Associate Director, Strategic Workforce Planning & Culture

Johnson Controls, a global leader in thermal management, mission-critical building systems, energy efficiency, and decarbonization, helps customers use energy more productively, reduce carbon emissions, and operate with the precision and resilience required in rapidly expanding industries such as data centers, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, and higher education.

For more than 140 years, Johnson Controls has delivered performance where it really matters. Backed by advanced technology, lifecycle services and an industry-leading field organization, we elevate customer performance, turn goals into real-world results and help move society forward.

What we offer

• Competitive salary and bonus plan
• Paid vacation/holidays/sick time - 15 days of vacation first year
• Comprehensive benefits package including 401K, medical, dental, and vision care - Available day one
• Encouraging and collaborative team environment
• Dedication to safety through our Zero Harm policy
• JCI Employee discount programs (The Loop by Perk Spot)

Check us Out: A Day in the Life of the Building of the Future

Role Overview

This role is the enterprise product owner for two complementary capabilities: strategic workforce planning and culture shaping. Operating with global enterprise scope within Organizational Development, it builds the playbooks, methodologies, analytics, labor market insight and leader enablement that allow the business to plan its workforce deliberately and translate the Winning Behaviors into everyday operating norms. A workforce plan defines and builds the capability the business needs; culture determines whether that capability can be sustained.

The role leads through influence rather than direct authority, scaling both products through HR Business Partners, Talent Partners and business leaders while advising senior leaders on critical growth initiatives. It advances each product from nascent to enterprise maturity, embedding workforce planning into long-range planning, budget and talent review, and establishing culture measures that sustain behavior change. It is accountable for measurable outcomes: improved workforce visibility and planning accuracy, reduced reliance on external hiring through develop-first capability building, and a culture that sustains continuous improvement.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Strategic Workforce Planning Product Ownership Owns the enterprise strategic workforce planning product, including the playbook, methodology, facilitation guide and the supporting talent, supply-and-demand and labor market data products through analytics partnerships. Connects strategy to strategic workforce planning at-scale through integration with strategic planning mechanisms, budget, capacity planning and operating KPIs so plans drive investment decisions rather than follow them. Ensures each breakthrough growth initiative is supported by a capability-based plan that identifies critical talent groups, quantifies gaps and prioritizes develop-first actions over external hiring.

Culture Shaping Product Ownership Owns the enterprise culture shaping product, translating the Winning Behaviors into observable operating norms through playbooks, toolkits and leader enablement. Enables HR leaders to be the ambassadors of culture through establishing a credible cultural baseline with diagnostics, surveys and dashboards; and reinforcement mechanisms that keep behavior change from fading. Integrates culture measures into talent review, succession and the colleague experience so culture is managed as a driver of business performance.

Product Lifecycle, Measurement and Continuous Improvement Manages both products through the value lifecycle, advancing their maturity quarter by quarter at the pace the business requires. Defines the measures of adoption, quality and business value, builds the mechanisms to collect them, and uses the evidence to prioritize enhancements and retire what no longer adds value. Applies technology and AI, including platform integration with organizational design data and prompt quality standards, to move the products toward self-service and predictive insight.

Enterprise Capability Building and Adoption Scales workforce planning and culture shaping through HR Business Partners, Talent Partners and business leaders, equipping them with the data, tools and standard work to operate independently. Creates leader-facing materials, leads learning forums and coaching, and builds feedback loops that improve adoption over time. Success is judged by the self-sufficiency of this network, not by the volume of work the role delivers directly.

Senior Leader Advisory and Cross-Functional Partnership Provides white-glove consultation to senior leaders and their HR partners on high-priority workforce and culture questions, using each engagement to sharpen the products. Partners with workforce analytics, learning, finance and talent colleagues on the data, tools and planning cycles the products depend on. Co-leads pilots in critical-talent segments and integrates the learning into enterprise standards.

Business System Leadership Applies the JCI business system as the operating discipline for both products: defining standard work, going to where the work happens and solving problems at their root cause. Designs playbooks and tools that give frontline leaders clear expectations and the capability to act, so workforce and culture decisions are made closer to the customer. Connects workforce planning and culture shaping directly to customer, operational and financial outcomes, and uses continuous improvement to make each release faster, simpler and more effective.

Talent System Leadership Strengthens the talent system by aligning workforce and talent decisions to business strategy. Ensures capability requirements defined through workforce planning inform hiring, development, career paths and assessment, and that culture measures inform how talent is evaluated and developed. Builds capability across the HR and leader community to sustain the leadership, talent and culture required for transformation.

WINNING BEHAVIORS

This role must model and embed Johnson Controls’ Winning Behaviors as the “how”:

• We Focus on What Matters — We deliver for our customers by going to Gemba and listening to our colleagues, understanding and prioritizing what will have the greatest impact, and making sound decisions where the work happens.​

• We Win as One Team — We seek and value different perspectives, collaborate across teams, treat each other with respect, recognize team member contributions, and empower our colleagues closest to the customer.

• We Own the Outcome — We take accountability, translate strategy into actions, and remove obstacles for our colleagues to deliver results that win with customers the right way, with safety and integrity first.​

• We Improve Everyday — We seek and speak the truth with humility, get to root causes of problems, and take action with urgency to best serve our customers by learning, adapting, innovating, and supporting our colleagues’ growth.​

KEY LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES

• Business Pragmatism. Naturally gravitates toward what creates practical value for the business rather than theoretical elegance. Is comfortable releasing a workable solution and refining it through use. Embraces Agile concepts of Proof-of-Concept, Minimally Viable Product, and Continuous Improvement.

• Systems Orientation. Instinctively sees connections between strategy, workforce, structure and culture. Anticipates how a change in one part of the system will affect the others. Seeks to strengthen the entire Talent System through their work.

• Curiosity. Has a genuine drive to understand how the business, its markets and its people work. Seeks out new data, perspectives and methods, including emerging AI capability, without being prompted.

• Leads with Data. Seeks data-based problem solving and solutions, using an analytical skillset to determine the best path forward. Makes conclusions based on evidence and readily acknowledges what is not working.

• Influences through Partnership. Earns confidence through consistency, discretion and follow-through. This credibility enables partnership and allows influence without positional authority across functions and regions.

• Comfort with Ambiguity. Is at ease in white space where products, data and expectations are still forming. Brings structure to unclear situations rather than waiting for it to be provided.

• Tenacity. Stays focused and perseveres through setbacks, proactively assessing risks to objectives and planning to overcome through partnership. Persists until change is embedded and results are realized.

• “One Team” Mindset. Takes satisfaction from others' capability and success more than personal visibility. Is naturally inclined to teach, share and make others self-sufficient.

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

Required:

• Minimum of seven years of progressive experience in strategic workforce planning and operational workforce planning, and/or applications of workforce planning within organizational development, talent management, organizational effectiveness, HR business partnering or equivalent strategy or consulting work.

• Hands-on experience building strategic workforce plans or culture-shaping tools, including supply-and-demand, capability or skills gap analysis.

• Demonstrated experience designing and operationalizing playbooks, toolkits or standard work adopted at enterprise or multi-region scale.

• Experience integrating workforce or people strategy with financial and operating planning cycles such as long-range planning and budgeting.

• Strong analytical capability, with a track record of translating workforce data into clear recommendations for senior leaders.

• Proven ability to advise and influence senior leaders and HR partners without direct authority in a complex, matrixed global organization.

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business, industrial-organizational psychology or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Strongly Preferred:

• Experience with labor market intelligence tools or workforce planning technology platforms.

• Experience designing culture diagnostics, surveys or measurement frameworks linked to business outcomes.

• Product management or product ownership experience, including lifecycle management and adoption measurement.

• Experience applying AI and advanced analytics to workforce insight, including predictive skills or capability modeling.

• Experience in a lean or continuous improvement operating environment, ideally within an industrial, manufacturing or building technology business.

• Advanced degree in organizational development, human resource development, human resource management, business, industrial-organizational psychology or a related field.

SUCCESS MEASURES

12‑ Month Expectations for Success (Year 1)

• Strategic Workforce Planning Integration: The enterprise strategic workforce planning playbook, toolkit and current-state talent data product are complete and in use across strategic growth initiatives. Introduction of AI’s influence on roles and strategic workforce plans.

• Workforce Insight: Supply-and-demand insights are live and labor market data is proven through a targeted pilot, with a completed data package ready to scale.

• Culture Shaping: The enterprise culture shaping playbook is complete and the culture survey and dashboard have launched, establishing a measurable baseline that informs talent review and succession.

• Integrated People Planning: The workforce planning technology is assessed; proof-of-concept is tested priming for the integration of workforce and design data. Connection to operational workforce planning/capacity planning is established.

• Adoption and Impact: Learning supports are established, promoted, and well-utilized. Adoption and quality measures for both products are defined, tracked and used to prioritize enhancements, with HR partners applying the tools under coaching support.

24‑ Month Expectations for Success (Year 2)

• Strategic Workforce Planning Integration: Workforce planning is embedded in long-range planning, budget and KPIs across regions, with develop-first capability plans shaping investment decisions. Embedded analysis of AI’s influence on roles and strategic workforce plans.

• Workforce Insight: Labor market data is in the hands of HR partners enterprise-wide, and workforce analytics enables predictive skills planning, bench strength and workforce risk management.

• Culture Shaping: Culture measures are integrated into talent processes, cultural drivers of engagement are identified, and analytics-linked reinforcement is sustaining the Winning Behaviors.

• Integrated People Planning: Strategic Workforce Planning technology build is complete and integrated with the organizational design platform, so workforce and design data operate as one. Integrated people planning operates across the enterprise, with measurable improvement in workforce visibility and planning accuracy.

• Adoption and Impact: Leaders and HR partners use both products independently, and the products show measurable business outcomes, including reduced reliance on external hiring.

HIRING SALARY RANGE: $170,000-200,000 (Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.) This role offers a competitive Bonus plan that will take into account individual, group, and corporate performance. This position includes a competitive benefits package. The posted salary range reflects the target compensation for this role. However, we recognize that exceptional candidates may bring unique skills and experiences that exceed the typical profile. If you believe your background warrants consideration beyond the stated range, we encourage you to apply. To support an efficient and fair hiring process, we may use technology assisted tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), to help identify and evaluate candidates. All hiring decisions are ultimately made by human reviewers. For details, please visit the About Us tab on the Johnson Controls Careers site at

Johnson Controls International plc. is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law. To view more information about your equal opportunity and non-discrimination rights as a candidate, visit EEO is the Law. If you are an individual with a disability and you require an accommodation during the application process, please visit here.