Career Manager; Private Sector, Professional Services

Career Manager - CNA McLean, Virginia, USA

Work Model:
On-site at Appian Headquarters

Guide Commercial North America Consultants through transformative career journeys while building operational excellence that directly fuels Customer Success and business growth.

The People Team partners with Appian's Professional Services organization to develop world-class consulting talent delivering AI-Powered Process Automation solutions to government clients.

This team owns the full consultant lifecycle—from onboarding through career progression—ensuring our consultants have the coaching, development, and support needed to drive client transformation.

Your work directly impacts retention, performance, and the capability of teams solving complex mission-critical challenges.

As Appian scales its footprint, the demand for exceptional consulting talent has never been higher.

This role exists to ensure our consultants don't just deliver projects—they build careers, develop deep expertise, and become trusted advisors to clients.

You’ll shape how we grow, retain, and elevate talent in a high-stakes environment where performance and people development are inseparable from business success.

• Oversee and continuously improve systems and processes that support talent development, evaluation, feedback, and retention.
• Partner with top consultants to develop consulting career development frameworks.
• Contribute and enhance performance management processes, including feedback cycles, performance reviews, and promotion calibrations, in collaboration with Project Engagement Managers and Technical Advisors.
• Work closely with Customer Success global leaders to align talent development and retention initiatives with regional business objectives.
• Ensure career aspirations and business needs are aligned in support of consultants’ professional growth, skill development, and career progression.
• Serve as a trusted resource to consultants, fostering ongoing conversations around career growth and performance.
• Guide consultants through their learning and development journey, advising on training, skill-building, and engagement opportunities to advance their careers.
• Connect consultants with the most appropriate advisors to support their career ambitions.
• Drive strong engagement through frequent consultant interaction and alignment with key internal stakeholders.
• Support internal operational processes (e.g., feedback tracking, timesheets, compliance) to ensure efficiency without disrupting client-facing responsibilities.
• You’re a people person, capable of providing proactive 1-on-1 counsel to 50 consultants, promoting a positive and productive work environment.

• You have a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, Organization Development, or a related field.
• 5-7 years of experience in Human Resources, Talent Management, or Career Counseling within a consulting or professional services environment.
• Proven experience managing a pool of resources in a consulting or professional services organization with strong one-on-one coaching and mentoring capabilities.
• Ability to strategically align workforce capability development with short and long-term business objectives.
• Proven ability to develop talent in a way that directly supports business performance and growth.

• Detail-oriented, highly organized, and excel at setting up meetings, tracking goals, and managing processes.
• Adept at navigating challenging situations and driving difficult conversations toward resolution with tact and professionalism.
• Facilitative working style; you excel working in a place characterized by ambiguity and unknowns.
• You lead with questions, not only…