Badger Meter

Director, Global Talent Development

Milwaukee, WI Full time

Badger Meter - Where Every Drop Counts and So Do You
 

At Badger Meter, we're more than a leading global water technology company - we're innovators with a mission: to preserve and protect the world's most precious resource. For over 120 years, our trusted solutions have enabled our customers to optimize the delivery and use of water, maximize revenue and reduce waste.

Every employee at Badger Meter is an important part of our success. Here, your work doesn't just move a business forward - it shapes a more sustainable future. We are committed to building a workplace where we celebrate differences, empower voices, and encourage fresh ideas that drive innovation.

When you join us, you'll find:

  • Purpose-driven work that makes a real difference in communities around the globe.

  • Career growth and development opportunities designed to help you achieve your potential.

  • A supportive, inclusive culture where collaboration and creativity thrive.

Be part of something bigger. At Badger Meter, your contributions will ripple far beyond the workplace - creating lasting change for people and the planet.


What You Will Contribute:
 

The Director, Global Talent Development is responsible for designing, implementing, and sustaining a cohesive global talent and learning strategy that builds the capabilities, leadership pipeline, and culture needed to achieve Badger Meter’s long-term growth objectives.

This role creates and administers the global talent planning process, develops enterprise-wide competencies and career paths, and leads the design and delivery of development programs that span individual contributors, emerging leaders, new-to-supervision leaders, managers, and directors. It also oversees early talent strategy, onboarding, and global learning initiatives that support both business results and individual career growth.

Key Responsibilities

Global Talent & Development Strategy

  • Develop and lead a multi-year global talent development strategy aligned with Badger Meter’s business strategy, values, and culture.
  • Create and administer the global talent planning process, provide ongoing assessment of organizational talent needs and the development of key talent.
  • Develop action plans to build and enhance critical corporate competencies, ensuring they are aligned with talent planning outcomes and business priorities.

Leadership, Management & Broad-Based Development

  • Lead the organizational assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of learning and development initiatives that enhance employee performance, leadership capability, and organizational effectiveness. Programs span emerging leaders, individual contributors, new supervisors, managers, and directors.
  • Design, refine, and oversee “Leading at Badger Meter” and other manager/director development programs that ensure leaders can execute strategy, effectively lead their teams, and drive employee productivity and engagement.
  • Identify and assess global development needs and deploy company-wide and individual learning initiatives that support both business objectives and personal career goals.
  • Conduct training needs assessments and recommend and implement programs to support key skill areas and critical capabilities across the organization.
  • Develop and maintain organizational competencies for leaders and employees that drive achievement of strategic business objectives. Integrate these competencies into core HR programs and processes, including hiring, performance management, talent reviews, and development planning, ensuring consistency of expectations globally.

Career Paths, Learning Paths & Succession

  • Lead the development of career paths across functions (e.g., manufacturing, engineering, software/digital, sales, product, operations) to support employee development and key talent retention.
  • Ensure development tools and programs meet succession and development needs of key talent and critical roles; monitor ROI and outcomes of development initiatives.

Early Talent Strategy & Pipelines

  • Oversee the early talent strategy that supports workforce sustainability, including: High school outreach and awareness of technical careers, technical trade partnerships, university and college relations and internship and co-op programs.
  • Ensure a comprehensive, connected approach that links early talent experiences to long-term hiring, development, and retention goals, and that these programs serve as strategic pipelines into key roles.

Orientation, Onboarding & Employee Experience

  • Oversee the orientation and onboarding process globally, ensuring a positive employee experience, strong early engagement, and effective ramp-up during the first 90 days. Collaborate with HRBPs, hiring managers, and local HR to standardize core onboarding elements while allowing local customization.

Learning & Development Architecture & Governance

  • Build a coherent learning architecture that balances enterprise-wide programs with region-specific offerings (U.S., Mexico, Europe), using a blended approach (classroom, virtual, on-the-job, digital).
  • Establish standards for program design, facilitation quality, and participant experience; oversee vendor selection and management for leadership development, assessments, coaching, and digital learning platforms.

Talent Analytics & Impact Measurement

  • Define and manage key metrics and dashboards to evaluate the impact of talent development initiatives (e.g., participation, capability building, readiness/bench strength, promotion rates, internal mobility, retention of key and high-potential talent).
  • Use data and employee insights (e.g., engagement results, 360 feedback, program evaluations) to refine programs and shape strategic recommendations to executive leadership.

External Trends & Continuous Improvement

  • Stay abreast of latest developments in talent management and development, including talent retention, leadership and employee development, organization effectiveness, succession practices, and employee engagement.

Qualifications

Education

  • Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Psychology, Business, or related field required.  Master’s degree in Organizational Development, HR, Adult Learning, or MBA preferred.

Experience

  • 8–12+ years of progressive experience in Talent Management, Learning & Development, Organizational Development, or related HR disciplines.
  • Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and evaluating leadership, management, and broad-based development programs across multiple audiences and levels.
  • Experience operating in a global or multi-region context, with the ability to adapt programs across cultures and locations.
  • Proven track record partnering with senior leaders and HR Business Partners to drive strategic talent initiatives, including talent planning, succession, and career pathing.
  • Experience in manufacturing, industrial, or technology-enabled businesses—and in environments spanning both plant operations and corporate/functional teams—is strongly preferred.

Skills & Knowledge

  • Deep knowledge of leadership development, learning design, adult learning principles, talent management, and competency frameworks.
  • Strong facilitation and presentation skills; comfortable working with senior executives and global audiences.
  • Ability to conduct training needs assessments, design solutions, and measure effectiveness.
  • Proficiency with learning technologies, assessment tools, and coaching/feedback frameworks.

Core Competencies

Strategic Thinking

Global Mindset

Influence & Collaboration

Design & Innovation

Data-Driven

Execution & Ownership

Change Leadership

Travel: Up to [10–20%] globally to support program delivery, leadership events, and regional rollouts.

Competitive Total Rewards at Badger Meter:

  • Competitive Pay

  • Annual Bonus

  • Eligible for Annual Pay Increases

  • Comprehensive Health, Vision, and Dental Coverage 

  • 15 days Paid Time Off + 11 Paid Holidays  

  • Two Ways to Save for Retirement: Badger Meter contributes 25 cents for every dollar you contribute to the plan, up to 7% of your eligible compensation.  In addition to the match, the company will also contribute 5% of your eligible compensation to your Defined Contribution account on an annual basis. Additional access to a certified financial planner to help ensure your money is working for you, at no cost!

  • Employer Paid benefits including: Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Basic Group Life Insurance, Short Term Disability, and more 

  • Educational Assistance – Tuition Reimbursement up to $5,250 

  • Voluntary benefits including: Additional Life Insurance, Long Term Disability, Accident and Critical Illness coverage

  • Health Savings Account (HSA) & Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options

An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. This company considers candidates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. Applicants can learn more about their rights regarding equal opportunity in employment by viewing the federal "EEO is the Law" poster and the “EEO is the Law” poster supplement at http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/ofccpost.htm

Badger Meter complies with all aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act, and all applicable state or local disability laws. This means that we will reasonably accommodate qualified employees with a disability if accommodation would allow them to perform the essential functions of their job, unless doing so would create an undue hardship.  

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