Strategic Market Intelligence: Conduct in-depth external research, including competitor organizational mapping, geographic talent availability, compensation benchmarking, and skill trend analysis across AEC and adjacent industries.
Capability Heatmapping: Identify emerging talent and capability risks and opportunities tied to the enterprise growth plan; produce capability heatmaps and tiered target lists that translate ambiguous business questions into precise recommendations.
Executive Insight Narratives: Build and deliver executive-ready narratives that combine internal signal with external market intelligence to inform workforce planning and business decisions.
Bench Building: Through research, help to build bench strength for future leadership needs, identifying and nurturing high-potential external talent well ahead of open roles.
Strategic Talent Mapping
Talent Mapping: Execute best-in-class talent mappings for niche, competitive roles spanning technical disciplines, project leadership, and corporate functions.
Sourcing Partnership: Partner with sourcing teams, recruiters, TA leadership, and hiring leaders to translate business goals into targeted sourcing strategies and prospect management approaches that strengthen long-term pipelines.
Analytics, AI & Enablement
Insight Products & Dashboards: Assist and actively participate in developing and maintain directional dashboards and talent visibility tools that surface trends, measure effectiveness, and guide strategic pivots.
AI-Enabled Research: Leverage AI, LLMs, and automation to enhance research speed, personalization, and depth-evaluating new technologies, testing workflows, and scaling what works across the global TA function.
The Ideal Candidate
Intellectual Curiosity: Driven by a passion for understanding how organizations solve complex problems through their human capital. Deconstructs corporate structures and draws parallels to the talent needs-current and future-of a global AEC enterprise.
Architect: Builds comprehensive talent ecosystems and identifies under-the-radar leaders through creative sourcing, rigorous cross-referencing, and active presence in the external talent market.
High-Stakes Communicator: Comfortable presenting a market point of view to a leadership audience and defending research methodology and insights with confidence.
AI-Forward Practitioner: Sees AI not as a replacement for judgment but as a force multiplier for insight, speed, and scale. Eager to explore LLMs, agentic workflows, and automation to make research smarter and more human.
Empowered Collaborator: Views research as a shared asset.
Required
10+ years of experience in Talent Intelligence, Market Insights, Executive Research, Workforce Strategy, Competitive Intelligence, Strategic Sourcing, or People Analytics, including time in an sophisticated in-house executive research funct
Additional Information
AECOM is seeking a Principal Talent Intelligence & Market Research Specialist to work within our Talent Acquisiton function. This is a role that can be based in any of our major AECOM office locations within the US or UK.
Role Purpose
The Principal Talent Intelligence & Market Research Specialist is a senior strategic advisor who shapes business direction through external labor market intelligence, competitive insight, and internal capability analysis. Operating at the intersection of Talent Acquisition, workforce strategy, and AI-enabled research, this role partners directly with TA, Talent Management and business leadership across the enterprise to anticipate talent risks and opportunities, surface where the market is moving, and enable evidence-led decisions on capability, structure, and growth. This is a highly visible Individual Contributor role designed for a sophisticated researcher who blends deep investigative rigor with the executive presence to translate complex market data into actionable hiring strategies for one of the world's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms.
Scope & Impact
Influences business strategy and direction through insight that guides organizational growth, and capability build/buy/borrow decisions across architecture, engineering, construction management, and advisory businesses.
Advises Leadership Team stakeholders with recommendations affecting multiple regions, business lines, and functions.
Leads complex, high-visibility intelligence initiatives with material business impact, including talent mapping for critical leadership roles and competitive landscape analysis for strategic markets.
Anticipates talent trends, proactively shaping leadership thinking and strategic scenarios 12-24+ months ahead of open roles.
Builds decision and recommendation frameworks requiring conceptual, innovative, and strategic reasoning in ambiguous problem spaces.
Serves as the recognized subject matter expert on AEC labor markets and a trusted advisor to senior leadership and the global TA function.
Aecom2 · Chicago, IL