Talent Coach
About Toptal
Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on-demand. With $200+ million in annual revenue and team members based around the globe, Toptal is the world’s largest fully remote workforce.
We take the best elements of virtual teams and combine them with a support structure that encourages innovation, social interaction, and fun. We see no borders, move at a fast pace, and are never afraid to break the mold.
Job Summary:
The Toptal network includes thousands of top Engineers, Designers, Finance experts, Project Managers, and more from over 100 countries, working with leading companies on mission-critical projects. The mission of the Talent Coaching Team is to ensure our Talent network is performing at its highest level and delivering the highest quality client service. In joining this new team, you will have the opportunity to coach world-class talent from around the world. You will play a critical role in meeting a clearly established business need and grow with our team as we develop and hone our operating processes, measure results, and scale to serve thousands of talent.
You’ll join a new, entrepreneurial team of career and professional development Coaches, supporting talent from all over the world from the moment they join the Toptal network through landing a job with our clients. In addition to coaching, you’ll help seek out opportunities to drive improvements to our career services offerings. Part of this effort will include contributing to the development of a new talent performance management system. Working with other cross-functional teams, you will implement processes to provide feedback and improvement opportunities for talent who have demonstrated performance issues, with the goal of returning each talent to good standing. You’ll be one of several key advisors to talent across the spectrum of their lifecycle at Toptal, whether they’re brand new to Toptal or are approaching the end of their most recent Toptal client engagement. You are instrumental in the process of them securing a role.
This is a remote position. We do not offer visa sponsorship or assistance. Resumes and communication must be submitted in English.
Responsibilities:
The following information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or required skills.
- Provide ongoing coaching support for our talent, along with actionable advice on their job search strategy, interviewing, project management, and professionalism.
- Team with Talent Coaching Leadership to curate and/ or develop resources to supplement coaching efforts around job search strategy, Toptal processes and expectations, and soft skills (i.e., client communication, project management, etc.).
- Implement organizational improvement efforts to elevate our talent onboarding systems, resulting in increased “speed to productivity” for new hires across the talent network.
- Evaluate talent presentation of their credentials to ensure that prospective clients understand talent skills and experience.
- Work with talent on a one-on-one basis to address and remediate performance issues with coaching and well-curated resources.
- Help design and execute live and recorded coaching events, such as webinars, group coaching, and office hours.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with related teams (such as Screening, Matching, Profile Editing, & Learning Programs) to pull in specialized support and talent feedback, as needed.
- Evaluate inbound coaching requests; prioritize and determine which coaching method (e.g. face to face, technical, group, online learning, etc.) is most appropriate based on strategic guidelines and data available.
- Consistently monitor talent activity on Slack to understand talent need trends, clarify Toptal best practices, and share helpful resources.
- Monitor existing and emerging processes, identifying creative opportunities for increased efficiency and effectiveness of Talent Coaching Team operations.
- Document coaching activities to help us measure impact and scale programs in an ROI-positive manner.
In the first week, expect to:
- Onboard and integrate into Toptal.
- Develop an understanding of the process we use to match talent and clients.
- Become familiar with the various platforms and systems Talent Coaching utilizes to offer timely and exceptional support to Toptal talent.
- Learn the structures and capabilities of the talent-facing teams at Toptal, with a particular focus on understanding the goals, processes, and ongoing projects within the Talent Success and Talent Coaching teams.
- Shadow coaching conversations with talent to become familiar with our talent, their needs, and coaching techniques to support talent development.
In the first month, expect to:
- Develop an understanding of the resources available today to support talent.
- Internalize best practices and common pitfalls for talent as they look to find work and execute projects.
- Learn the various data points available to help Talent Coaching assess a coaching need, prioritize the case, and determine the optimal support.
- Learn the current Talent Success processes in place to identify and address talent coaching needs.
- Provide performance feedback and coaching to talent face-to-face over Zoom and electronically via email and Slack.
In the first three months, expect to:
- Exercising discretion and independent judgment, provide front-line coaching support on both common coaching needs, as well as begin supporting the most challenging cases with high-value talent.
- Regularly provide low-touch support to talent, in the form of shared resources, invites to coaching events, and answers to commonly asked questions over Slack or email.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to provide specialized coaching support, when appropriate.
- Curate and enhance existing resources to share with talent.
- Help process and prioritize requests for coaching.
In the first six months, expect to:
- Create new resources and programming to continuously improve our support offering to talent.
In the first year, expect to:
- Act as a subject matter expert on the Talent Coaching role.
Qualifications and Job Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree is required.
- 5+ years experience in Career Coaching, HR Performance Management, and/ or HR business partner roles.
- Experience working with technical talent (e.g. Developers, Designers, etc.) or an understanding of technical skill sets is strongly preferred.
- Ability to handle high-stakes, “crucial conversations,” while staying objective and steering talent towards productive action.
- Action-oriented coaching style. Ability to distill numerous feedback data points and a detailed talent response down to a clear, actionable plan for talent to execute.
- Business Prioritization. We will not have the capacity to coach everyone. A successful coach in this role will be able to prioritize attention given to talent based on the strategic goals of our team.
- Process Orientation. You need to be able to expertly follow a process, and when faced with limited data, make decisions that align with team goals and priorities.
- Customer Centric Communication. Must have a customer-centric approach as an advocate for talent, be an exceptional communicator, and have outstanding video chat, Slack, and email etiquette.
- Resourcefulness. You should be a self-starter who thrives on the freedom and accountability that comes with being part of a distributed workforce.
- Adaptability. Our processes and priorities may evolve rapidly. You need to be able to learn and adapt to change quickly.
- Passion. Our goal is to change the way organizations build teams and how the world’s top talent finds opportunities. You have to be passionate about what we do, and be a strong advocate of the change we are driving in the market.
- Continuous Improvement. You need to have an eye for continuous improvement and be open to receiving challenging feedback.
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, rapidly growing company and handle a wide variety of challenges, deadlines, and a diverse array of contacts.
- You must be a world-class individual contributor to thrive at Toptal. You will not be here just to tell other people what to do.
