Director, Talent Delivery

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to over 30% of the Fortune 100 with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.  

Last year, more than $3.3 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals who are gaining more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers.  

As a key leader within the Talent & Managed Services team, the Director of Talent Delivery will drive a high-performance talent acquisition strategy, ensuring quality placements for global clients while scaling operations to support business growth. Leveraging deep expertise in staffing, recruiting, workforce solutions, and team management, you will define and execute the Talent Delivery strategy—identifying, engaging, and placing top global talent for our customers. This role requires a balance of strategic leadership, operational excellence, and data-driven decision-making. Additionally, you will enhance the Talent Experience, leading a team to deliver exceptional service while collaborating with Program & Managed Services, Product, and Sales teams. With a bias for action, you will champion an outstanding experience for talent, clients, and internal partners. This position reports to the Senior Director, Talent & Managed Services Delivery.

 Your Responsibilities:

• Own the vision and strategy for Upwork’s Talent Delivery team while balancing goals, resources and growth
• Oversee the teams that recruit and deliver talent for Upwork’s Enterprise, Managed Services, Business Plus and High Value customers, as well as talent programs. 
• Meet/exceed team SLA’s, and be accountable for fill rate and quality metrics across all talent delivery methods. 
• Partner across Upwork’s business unit product team to grow the high quality talent program and expand upon or improve internal tooling. 
• Lead a team responsible for generating pre- vetted, high quality talent benches, and partner with our Product team to expose and grow that talent
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance recruiter productivity and candidate experience.
• Oversee and manage applicant tracking systems, recruitment tooling, and internal proprietary tools that are responsible for engaging and driving utilization of highly qualified candidates and candidate management. 
• Ensure an exceptional experience for clients, candidates and business partners. 
• Partner closely with sales, account management and delivery teams proactively to ensure fulfillment of current/future opportunities and client demand.
• Drive the adoption of automation, AI-driven recruitment tools, and marketplace innovations.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and high performance within the recruitment team.
• Leverage data analytics to drive recruitment performance, optimize conversion rates, and enhance talent pipelines.
• Ensure compliance with local and global hiring regulations and labor laws.
• Analyze market trends and competitor activities to inform recruitment strategies.

What it takes to catch our eye:

• 10+ Years of High Volume Staffing & Recruiting, Workforce, and/or Talent Marketplace platform experience, with at least 5+ years in a leadership role.  
• Experience identifying, vetting, and implementing multiple recruitment technology solutions into the recruiting ecosystem.
• Experienced in developing global recruitment marketing campaigns. 
• Deep understanding of global talent markets, recruitment strategies and execution. 
• Deep understanding workforce compliance and strong history of partnership with legal or compliance teams.
• Experience leading global teams including managers, recruiters, program managers, talent sourcers and operations associates. 
• Experienced in developing and deploying global talent playbooks with a proven track record of high volume talent acquisition. 
• Proven data driven approach to decision making and problem solving. 
• You have a strong executive presence for collaborating with customers, peers, colleagues, and executives. You can distill differing philosophies and approaches down to the essence and corral partners toward alignment. You can succinctly articulate goals, progress, and priorities in written, verbal, and presentation formats.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with shifting priorities.

Come change how the world works.

At Upwork, you’ll shape talent solutions for how the world works today. We are a remote-first organization working together to create exciting remote work opportunities for a global community of professionals.  While we have physical offices in San Francisco and Chicago, currently we also hire full-time employees in 19 states in the United States.  

Our vibrant culture is built on shared values and our mission to create economic opportunities so that people have better lives. We foster amazing teams, put our community first, and have a bias toward action. We encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work and grow together through development opportunities, mentorship, and employee resource groups. And oh yeah, we've also got amazing benefits - including medical insurance for you and your family, unlimited PTO, 401(k) with matching, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and a generous Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about our benefits and the employee experience.

Check out our Careers page to learn more about the employee experience.  

Upwork is proudly committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we never discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

The annual base salary range for this position  is displayed below. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum salary for this position, and individual base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Additionally, this position is eligible for the annual bonus plan or sales incentive plan and eligibility to participate in our long term equity incentive program.

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