Director, Early Career Programs

The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. GEICO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and is the third largest auto insurer in the United States. In 2023, GEICO earned premiums worth over $40 billion U.S. dollars.

At Geico, our success is no secret - it's the result of investing in exceptional individuals who can provide exceptional service and solutions to our clients.   We are committed to creating a culture of development to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow and to support our associates career aspirations.  

As we continue to grow, we are seeking an experienced and dynamic leader to lead our early career program function team as a Program Director.  In this role, the leader will work closely with senior business and HR stakeholders,  to develop a strong pipeline of early career talent for the business while delivering best in class experiences for  program participants.

Key Responsibilities:

The Program Director should be adept in working in a “start-up” environment.  The leader should have extensive relevant experiences leading early career talent initiatives and bring insights on the external program management landscape, applying best practices to their work.

The Director will lead a team and be accountable for program management strategy and implementation, with a north star goal of creating an industry leading early career program management function.  Key accountabilities encompass all program milestones as applicable, including onboarding, placement process, performance management, training and development, off-boarding and leadership communication.

The position will ensure all programs and initiatives, have measures of success to support ROI and achieve intended outcomes. The role will report to the VP of Learning and Development.

• Program Management Strategy:  Design early career programs strategy focused on building future leaders from initiation through delivery to meet business needs and deliver compelling experiences.

• Program Implementation:  Manage and elevate our summer intern and full time development programs core processes, including onboarding, training, events, appraisal process, rotations, and placements.

• Collaboration and Stakeholder Management:  Develop and implement strategic and ad hoc advisory forums and communication channels in support of strategy and governance.  

• Performance Metrics:  Define and track key performance metrics for all programs and initiatives, ensuring that they achieve intended outcomes.

• Innovation: Develop and implement strategy and innovative best practices to position the function for the future, considering both technology and automation.

• Budget Management: Develop and manage the budget for program management initiatives, ensuring efficient use of resources.

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion:  Ensure DEI principles are embedded in our solutions and how we operate to reflect our associate population, customers and communities we serve.

• Risk Management - Appropriately assess risk when business decisions are made, demonstrating particular consideration for the firm's reputation and adherence to letter and spirit of policies.

• Team Leadership:  Lead a team of professionals dedicated to leadership development, providing guidance, coaching, and development opportunities.

Qualifications:

• 8 plus years of relevant talent development and management experience with a significant portion focused on early career program management and/or  campus recruiting 

• Experience working at all levels of the organization, with significant time working directly with the early career talent and senior leaders.

• Solution-oriented orientation – identifying the source of a question or challenge and providing the right, or a better, way of doing things.

• Culture and change champion - owning and balancing the conflicts between standing still and moving forwards; believes in, helps develop, and cultivates excitement in their workplace culture.

• Strong and proactive communication skills

• Demonstrated organizational savvy and executive presence  - effectively engaging with and influencing a wide range of stakeholders.

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