Director People Advisory Partners

What we do: 

The Trade Desk is looking for a Director, People Advisory Partners to support our Product and Technology organizations. You will partner closely with senior leaders to build effective teams, strengthen manager capability, and connect people decisions to business priorities.

This is a hands-on role with direct responsibility for business partnership and one direct report. You will advise leaders on talent, performance, organizational structure, and capacity while coaching and developing a People Advisory Partner. You will bring clarity when priorities compete, challenge assumptions when needed, and help leaders turn decisions into action.

Working with the Senior Director and partners across the People Team, you will ensure leaders and employees receive practical, consistent support that reflects the needs of their teams.

What you'll do: 

Business Partnership and PAP Development

• Own the people agenda for your supported business groups, aligning priorities with business leaders and the Senior Director.
• Establish clear responsibilities across your portfolios and coordinate support where needs overlap.
• Balance strategic priorities with day-to-day employee and leader needs, making thoughtful choices about capacity and escalation.
• Share insights and practices with the broader PAP team to strengthen consistency and collaboration.

Organizational Effectiveness and Change

• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior Product and Technology leaders on talent, team effectiveness, and organizational decisions.
• Develop a strong understanding of the business, technical roles, and capabilities needed to deliver its priorities.
• Help leaders assess organizational structure, role clarity, leadership capacity, and succession needs.
• Partner with leaders to align staffing and team capacity with business priorities, including identifying work that should be reprioritized or stopped.
• Support organizational change through thoughtful planning, clear communication, and effective implementation.
• Identify retention risks and help leaders address the underlying issues.

Performance, Talent, and Growth

• Coach managers to set clear expectations, provide timely feedback, address performance concerns, and support career development.
• Facilitate talent and promotion calibration, grounding recommendations in business need, demonstrated readiness, and sustained impact.
• Partner with Talent and Total Rewards on development, succession, compensation planning, and promotion decisions.
• Help leaders distinguish between expanded workload and meaningful changes in role scope or accountability.
• Support internal mobility and development opportunities that connect employee growth with business needs.

Coordinated People Support

• Partner with People Solutions, Talent, Total Rewards, People Analytics, People Systems, Talent Acquisition, and Employment Legal to deliver coordinated support.
• Translate enterprise programs into practical guidance that managers can use, and bring business feedback into program planning.
• Collaborate with regional PAPs to support global teams with consistent principles and appropriate local guidance.
• Use data and business insight to identify trends, recommend actions, and assess outcomes.
• Improve processes and tools to reduce unnecessary work and clarify ownership, decisions, and handoffs.

Employee Relations and Sound Judgment

• Advise leaders and your direct report on sensitive employee matters with discretion, empathy, and sound judgment.
• Partner with Employment Legal and relevant People colleagues on complex employee relations matters and employment decisions.
• Coach leaders through difficult conversations and conflict resolution.
• Maintain clear documentation, timely escalation, and appropriate follow-through.

Who you are: 

• 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including substantial partnership with Product, Engineering, or other technical organizations.
• Experience managing and developing HR talent, alongside direct partnership with senior business leaders.
• Strong judgment in organizational design, talent planning, performance management, and employee relations. The ability to earn credibility with technical leaders, ask thoughtful questions, and offer a clear point of view.
• Experience supporting teams through organizational change and competing priorities.
• Working knowledge of U.S. employment practices across multiple jurisdictions and experience partnering effectively with Employment Legal.
• Experience collaborating across regions in a global organization.
• Strong communication, coaching, and influencing skills, with the ability to make complex issues clear and actionable.
• The ability to combine data, business context, and employee insight to inform decisions.
• A practical approach to solving problems, prioritizing work, and following through in a changing environment.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience.

The Trade Desk does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm recruiters. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of The Trade Desk. The Trade Desk is an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.

At the Trade Desk, Base Salary is one part of our competitive total compensation and benefits package and is determined using a salary range. The base salary range for this role is 137300 - 251800 USD