Senior Manager, Global School Partnerships and Early Talent Programs

The Royal Caribbean Group’s Human Resources Team has an exciting career opportunity for a full time Senior Manager, Global School Partnerships & Early Talent Programs reporting to the Director, Talent Acquisition.

The Senior Manager, Global School Partnerships & Early Talent Programs develops and oversees strategic initiatives that build sustainable talent pipelines for Royal Caribbean Group’s shipboard operations and private destinations.

This role leads international school partnerships and early talent pathways—including campus recruitment, internships, cadetships, apprenticeships, and specialized development programs—supporting critical Hotel, Marine, and operational talent needs. The Senior Manager translates workforce requirements into scalable, high-impact solutions and shapes the organization’s long-term pipeline strategy.

What your day-to-day will look like:

Early Talent Strategy & Program Development

• Develop and execute a global early talent strategy aligned with workforce plans, business growth, and critical skill needs.
• Design, launch, and scale campus recruitment, internship, apprenticeship, cadetship, and other structured development pathways.
• Translate talent requirements into program models with clear objectives, eligibility, candidate journeys, operating requirements, and outcomes.
• Assess program feasibility and performance, recommending expansion, redesign, or discontinuation based on market conditions, operational capacity, investment, regulatory requirements, and business value.

Global School Partnerships & Talent Pipeline Development

• Identify, evaluate, and develop strategic partnerships with universities, maritime academies, technical institutions, vocational schools, and other education providers.
• Develop market-specific sourcing strategies reflecting education systems, talent supply, regulations, competitive conditions, and business needs.
• Build sustainable partnerships that support immediate hiring and long-term workforce development while strengthening the organization’s position with emerging talent.
• Establish partnership criteria and measures for talent quality, pipeline potential, engagement, and hiring outcomes.

Business Partnership & Stakeholder Management

• Serve as a strategic partner to Talent Acquisition, Hotel and Marine Operations, Learning & Development, Human Resources, and other stakeholders.
• Apply knowledge of operations, workforce requirements, skill gaps, and organizational priorities to shape program recommendations.
• Lead cross-functional alignment on objectives, responsibilities, operating models, success measures, and implementation plans.
• Navigate competing priorities and provide data-informed recommendations, business cases, and executive updates to support decisions and resource allocation.

Program Operations, Process Excellence & Candidate Experience

• Oversee delivery and continuous improvement of school partnerships and early talent programs.
• Establish governance, standardized processes, service expectations, and accountability across internal and external partners.
• Improve end-to-end workflows by reducing complexity and risk and identifying opportunities for automation or simplification.
• Enhance the candidate experience and use performance data and stakeholder feedback to improve pipeline health, conversion, partner performance, and operational efficiency.

Team Leadership & Execution

• Lead, coach, and develop team members responsible for school partnerships, program development, and operational execution.
• Set clear priorities, ownership, performance expectations, and development objectives.
• Balance strategic development with operational delivery and allocate resources across competing priorities.
• Build team capability and a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and independent ownership.

How to achieve success:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Education, Organizational Development, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in early talent, university relations, talent acquisition programs, workforce development, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and managing structured early talent programs beyond traditional campus recruitment.
• Experience building or transforming programs from concept through implementation, including governance, operating processes, stakeholder alignment, and performance measurement.
• Proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives and translate workforce needs into practical talent solutions.
• Strong business acumen and project and program management skills, including planning, prioritization, risk management, process improvement, and execution.
• Excellent communication, relationship-building, influencing, and executive presentation skills.
• Experience leading and developing team members in a dynamic, international, matrixed organization.

Preferred

• Experience developing international early talent programs across multiple countries or regions.
• Knowledge of international education systems, school-to-employment pathways, and relevant training or employment requirements.
• Experience with program governance, performance scorecards, partnership frameworks, candidate experience, talent technology, or process improvement.