Talent Specialist Jobs in Chicago, IL

Type: Full-Time

Reports to: Senior Director of People Experience

Office Location: 224 W Hill Street, Suite 410, Chicago, IL 60610; required in-office minimum of 3 days per week (hybrid work policy subject to change)

Background:

Guided by the experiences of those living with mental health conditions and rooted in equity, NAMI Chicago educates to fight stigma and discrimination, fiercely advocates for our community, and shares hope, connection and expertise with people on their mental health journey.

Who We Are Looking For

The Learning & Talent Development Specialist supports NAMI Chicago’s mission by owning the coordination, tracking, administration, and implementation of key learning and talent development programs across the organization. This role is responsible for maintaining the Learning Management System, tracking required trainings and credentials, supporting the rollout of performance management processes, coordinating Employee Resource Group administration, and helping implement professional development initiatives for employees, managers, and leaders. This position works closely with the Senior Director of People Experience to ensure learning and talent programs are organized, timely, well-communicated, and consistently followed through. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, proactive, and comfortable owning recurring processes, tracking deadlines, working with and facilitating employee training programs and learning sessions with employees and managers, maintaining accurate records, and moving projects from planning to implementation.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Coordinate and support the rollout of organization-wide learning initiatives, including employee development programs, manager/leader development sessions, compliance trainings, and professional development opportunities.
• Support implementation of NAMI Chicago’s performance management process by coordinating timelines, communications, system updates, manager resources, training materials, completion tracking, and follow-up.
• Assist with the development and implementation of competency frameworks, skills assessments, career development tools, and employee development resources.
• Coordinate the implementation of NAMI Chicago’s professional development plan for managers and leaders, including scheduling, communications, materials preparation, participation tracking, feedback collection, and follow-up on next steps.
• Own Employee Resource Group administration and coordination, including maintaining ERG materials, calendars, communications, leader resources, planning tools, engagement tracking, budget tracking, and follow-up on agreed next steps.
• Assist with the design, coordination, and facilitation of employee training programs, workshops, and learning sessions that support employee performance, growth, engagement, and belonging.
• Own the day-to-day administration and maintenance of the Learning Management System, including course assignments, user updates, enrollments, completion tracking, reporting, reminders, and system accuracy.
• Own tracking and follow-up for required employee trainings, compliance trainings, credential renewals, and other learning-related requirements, ensuring records are accurate, deadlines are monitored, and overdue items are escalated appropriately.
• Maintain training and credential tracking tools, including completion status, renewal dates, reporting dashboards, and documentation needed for internal compliance and workforce planning.
• Support onboarding-related learning initiatives by maintaining onboarding resources, coordinating training materials, and helping ensure consistency across departments.
• Gather, organize, and summarize training feedback, survey results, participation data, and other learning metrics to support continuous improvement and decision-making.
• Prepare clear project updates, status reports, trackers, and recommendations for the Senior Director of People Experience, including timelines, barriers, risks, decisions needed, and recommended next steps.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders, including managers, program leaders, training owners, and Employee Resource Group leaders to support learning and talent development priorities.
• Maintain organized files, templates, training materials, trackers, reports, and documentation in shared systems to ensure continuity, accessibility, and consistency.
• Draft and coordinate employee communications related to learning, training, compliance, Employee Resource Groups, performance management, and professional development initiatives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong organization, follow-through, and project coordination skills.
• Ability to own recurring processes, monitor deadlines, follow up consistently, and escalate barriers or overdue items appropriately.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to maintaining accurate records, reports, and documentation.
• Ability to use Learning Management Systems, HRIS, tracking tools, spreadsheets, and project management systems to support learning administration and reporting.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear updates, reminders, summaries, recommendations, and employee-facing communications.
• Ability to follow up with employees and managers in a timely and professional manner regarding training completion, credential tracking, deadlines, and required actions.
• Ability to identify gaps, organize information, assess current state, and recommend practical next steps.
• Ability to coordinate across departments and work collaboratively with managers, program leaders, training owners and Employee Resource Group leaders.
• Comfort supporting program rollouts, training logistics, meeting coordination, communications, and implementation timelines.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive employee and training information appropriately.
• Strong customer service orientation and ability to support staff and managers with learning-related questions.
• Ability to work independently on assigned tasks while seeking guidance when decisions, approvals, or escalations are needed.
• Interest in employee development, manager development, learning systems, employee engagement, and process improvement.
• Commitment to quality, accuracy, follow-through, equity, inclusion and organizational ethics and integrity.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Education, Training, Business Administration, or a related field.
• At least 3–5 years of experience in learning and development, talent development, employee engagement, organizational development, or related work.
• Experience administering or supporting a Learning Management System, survey tools, project trackers, or talent management systems.
• Experience supporting performance management processes, employee development programs, onboarding, manager training, or professional development initiatives preferred.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Outlook, Excel, SharePoint/Teams, and other systems routinely used by NAMI Chicago.
• Strong written communication skills with the ability to draft clear employee communications, reminders, summaries, and status updates.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to maintain accurate, accessible, and up-to-date records.
• Ability to manage recurring deadlines, follow-up cycles, and multiple projects with accuracy and consistency.

Available Benefits:

• Company sponsored wellness activities.
• Medical, Dental and Vision benefits.
• Company sponsored Life and AD&D Insurance and Long-Term Disability.
• 401k Retirement plan.
• Critical Illness Insurance, Hospital Indemnity, Accident Insurance, Short Term Disability Coverage.
• Generous PTO.

Salary Range: $60,000 - $70,000 per year

NAMI Chicago is an inclusive employer, we welcome and encourage BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Veterans, Differently Abled, Returning Citizens and All Who Are Dedicated to Mental Health to Apply.