UK

United Kingdom · Learning and development · Director/VP (16-20 years)

Director, Global Performance Improvement

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  • Experience bandDirector/VP (16-20 years)
  • Reports toVP, Global Talent & Performance
  • UK framework levelUsually a director, accountable for a division and its numbers

Also advertised as VP of Learning & Development · Head of Organisational Capability · Global Talent & Performance Director

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

NQual Level 5 Certificate in Leadership and Management NQual · Level 5 · covers 2 of 10 standards
NQual Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management NQual · Level 5 · covers 2 of 10 standards
Level 6 Award in Leading Organisational Change Institute of Sales Professionals · Level 6 · covers 1 of 10 standards
NCFE CACHE Level 5 Diploma in Advanced Playwork (Wales) NCFE · Level 5 · covers 1 of 10 standards
City & Guilds Level 5 Diploma for Leaders and Managers City & Guilds Limited · Level 5 · covers 1 of 10 standards
Level 6 Certificate in Professional Sales Institute of Sales Professionals · Level 6 · covers 1 of 10 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Managing performance NQual Level 5 Certificate in Leadership and Management
Lead Organisational Change Level 6 Award in Leading Organisational Change
Provide learning opportunities for colleagues NCFE CACHE Level 5 Diploma in Advanced Playwork (Wales)
Leading People - Knowledge City & Guilds Level 5 Diploma for Leaders and Managers

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
AI Governance Fluency using AI responsibly
Automation Fluency building AI into how work runs
Your Plan Illustration

Built for Director, Global Performance Improvement

4 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Managing performance NQual · covers 2 of 10 standards Level 5
  2. Lead Organisational Change Institute of Sales Professionals · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 6
  3. Provide learning opportunities for colleagues NCFE · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 5
  4. Leading People - Knowledge City & Guilds Limited · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 5
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Director, Global Performance Improvement?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skills this role is being asked for

  • AI-Powered Organisational Diagnostics
  • Behavioural Economics & Nudge Theory for Performance
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Director, Global Performance Improvement plan as you set up, starting with the free Automation Fluency module. No card.

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Keep this read. One email with what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for and where to start free. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

3What this role really is

This role means improving how a global business unit performs, covering skills, processes and working conditions across the organisation.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Learning Experience Platform (LXP) / LMS (e.g., Degreed, Cornerstone OnDemand) Strategic

Leading vendor selection (RFP process), defining the enterprise learning tech ecosystem architecture for your business unit, and negotiating multi-year contracts. You'll use data from these systems to inform strategic decisions.

Data Analytics & Visualization (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Advanced Excel) Strategic

Defining the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the entire L&D function within your business unit. Interpreting complex dashboards to tell a compelling, data-driven story to the C-suite about L&D's business impact and future strategy.

Performance & Engagement Systems (e.g., Workday HCM, Lattice, Qualtrics) Strategic

Influencing the design of the enterprise performance management cycle and skills taxonomy. Using predictive analytics to identify future leadership gaps and talent risks across your business unit, informing proactive development strategies.

Collaboration & Project Management (e.g., Asana, Jira, Miro, Confluence) Strategic

Overseeing the entire portfolio of performance improvement projects across your business unit, allocating resources, managing dependencies at a programme level, and ensuring strategic alignment across all initiatives.

Financial Planning & Reporting (e.g., Anaplan, Workday Adaptive Planning) Expert/Strategic

Owning the multi-million-pound global L&D budget for your business unit. Building sophisticated financial models to forecast L&D ROI and justify significant investment to the CFO and executive team.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Strategic Programme Investment (e.g., launching a new global leadership programme) No independent decision. Propose to manager. Propose with business case to senior manager for approval. Recommend to Director, with detailed ROI analysis and stakeholder buy-in.
Organisational Design within L&D Function No input. Offer suggestions to manager. Propose minor team structure adjustments to lead.
Vendor Selection & Contract Negotiation No involvement. Research potential vendors, present findings to manager. Lead vendor evaluation for a specific project, recommend preferred vendor to lead.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

L&D ROI on Major Strategic Initiatives
The return on investment for the biggest performance improvement programmes you champion.
Target · A minimum 3:1 ROI (meaning for every £1 we spend, we get £3 back in measurable business benefit).

If you launch a £1M leadership development programme, you'll need to demonstrate £3M in benefits, perhaps through reduced regrettable attrition or increased team productivity, within 12-18 months.

Business Impact (Level 4)
Directly linking your programmes to tangible business outcomes, not just learning completion.
Target · Demonstrate a 5% increase in employee retention for high-potential populations within your business unit, or a 10% improvement in a key operational efficiency metric (e.g., time to market, customer resolution time).

After implementing a new sales onboarding programme, you'll show that new sales hires are hitting 100% quota 3 months faster than before, directly contributing to increased revenue.

Strategic Alignment of L&D Budget
How much of your budget is actually going towards the company's biggest priorities.
Target · Over 90% of the L&D budget for your business unit must be allocated to initiatives directly supporting the company's top 3 strategic priorities.

If 'digital transformation' is a top priority, you'll show that 35% of your budget is funding programmes that upskill employees in digital capabilities, directly supporting that goal.

Time to Proficiency Reduction
How quickly new hires or employees in new roles become fully effective.
Target · Reduce the average 'time to proficiency' for critical roles within your business unit by 15% year-on-year.

If it typically takes 6 months for a new Product Manager to be fully productive, your programmes aim to get them there in 5 months or less, saving significant time and money.

Executive & Board Trust
Being seen as a credible, strategic partner by the C-suite and, occasionally, the Board.
  • You're proactively consulted on major business unit strategy decisions. Your proposals for investment are rarely questioned on their business merit. You're asked to present at executive leadership meetings or board updates on talent and performance trends.
Cross-Functional Influence
Your ability to get other senior leaders (e.g., VPs of Sales, Operations, Product) to buy into and champion your performance improvement initiatives.
  • Other VPs actively co-sponsor your programmes. They allocate their own team's resources to support your initiatives. They publicly advocate for the value of L&D. You're able to 'push back' on ill-conceived training requests and redirect efforts to actual root causes without damaging relationships.
Talent Pipeline Health
The effectiveness of your strategies in building a strong internal pipeline of future leaders and specialists.
  • The percentage of internal promotions to critical roles increases. Succession plans for key positions show multiple ready-now candidates. Feedback from HR Business Partners consistently highlights the quality of talent emerging from your programmes.
Organisational Agility & Adaptability
How well your business unit can respond to market changes and new strategic directions.
  • The business unit successfully navigates significant organisational change or market shifts with minimal disruption to performance. Employee engagement scores related to 'change management' or 'future readiness' improve. You're seen as a key architect of the future workforce capability.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Driving Tangible Business Transformation

You're energised by seeing a business unit hit its targets because of a programme you designed. You love the challenge of taking a complex organisational problem and solving it through people-focused strategies. It's not about the 'feel-good' factor; it's about measurable impact on the bottom line.

You'll feel a real buzz when the quarterly report shows a clear correlation between your new leadership programme and a significant reduction in regrettable attrition across your business unit.

Shaping Organisational Strategy

You thrive on being in the room where big decisions are made, influencing the C-suite on how talent and capability will drive future growth. You're not just executing; you're defining the 'what' and the 'why' for a significant part of the company. This means long-term planning, not just quick fixes.

You'll be excited to present your multi-year capability roadmap to the executive team, knowing your vision will shape the skills of thousands of employees for years to come.

Leading and Developing High-Performing Teams

You enjoy building, mentoring, and empowering a team of senior L&D professionals. You get satisfaction from seeing your direct reports grow into even bigger roles, knowing you helped them get there. It's about creating a legacy through your people.

You'll take pride in seeing a Senior Manager you've mentored successfully lead a complex, high-stakes project that delivers significant business value, knowing you provided the guidance and support.

What frustrates people
  • Being asked to 'just run a training' when you know it won't fix the actual problem.
  • The constant struggle to get clean, reliable data to prove the ROI of your programmes.
  • Seeing your long-term strategy get deprioritised for a new, short-term 'flavour of the month' initiative.
  • Budget cuts hitting L&D first, despite clear evidence of business impact.
  • Getting buy-in from busy executives who don't fully grasp the strategic value of capability building.
What this role does not give you
  • A quiet, predictable routine – expect constant change and shifting priorities.
  • Immediate, easy wins – most of your impact will be seen over months or years, not weeks.
  • A role where you're solely focused on instructional design or content creation; this is about strategy and leadership.
  • A guarantee that every programme you champion will be fully funded or adopted; you'll face resistance and setbacks.

8Who you work with

This role directly shapes the strategic capability and performance of an entire global business unit, impacting its P&L, market position, and long-term growth trajectory. Your decisions here will affect thousands of employees and millions of pounds in revenue or operational efficiency.

Inside the business
  • C-Suite (CEO, CFO, COO, CHRO)
  • Business Unit VPs and Senior Directors (e.g., VP Global Sales, VP EMEA Operations)
  • Finance Leadership
  • HR Business Partners
  • Product & Technology Leadership
Outside the business
  • Strategic Learning & Development Vendors
  • Industry Bodies and Thought Leaders
  • Key Consulting Partners

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • Proven track record of leading large-scale, global L&D or performance improvement programmes with demonstrable business impact.
  • Extensive experience managing multi-million-pound budgets and building compelling business cases for executive approval.
  • Significant experience leading and developing teams of senior L&D professionals, including managers of managers.
  • Deep expertise in at least one major performance consulting methodology (e.g., HPT, Six Sigma for L&D).
  • Experience presenting to and influencing C-suite executives and, ideally, Board members.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Learning Data Architecture & Governance

As L&D data becomes more complex and integrated with other business systems, Directors need to understand the underlying architecture and governance required to ensure data quality, security, and strategic utility. This isn't an IT problem; it's a business strategy problem.

Data Lakes & Warehouses for L&D · API Integrations & Data Flow · Data Quality & Master Data Management · Data Governance & Compliance

  • This quarter: Schedule deep-dive sessions with our IT and Data Governance teams to understand our current data architecture.
  • Next 6 months: Lead a cross-functional working group to define the future state of learning data architecture for your business unit.
  • Next 12 months: Champion an initiative to improve data quality or streamline data integration for a key performance metric.
  • Ongoing: Actively participate in discussions about enterprise data strategy and advocate for L&D's data needs.

Quick win: Work with your team to audit the data quality of one critical L&D metric (e.g., completion rates) and identify immediate areas for improvement.

AI Ethics & Responsible Deployment

As AI becomes more embedded in talent decisions, understanding the ethical implications and ensuring responsible deployment is paramount. Directors will be accountable for the fairness and transparency of AI-driven performance solutions.

Algorithmic Bias & Fairness · Transparency & Explainability (XAI) · Data Privacy in AI · Human-in-the-Loop AI

  • This month: Read our internal AI ethics guidelines and any relevant industry best practices.
  • Next 3 months: Lead a discussion with your team and HRBPs on the ethical considerations of using AI in a specific L&D programme.
  • Next 6 months: Partner with legal and compliance to review any AI-driven tools or processes for potential ethical risks.
  • Ongoing: Stay informed on emerging regulations and industry standards for ethical AI in HR and L&D.

Quick win: When evaluating new L&D tech, always include 'AI ethics and bias mitigation' as a key criterion in your vendor assessment.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly attending executive L&D or HR leadership conferences (e.g., Learning Technologies, HR Tech, ATD International Conference).
  • Participating in peer networking groups for senior L&D leaders to share best practices and challenges.
  • Engaging in executive coaching or leadership development programmes focused on strategic influence and organisational transformation.
  • Staying current with academic research and industry publications on organisational psychology, behavioural economics, and the future of work.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

AI-Powered Organisational Diagnostics

AI is rapidly evolving beyond simple automation to sophisticated analytical capabilities. Future Directors won't just use AI for data analysis; they'll use it to predict performance issues before they become critical problems across a business unit.

  • Predictive Analytics for Talent Risk
  • Generative AI for Root Cause Hypotheses
  • Ethical AI & Bias Detection
  • AI-driven Personalised Interventions

Behavioural Economics & Nudge Theory for Performance

Traditional L&D often struggles with behaviour change. Understanding how people actually make decisions (often irrationally) and how to 'nudge' them towards desired behaviours is becoming critical for driving real performance improvement, especially at scale.

  • Cognitive Biases in Performance
  • Choice Architecture
  • Gamification & Incentives
  • Social Norms & Peer Influence

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Performance Consulting (HPT Model)
  • Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Evaluation Model
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
  • Change Management (Prosci ADKAR® Model)
  • Instructional Design Theory (ADDIE/SAM)
  • Business Acumen & Financial Modelling

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    Senior Manager, Global Performance Improvement

    3-5 years in previous role

    Skills to master

    • Mastering the end-to-end management of large, complex global programmes, leading a team of managers, and consistently demonstrating Level 3 & 4 impact for a specific function or region. Building a strong track record of influencing senior stakeholders.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully led 2-3 multi-year, multi-million-pound programmes from inception to measurable business impact.
    • Consistently received feedback on strong executive presence and ability to influence VPs.
    • Developed and mentored at least 2-3 direct reports into more senior roles.
    • Managed a significant budget (£500K+) with strong fiscal responsibility.
  2. 2

    Head of L&D (Large Region/Business Unit)

    4-6 years in previous role

    Skills to master

    • Owning the full L&D strategy and execution for a significant part of the business, managing a diverse team, and being accountable for all L&D metrics within that scope. This means becoming a true business partner to a regional President or Business Unit Head.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully built and executed a comprehensive L&D strategy for a major region or business unit.
    • Demonstrated strong commercial acumen and linked L&D initiatives directly to regional P&L.
    • Managed a large, diverse team of L&D professionals, including managers.
    • Navigated complex regional or business unit-specific challenges and delivered impactful solutions.
  3. 3

    Senior Consultant (Specialising in Talent/Performance)

    5-8 years in previous role

    Skills to master

    • Leading complex talent and performance transformation projects for multiple large clients, developing deep expertise in a specific industry or methodology, and managing client relationships at the executive level. This path brings strong external perspective and structured problem-solving.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Led multiple large-scale talent/performance consulting engagements for Fortune 500 clients.
    • Developed thought leadership in a specific area of performance improvement.
    • Proven ability to diagnose complex organisational problems and design multi-faceted solutions.
    • Strong track record of client relationship management and business development.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead to senior leadership roles that shape an organisation's people and performance strategy at the highest level.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Director, Global Performance Improvement is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Managing performance, worked against Director, Global Performance Improvement.

Managing performance Level 5

Applied to your work in Director, Global Performance Improvement

This unit aims to provide learners with an understanding of the reasons for managing performance within organisations, the frameworks and diagnostic tools used, and the evaluation tools employed, enabling them to effectively manage performance within an organisation.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Director, Global Performance Improvement
  • Performance Consulting (HPT Model)
  • Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Evaluation Model
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
  • Change Management (Prosci ADKAR® Model)
  • Instructional Design Theory (ADDIE/SAM)
  • Business Acumen & Financial Modelling
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Director, Global Performance Improvement is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. VP, Global Talent & Performance

    3-5 years in current role

    From L6 to L7

    • Integrated Talent Management Architecture Designing and overseeing the holistic system for attracting, developing, engaging, and retaining talent across the enterprise.
    • Global Workforce Planning Leading long-range strategic workforce planning to ensure the organisation has the right talent, in the right place, at the right time for future growth.
    • M&A Due Diligence & Integration (Talent Focus) Leading the talent-related due diligence and integration efforts for major mergers and acquisitions.
    • External Thought Leadership Representing the organisation as a thought leader in the talent and performance space at industry forums and media engagements.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

As a Director, your time is precious. You're paid to think strategically, influence, and drive big transformations, not get bogged down in data analysis or drafting documents. Here's the thing: AI isn't going to replace you, but a Director who uses AI will absolutely outperform one who doesn't. We're talking about reclaiming significant chunks of your week to focus on what truly matters.

Imagine having a highly intelligent assistant that can sift through mountains of data, draft complex reports, and even help you build compelling business cases in a fraction of the time. That's the reality of AI for this role. It's about augmenting your strategic capabilities, not automating your job away. We've got a dedicated AI Productivity Hub to help you get started, but here's a sneak peek at how it'll change your day-to-day.

Automated Feedback Analysis

Use advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) models to instantly analyse thousands of open-ended comments from engagement surveys, post-programme evaluations, and 360-degree feedback. Identify key themes, sentiment, and emerging trends in minutes, without manually reading through everything. This frees you up to focus on what to do with the insights, not just finding them.

Predictive Performance Correlation

Leverage AI tools to quickly analyse learning data from our LXP against performance data from Workday, Salesforce, or other business systems. Identify non-obvious correlations – like which specific training module truly impacts sales quota attainment or reduces customer churn. This gives you powerful, data-backed arguments for your strategic investments, cutting weeks of manual analysis down to hours.

Intelligent Content Curation & Strategy

Use AI-powered tools within our LXP (like Degreed) to automatically identify and recommend personalised learning content for your business unit's employees based on their roles, skill gaps, and career aspirations. For you, this means quickly identifying content gaps in our current offerings and guiding your team on strategic content acquisition or development, rather than getting into the weeds of individual learning paths.

Executive Summary & Business Case Generator

Feed raw data, strategic goals, and key findings from your analyses into a Generative AI model to instantly draft a concise, well-structured executive summary, board update, or the initial draft of a complex business case for a new L&D investment. This cuts down hours of writing and structuring time, letting you refine the message and focus on the strategic narrative, not the blank page.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Director, Global Performance Improvement?

Common routes in include Senior Manager, Global Performance Improvement (3-5 years in previous role), Head of L&D (Large Region/Business Unit) (4-6 years in previous role) and Senior Consultant (Specialising in Talent/Performance) (5-8 years in previous role). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Director, Global Performance Improvement progress to?

This role can lead on to VP, Global Talent & Performance (3-5 years in current role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Director, Global Performance Improvement?

Increasingly, AI-Powered Organisational Diagnostics and Behavioural Economics & Nudge Theory for Performance. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

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17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 7

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

 More jobs in learning and development

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
If you leave this industry

The strategic thinking, business acumen, data-driven decision-making and change leadership involved apply across industries. They can lead to senior leadership roles elsewhere, management consulting, executive coaching, or setting up an independent practice focused on organisational effectiveness.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my free Automation Fluency module What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.