and translates them into actionable strategies.

Plans and Aligns
Prioritizes complex initiatives and aligns resources to enterprise priorities.

Collaborates
Builds strong partnerships across HR, business functions, and external stakeholders.

Drives Results
Delivers meaningful outcomes through execution, influence, and disciplined project leadership.

Communicates Effectively
Translates complex information into clear, compelling recommendations that influence executive decision-making.