VP of Talent Operations - US-Based

Job Summary:

As the VP of Talent Operations, you will act as the chief architect and operator of the Toptal Marketplace—our open, two-sided talent platform—driving the strategy, structure, and execution needed to scale this offering with precision and excellence. You will bring an engineer’s mindset to solving complex marketplace dynamics, building operational frameworks that ensure our supply of world-class talent meets the evolving demands of clients at scale, without compromising on Toptal’s rigorous quality standards.

You will own the end-to-end performance of the Talent Operations function, developing the systems, processes, and teams that enable it and overseeing how the marketplace functions to deliver high-quality, high-velocity matches between talent and clients. You will design and implement infrastructure that allows the marketplace to operate as a set of composable services—akin to APIs—that seamlessly integrate across Toptal’s ecosystem. You will lead cross-functional teams spanning supply, demand, quality, and experience, ensuring alignment and operational clarity across the organization.

This role demands a builder’s mindset, a deep sense of ownership, and a bias toward scalable solutions. You will not only execute but also invent, pushing the limits of what’s possible in digital talent marketplaces. Your work will directly accelerate the growth and profitability of Toptal’s open talent offering, delivering world-class outcomes for both clients and talent. You will collaborate with a high-caliber leadership team, bringing strategic rigor and operational excellence to one of the most dynamic areas of the business.

This is a remote position. Resumes and communication must be submitted in English.

Responsibilities:

You will be responsible for building and executing a strategy to effectively meet the speed and quality expectations of our talent and clients. Working with our Executive and Marketing teams, you will develop processes to optimize talent supply against planned and targeted demand while ensuring talent satisfaction to continually attract high caliber talent and deliver an outstanding client experience.

Your strategic and analytical thinking will contribute to the formulation of unique solutions to streamline processes that result in efficient means to source, screen, and place talent under expanding vertical and specialization scenarios. You will continually gain insights from data and analytics in order to make sound business decisions. By applying your top-level leadership skills, you will ensure that your growing team is highly motivated and qualified to deliver upon Key Performance Indicators that result in achievement of core business objectives. You will ensure strong management oversight and collaborative interactions between clients, talent, and our core team to support achievement of objectives in the day-to-day operations.

In the first week, expect to:

·        Onboard and integrate into Toptal.

·        Rapidly begin learning about Toptal’s history, culture, and vision.

·        Shadow key teams across the company to learn the core of Toptal’s operations and capabilities.

In the first month, expect to:

·        Complete a current state assessment of the structure and functions within Talent Operations.

·        Review and update Annual and Quarterly OKRs for Talent Operations and its subfunctions.

·        Review and redefine career paths for roles within Talent Operations.

·        Reevaluate and develop recommendations for a competitive commission, compensation, and incentive structure with the CFO.

In the first three months, expect to:

·        Implement a performance framework that will ensure each process step has an effective measure or KPI solution.

·        Review and enhance training materials to ensure that all roles inside of Talent Operations have a clear direction in order to maintain high quality standards, adopt best practices, and adhere to operating policies.

In the first six months, expect to:

·        Develop and mature feedback loops between Talent Operations and processes external to Talent Operations, while exercising discretion and independent judgment.

·        Develop procedures and processes to ensure that all talent has been sent to clients within newly established guidelines.

·        Optimize talent screening quality and bandwidth to achieve newly established guidelines.

In the first year, expect to:

·        Strengthen the infrastructure within Talent Operations for long-term scalability and client satisfaction in a constantly evolving work environment.

Qualifications and Job Requirements:

·        Bachelor’s degree is required. Master’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field preferred.

·        Minimum 10 years experience effectively managing large-scale, multi-faceted operations with supply/demand components, ensuring client expectations for speed and quality are met.

·        Ability to formulate and successfully execute upon business unit Key Performance Indicators.

·        Proven ability to effectively apply analytics and business insights to the creation of strategic plans and executive decision-making.

·        Understanding of Data Architecture and Analytics toolkits and languages.

·        Demonstrated success with developing and deploying process improvement and workflow enhancements that result in streamlined operations.

·        Financial acumen to develop and manage pricing strategies that project and optimize ROI in a two-sided market.

·        Experience working with Finance to formulate compensation programs that effectively drive desired behaviors and align with business financial objectives.

·        Experience working with Product Managers to deliver requirements that support optimization of workflow and operational processes.

·        Experience with development of risk management processes designed to detect and prevent fraudulent activities.

·        Must have the ability to promote collaboration and proactively communicate with different stakeholders to drive alignment with strategic initiatives and hold teams accountable.

·        Experience working in the recruiting, outsourcing, and/or talent space is a plus.

·        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.

Essential Job Functions

·        Regularly and reliably attend scheduled virtual team meetings on camera.

·        Work independently with minimal supervision.

·        Use all required digital collaboration tools.

·        Prioritize and self-manage workflows and deadlines.

US FLSA Classification: Full-Time/Exempt