Chief Talent and Capability Officer — Enterprise-Software Suite

The mandate

The enterprise is entering a phase in which leadership must resolve critical capability shortages constraining execution of the investment plan within a privately held enterprise technology and digital-products group. The immediate arena is the enterprise-software suite during a product-line consolidation. For mandate 126, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer operating perimeter covers approximately €1,750 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, with activity spanning several enterprise-software suite customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Talent and Capability Officer Technology remit carries direct influence over roughly 575 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a Chief Talent and Capability Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the enterprise-software suite. The Chief Talent and Capability Officer Technology seat must resolve a product-line consolidation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the enterprise-software suite. For mandate 126, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s first year on the enterprise-software suite is expected to end with verified capability supply, internal mobility and leadership depth. In mandate 126, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a planned replacement for the Chief Talent and Capability Officer — Enterprise-Software Suite seat. The incumbent continues to lead the enterprise-software suite through an agreed succession period and will support a structured handover. The board has allowed 4–6 months to assess candidates, complete diligence and protect continuity while a product-line consolidation is addressed. The search is confidential so the transition can be communicated to employees, customers and partners in a controlled sequence.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Talent and Capability Officer value-creation thesis for the enterprise-software suite, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately €1,750 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Talent and Capability Officer Technology organisation of about 575 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the enterprise-software suite economics and execution constraints created by a product-line consolidation, with Chief Talent and Capability Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Talent and Capability Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the enterprise-software suite; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have changed an executive structure and workforce economics while sustaining critical talent and employee relations in mandate 126.
• Build the Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the enterprise-software suite, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Technology organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the enterprise-software suite baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to critical capability shortages constraining execution of the investment plan, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Talent and Capability Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the enterprise-software suite, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable enterprise-software suite trend against verified capability supply, internal mobility and leadership depth, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s agreed first-year enterprise-software suite value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Talent and Capability Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the enterprise-software suite’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Talent and Capability Officer mandate’s highest-priority enterprise-software suite risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical enterprise-software suite talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Talent and Capability Officer-owned improvement in the enterprise-software suite operating constraint behind a product-line consolidation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 126: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Talent Officer, Learning and Capability Head or Deputy CHRO in a privately held Technology or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the enterprise-software suite, your Chief Talent and Capability Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Talent and Capability Officer brief.

As a Chief Talent and Capability Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Technology or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of €1,000 million and led an organisation of at least 400 people.

For mandate 126, the board wants two transitions: a difficult enterprise-software suite portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a product-line consolidation. As the prospective Chief Talent and Capability Officer for this enterprise-software suite, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 126 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer must be based in Amsterdam; international relocation is supported, but this Technology role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Talent Officer, Learning and Capability Head or Deputy CHRO, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Technology governance forum.
• Proven Chief Talent and Capability Officer ownership of at least €1,000 million and leadership of no fewer than 400 employees in a comparable enterprise-software suite context.
• One completed Technology or adjacent-sector example of critical capability shortages constraining execution of the investment plan with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Talent and Capability Officer-level enterprise-software suite consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Amsterdam location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 126.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Talent and Capability Officer package is €240,000–320,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final enterprise-software suite scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 126 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Talent and Capability Officer appointment in Amsterdam, centred on the enterprise-software suite, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 126.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 126. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 126.