People are at the heart of everything we do. At Perkins&Will, we believe that exceptional design begins with exceptional talent, and creating an environment where people can thrive is essential to our success.
The Chicago Studio Talent Manager plays a pivotal role in bringing this belief to life, serving as a strategic partner and trusted advisor to studio leadership while championing the full employee lifecycle, aligning people strategy with business objectives, and cultivating a culture where individuals, teams, and the organization can perform at their best.
As a true HR generalist, this role oversees all aspects of the employee experience—from recruitment and onboarding to engagement, development, performance management, retention, and offboarding. The Talent Manager partners closely with leaders and employees alike to foster an inclusive, high-performing workplace where people feel supported, empowered, and inspired to grow.
This is an exciting opportunity for a people-focused leader who is passionate about helping others succeed, building strong teams, solving complex challenges, and translating business strategy into meaningful people practices that drive organizational success.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic HR Partnership & Lifecycle Ownership
- Serve as the primary HR business partner for the studio—owning all aspects of the employee lifecycle, from attraction and onboarding through development, retention, and offboarding.
- Partner with studio and practice leadership to translate business objectives into actionable people strategies and workforce plans.
- Advise on organization design, talent deployment, and succession planning to strengthen leadership pipelines and long-term capability.
- Partner closely with the firmwide team to ensure local implementation aligns with firmwide strategy and standards.
Learning & Development Execution (Firmwide Programs)
- Act as the local executor of firmwide Learning & Development strategy—ensuring consistent delivery of training, professional development, and leadership programs created by the firmwide L&D team.
- Coordinate the rollout of manager training, leadership pathways, mentorship programs, and onboarding experiences.
- Promote participation and track outcomes to reinforce a culture of growth and development, linking learning efforts to performance and retention goals.
Talent Operations & Employee Experience
- Lead daily HR operations, including recruitment, onboarding, compensation guidance, benefits support, career pathing, performance management, recognition, and recordkeeping.
- Serve as a trusted resource to employees and leaders—coaching on feedback, communication, and navigating complex or sensitive issues.
- Champion fairness, consistency, and inclusivity across all people processes; actively support firmwide J.E.D.I. (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) goals.
- Ensure compliance with employment legislation and company policy; escalate issues to Corporate HR as appropriate.
Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding
- Manage the full recruitment cycle: define needs with leaders, source and interview candidates, negotiate offers, and onboard new hires effectively.
- Partner with Communications and leadership to strengthen the studio’s employer brand, highlighting our people and culture to attract top talent.
- Build diverse candidate pipelines and promote equitable hiring practices across disciplines and studios.
Data, Systems & Policy
- Maintain data accuracy within HRIS systems; generate and analyze reports on turnover, hiring, learning participation, and engagement.
- Use insights to identify trends, opportunities, and solutions for leadership action.
- Partner with firmwide HR to operationalize firmwide policies and ensure compliance across regions and offices.
Core Competencies
- Strategic mindset and business acumen
- Full lifecycle ownership and integrated HR thinking
- Growth mindset and commitment to continuous learning
- Strong interpersonal, facilitation, and coaching skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Comfort navigating ambiguity and complex issues
- High emotional intelligence, discretion, and integrity
Technical Skills & Tools
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (including Teams)
- Experience with UKG Pro or equivalent HRIS platforms
- Familiarity with Deltek Vision and Cognos BI preferred
- Experience using LMS platforms and analytics dashboards
Education & Credentials
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Psychology, or related field
- SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR credential strongly preferred
- 10+ years of progressive HR or HRBP experience within professional services, architecture, design, or related creative industries
We foster a culture that is diverse and inclusive and strive for pay practices that are fair, and competitive and reflect our commitment to pay equity. Our compensation decisions include but are not limited to a candidate’s qualifications including skill sets, education, experience and training, licensure and certifications credentials if applicable, and business-related factors. This practice extends to all employees, including performance considerations for merit increases, job promotions, and transfer opportunities. We additionally review our pay practices; conduct pay equity audits and ensure our managers are trained in our pay practices on an annual basis. At the time of posting this job advertisement, the annual pay range for this position is between $110,000 - $145,000 commensurate with qualifications
*Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Perkins&Will has established and adopted an Equal Employment Opportunity Employment policy (“EEO”), which is part of the Company’s Human Resources Policy. The purpose of this EEO policy is to ensure that all employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis, and without regard to sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, gender reassignment, citizenship, pregnancy or maternity, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable national, federal, state, or local law. In some cases, local laws and regulations may provide greater protections than those outlined here and employees will be covered by the laws of their local jurisdiction.
Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision
Perkins&Will will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.
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This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Psychology, or related field
- 10+ years of progressive HR or HRBP experience within professional services, architecture, design, or related creative industries
- SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR credential
Perkins&Will Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Perkins&Will and has not been reviewed or approved by Perkins&Will.
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Inclusive Benefits Coverage — Inclusive health benefits extend to same-sex spouses and domestic partners and include coverage for gender confirmation surgery, reinforced by repeated external recognition for LGBTQ equality.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage spans dental, vision, disability, life, and medical insurance, alongside FSA options and related support programs that broaden access to care.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support includes a 401(k) with employer matching and is complemented by performance bonuses that add to total rewards.
Perkins&Will Insights
What We Do
Since 1935, we’ve believed that design has the power to make the world a better, more beautiful place. That’s why clients and community members on nearly every continent partner with us to design healthy, happy places in which to live, learn, work, play, and heal. We’re passionate about Living Design, a philosophy that guides our work and emphasizes poetics and beauty; conceptual clarity; research and innovation; technology and tectonics; community and inclusion; resilience and regeneration; and health and well-being. Our team of over 2,500 professionals in 30 studios worldwide provides interdisciplinary services in architecture, interior design, branded environments, urban design, landscape architecture, and more. Our partners include Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects; Portland; Nelson\Nygaard; and Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR). We’re also part of the Sidara Collaborative, a global network of leading designers, engineers, planners, and consultants.
