About Us: At Booking.com, data drives our decisions. Technology is at our core. And innovation is everywhere. But our company is more than datasets, lines of code or A/B tests. We're the thrill of the first night in a new place. The excitement of the next morning. The friends you encounter. The journeys you take. The sights you see. And the memories you make. Through our products, partners and people, we make it easier for everyone to experience the world.
Role Description:
The Senior Manager - Workforce Agility & Internal Mobility is responsible for designing and delivering Booking.com's workforce agility agenda, ensuring that talent can be dynamically deployed to priority work in line with the long term People Plan and Talent Philosophy. This role owns the portfolio of workforce agility programs - including internal mobility policies and processes, Targeted Reallocation, Interim Assignment (Caretaker), Talent Transparency, Internal Hiring and Lateral Mobility Initiatives - and partners closely with HR, People Services & Technology, Finance and business leadership to enable the right talent, in the right roles, at the right time, while safeguarding colleague experience, fairness and compliance.
Key Job Responsibilities and Duties:
Workforce agility strategy & roadmap:
Design and maintain the multi-year strategy and roadmap for Workforce Agility and Internal Mobility, aligned with the long term People Plan (Unlock Workforce Agility, Strategic Workforce Planning, Annual Talent Cycle) and the Talent Philosophy. Translate company priorities and People objectives into clear workforce agility outcomes, principles and guardrails for how talent moves across Booking.com.
Program ownership - workforce agility portfolio:
Own and continuously improve the core workforce agility programs:
- Targeted Reallocation / Targeted Moves - policy, criteria, governance and Workday process to dynamically reallocate talent across teams and business units in support of changing priorities.
- Talent Transparency - design and scale processes and tools that make critical talent, successors and internal candidates more visible (including cross-functional talent reviews), enabling proactive matching of internal supply and demand.
- Internal Hiring & Lateral Mobility - partner with Internal Recruitment to simplify and standardise internal hiring, sprint models, and lateral moves in line with cost discipline and development goals.
- Caretaker & Interim Assignments - define and embed clear models, criteria and guidance for interim role coverage as a development and workforce agility lever.
- Interfaces with skills, career frameworks and Talent Marketplace - ensure workforce agility programs are informed by skills and career data (e.g. Workday Skills Cloud, career frameworks) and support our future strategic workforce planning product.
Execution & change management:
Lead end-to-end design, pilot, rollout and continuous improvement of workforce agility processes and tools (including Workday processes, manager and HRA guidance, and employee-facing content). Build structured change, communications and enablement plans to help HR, managers and employees adopt new ways of moving talent, with a particular focus on manager capability and One Team behaviours.
Governance, policy & risk management:
Act as process owner for workforce agility policies within Talent Management, partnering with HR Advisory, People Risk & Compliance, Legal and Works Council where required. Ensure policies (e.g. Targeted Reallocation, internal hiring, lateral moves, caretakers) are clear, well-governed, compliant with local legislation and WoCo commitments, and used appropriately (e.g. not to bypass agreed internal hiring or performance processes).
Data, insights & measurement:
Define and track key metrics and OKRs for workforce agility (e.g. internal time-to-hire, lateral move rate, usage of workforce agility processes, critical roles coverage, internal mobility mix vs promotions). Use analytics and insights from People Analytics, Talent Intelligence and FP&A to identify friction points, gaps or risks and to prioritise improvements across policies, processes and tools.
Partnership with Strategic Workforce Planning & Annual Talent Cycle:
Work in close partnership with the Strategic Workforce Planning program and the Annual Talent Cycle team so that workforce agility mechanisms (e.g. internal hiring, lateral moves, targeted reallocation and talent pools) are integrated into quarterly and annual planning, talent reviews, succession planning and skills reporting.
Stakeholder and cross-functional collaboration:
Partner with Talent Management peers (Annual Talent Cycle, Culture, Talent Intelligence, Strategic Workforce Planning), HR Advisory, Internal Recruitment, People Services & Technology, Inclusion, Rewards, Finance/FP&A and Business Operations to ensure workforce agility solutions are coherent, scalable and embedded in core ways of working and tools.
Team leadership & capability building:
Lead and develop a small team (e.g. Principal Talent Mobility and Senior Talent Mobility Advisors) responsible for delivering workforce agility initiatives and bespoke internal mobility solutions. Set clear objectives, provide coaching and feedback, and build deep domain expertise in internal mobility, workforce agility and talent deployment across the team and broader HR community.
Employee and manager experience:
Ensure that workforce agility solutions balance business needs with a positive, fair and transparent colleague experience. Champion clear, accessible communication so employees understand how internal moves, lateral moves, targeted reallocations and caretaker assignments work, and what they can expect from managers and HR.
Qualifications & Skills:
- Proven experience designing and implementing internal mobility and workforce agility programs (e.g. internal hiring, lateral moves, rotations, targeted moves, talent transparency, caretakers) in a complex, matrixed organisation.
- Experience Owning and designing mobility policies and products from scratch
- Extensive Knowledge - typically 8-12 years' experience in talent management, internal mobility, workforce planning and/or organisational development, including several years in a people-manager role.
- Demonstrated success in using talent, skills and workforce data to inform decisions and measure impact (e.g. time-to-hire, lateral move rates, talent pipeline health, critical roles coverage).
Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to align senior leaders and HR partners around new ways of deploying talent. - Experience working closely with HR technology and data teams (e.g. Workday, Talent Marketplace, Skills Cloud) to translate business needs into processes, configuration and reporting.
- Strong programme and change management skills, including designing pilots, scaling solutions and building manager capability.
- Excellent communication skills (verbal, written and visual), able to simplify complex topics and build clarity and trust with colleagues.
- Comfortable operating in ambiguity, balancing strategic thinking with hands-on delivery in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
Benefits & Perks - Global Impact, Personal Relevance:
Booking.com's Total Rewards Philosophy is not only about compensation but also about benefits. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, as well unique-to-Booking.com benefits which include:
- Annual paid time off and generous paid leave scheme including: parent, grandparent, bereavement, and care leave
- Hybrid working including flexible working arrangements, and up to 20 days per year working from abroad (home country)
- Industry leading product discounts for yourself, including automatic Genius Level 3 status and Booking.com wallet credit
Inclusion at Booking.com:
Inclusion has been a core part of our company culture since day one. This ongoing journey starts with our very own employees, who represent over 140 nationalities and a wide range of ethnic and social backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations.
Take it from our Chief People Officer, Paulo Pisano: "At Booking.com, the diversity of our people doesn't just build an outstanding workplace, it also creates a better and more inclusive travel experience for everyone. Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. It's a place where you can make your mark and have a real impact in travel and tech."
We ensure that colleagues with disabilities are provided the adjustments and tools they need to participate in the job application and interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.
Application Process:
- Let's go places together: How we Hire
- This role does not come with relocation assistance.
Booking.com is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We strive to move well beyond traditional equal opportunity and work to create an environment that allows everyone to thrive.
Pre-Employment Screening
If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.
