Talent & Succession Lead

Location: Greater London

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 23,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.
** Role Purpose
** Lead the design, implementation, and evolution of Howden’s enterprise-wide
** talent and succession strategy**, ensuring strong leadership pipelines, internal mobility, and future-ready capability. Drive integration with related processes such as talent identification, development, executive assessment, DEI and talent acquisition, aligning all initiatives with business growth and transformation ambitions.
** Key Responsibilities
**** 1. Talent & Succession Strategy
*** Architect and embed a
** Group-wide approach to talent and succession**, strengthening visibility, mobility, and readiness across all divisions.
* Establish governance, cadence, and reporting for succession planning, ensuring proactive risk management and leadership continuity.
* ** Integrate succession planning with talent identification, development, and acquisition processes**, including the use of executive assessment in hiring decisions.
** 2. Enterprise Talent Programmes
*** Design and deliver initiatives that accelerate development and mobility of critical and emerging talent, leveraging technology, analytics, and inclusive practices.
* Build and engage a global community of talent and performance representatives, fostering collaboration and best practice sharing.
** 3. Career Frameworks & Internal Mobility
*** Define and implement career frameworks that clarify progression, support cross-divisional movement, and enable enterprise-level workforce planning.
** 4. Coaching, Mentoring & Capability Building
*** Maintain and evolve the coaching and mentoring culture, curating partnerships and internal capability to embed sustainable practices.
* Oversee targeted learning interventions and leadership development aligned to business priorities.
** 5. Skills Framework Leadership
*** Support the creation and rollout of a
** skills framework
** that maps critical capabilities for current and future business needs.
* Partner with divisional and functional leaders to enable strategic workforce planning and agile talent deployment.
* Ensure skills data informs talent processes and career development pathways.
** 6. Transformation & Change Leadership
*** Act as a strategic partner to senior stakeholders, connecting talent, succession, and leadership outcomes with commercial performance and cultural transformation.
* Lead change management and communication strategies for new talent initiatives.
** 7. Insights, Analytics & Governance
*** Establish clear metrics and reporting mechanisms to track progress, inform decision-making, and enable continuous improvement.
* Leverage talent analytics and technology platforms (e.g., Workday) to drive data transparency and evidence-based decisions.
** 8. DEI Integration
*** Champion inclusive design and DEI integration across all talent and succession processes, ensuring representation and psychological safety.
** 9. Future Offerings & Innovation
*** Identify and pilot new talent interventions (e.g., leadership transitions, enterprise capability building) aligned to strategic priorities.
** Skills & Experience *(dialled down emphasis on skills framework)
**** Extensive experience
** implementing and managing talent and succession processes at scale in a global organisation**, with strong connections to related processes such as talent identification, development, executive assessment, and talent acquisition.
* Proven track record in
** enterprise-level talent architecture and succession planning**.
* Strong project management, stakeholder…