Director, Research (HRBP Personal Development & Evolving Role in AI-enabled Workplace)

About the role:

Gartner experts are industry thought leaders who create must-have insights, market predictions and best practices for a broad range of world-leading organizations. A Director serves as a leader within Gartner’s Business and Technology Insights (BTI) group, establishing oneself as a credible voice within their designated market at local, regional and global levels. Utilizing exceptional research and analytical skills, a Director plays a significant role in producing pragmatic and provocative insights which Gartner clients consume and apply to propel their business toward key objectives. They are a trusted source of advice for clients, reinforcing Gartner’s value every day by engaging them via virtual meetings and sales support meetings to discuss complex client challenges and offer appropriate recommendations.

This role is an opportunity to join Gartner’s growing Human Resources Practice with a specific focus on HR Business Partners (HRBPs). A team of experts within this group is dedicated to advising Head of HRBPs and HRBPs on their Personal Development and evolving role of HRBPs in an AI-enabled Workplace. Directors are expected to offer flexibility in what they can cover and how they channel their expertise.

Please note that this position is an individual contributor role. NOT a role with direct reports.

What You Will Do

• Create high-quality, actionable, must-have research for HR Business Partners and Leaders of HR Business Partners, with a focus on: HRBP Role in an AI-Enabled Workplace and HRBP Personal Development
• Develop original research, insights, frameworks, and tools that help HRBPs enhance business impact, navigate organizational change, build strategic influence, and adapt their role in an increasingly AI-enabled workplace.
• Serve as the research portfolio owner for these topic areas, ensuring Gartner's body of research remains relevant, differentiated, commercially impactful, and aligned to evolving client priorities.
• Own annual and quarterly content planning for the portfolio by identifying emerging client needs, market shifts, research gaps, and business opportunities.
• Establish strong and differentiated points of view on the future of HR Business Partnering, leveraging primary research, client interactions, practitioner experience, and marketplace trends.
• Review and provide developmental feedback on content produced by other authors within the topics to ensure consistency of quality, messaging, evidence, and positioning.
• Monitor portfolio performance through client engagement, content consumption, diagnostic usage, retention indicators, and other business metrics, using insights to continuously improve the portfolio.
• Conduct and synthesize research interviews with HR leaders, HRBPs, consultants, academics, and other subject matter experts to uncover emerging practices and challenges.
• Partner with other Gartner analysts and research leaders to integrate HRBP perspectives into broader CHRO and HR functional research.
• Create and deliver high-value presentations, keynotes, webinars, conference sessions, and client-facing materials.
• Lead virtual research briefings, diagnostic walkthrough result discussions, and research interviews with clients and prospects.
• Support sales, service, product, and marketing teams by serving as Gartner's expert on HRBP effectiveness, HRBP development, and the impact of AI on the HRBP role.
• Identify opportunities to improve research processes, content planning approaches, and portfolio management practices.
• Act as a mentor and thought partner to researchers and analysts by sharing expertise, reviewing work, and helping build research capabilities across the team.
• Build credibility as a recognized expert on HR Business Partner effectiveness, capability development, and the future of HR work.

What You Will Need

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; Master's degree, PhD, or advanced study in Human Resources, Organizational Psychology, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Organizational Behaviour, Business, or related fields preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in one or more of the following:
  • Senior HR Business Partner role,
  • Consulting role with specialization in HR Function Effectiveness, HR Team Development, Talent Assessment & Development, Organizational effectiveness consulting and Workforce transformation consulting, Organization design and change consulting
  • HR or Organizational psychology research
• Deep understanding of HR Business Partner responsibilities, capabilities, career paths, operating models, and business impact.
• Knowledge of how AI, automation, analytics, and evolving workforce models are reshaping HR work and the HRBP role.
• Experience creating evidence-based recommendations through primary research, practitioner experience, consulting engagements, or applied organizational research.
• Demonstrated ability to develop frameworks, methodologies, models, or intellectual property that guide business decisions.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to establish credibility with senior HR leaders.
• Excellent written communication skills and demonstrated ability to create compelling, clear, and actionable content.
• Exceptional interview, synthesis, and analytical skills.
• Ability to identify patterns across diverse data sources and translate them into actionable insights and strong research positions.
• Experience reviewing, editing, coaching, or improving the work of peers or junior professionals.
• Strong project and portfolio management skills, including planning, prioritization, and stakeholder management.

#LI-SN2

Who are we?

At Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT), we guide the leaders who shape the world.

Our mission relies on expert analysis and bold ideas to deliver actionable, objective business and technology insights, helping enterprise leaders and their teams succeed with their mission-critical priorities.

Since our founding in 1979, we’ve grown to 20,000 associates globally who support over 13,000 client enterprises in ~90 countries and territories. We do important, interesting and substantive work that matters. That’s why we hire associates with the intellectual curiosity, energy and drive to want to make a difference. The bar is unapologetically high. So is the impact you can have here.

What makes Gartner a great place to work?

Our vast, virtually untapped market potential offers limitless opportunities – opportunities that may not even exist right now – for you to grow professionally and flourish personally. How far you go is driven by your passion and performance.

We hire remarkable people who collaborate and win as a team. Together, our singular, unifying goal is to deliver results for our clients.

Our teams are inclusive and composed of individuals from different geographies, cultures, religions, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and generations.

We invest in great leaders who bring out the best in you and the company, enabling us to multiply our impact and results. This is why, year after year, we are recognized worldwide as a great place to work.

Gartner is the world authority on AI

At Gartner, you’ll join a company at the very center of the AI revolution. Gartner has proactive, objective guidance throughout clients’ AI journeys. We set the standard for how organizations leverage artificial intelligence to drive meaningful impact. You’ll have access to unmatched resources, expertise, and technology, and play a key role in helping Gartner and our clients innovate and grow as we leverage AI to transform business and technology landscapes.

It’s an exciting time to be at Gartner, with limitless opportunities to make a real impact, grow your skills, and build a lasting, meaningful career in a field that’s reshaping the way we operate. If you’re passionate about AI and want to be part of a team that’s guiding the leaders who shape the world, Gartner is the place for you.

What do we offer?

Gartner offers world-class benefits, highly competitive compensation and disproportionate rewards for top performers.

In our hybrid work environment, we provide the flexibility and support for you to thrive — working virtually when it's productive to do so and getting together with colleagues in a vibrant community that is purposeful, engaging and inspiring.

Ready to grow your career with Gartner? Join us.

The policy of Gartner is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship status, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status and to seek to advance the principles of equal employment opportunity.

Gartner is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer and offers opportunities to all job seekers, including job seekers with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access the Company’s career webpage as a result of your disability. You may request reasonable accommodations by calling Human Resources at +1 (203) 964-0096 or by sending an email to ApplicantAccommodations@gartner.com.

Job Requisition ID:112724

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