Program Manager Onboarding - Human Resources

About the Opportunity

This position will be located in Akron, Ohio: Reading PA, Fairmont WV, Holmdel, NJ, Greensburg, PA

Reports to: Director, Employee Experience

Position Summary

FirstEnergy is seeking a strategic, detail-oriented Onboarding Program Manager to establish and lead an enterprise onboarding strategy that delivers a consistent, scalable and differentiated experience for new hires across roles, locations and business units. This role will own the onboarding lifecycle and lead executive onboarding program designed to accelerate leader integration, organizational understanding and business impact. Through cross-functional partnership, technology, employee insights and analytics, the Program Manager will continuously improve the onboarding experience and strengthen engagement, retention, new-hire confidence.

Responsibilities include

Program Design & Execution

• Establish, launch and govern a scalable enterprise onboarding program that supports new hires from offer acceptance through early tenure, including a differentiated executive onboarding experience.

• Implement and maintain onboarding standards, roles, responsibilities and governance process across hiring managers, HRBPs, Talent Acquisition and enabling functions.

• Assess and continuously improve onboarding journeys, communications, tools, learning resources and schedules to ensure alignment with FirstEnergy's culture, values, strategic priorities and required compliance activities.

• Leverage HR technology and digital workflows to create an efficient, accessible and consistent experience while enabling appropriate customization by role, location and employee population.

• Lead change management, communications and adoption activities; equip hiring managers with clear resources, expectations and support to deliver an effective onboarding experience.

• Manage program plans, risks, dependencies, vendors and budget, as applicable, to ensure high-quality and timely execution.

Executive Onboarding

• Design and orchestrate a high-touch, individualized onboarding and integration experience for executive hires in partnership with the hiring leader and HRBP.

• Facilitate the development and execution of 30-, 60- and 90-day executive integration plans in partnership with the hiring leader and HRBP, ensuring alignment with business priorities, leadership expectations and organizational context.

• Conduct stakeholder mapping and coordinate key relationship-building activities, including executive introductions, leadership meetings and strategic networking opportunities that accelerate integration and organizational effectiveness.

• Recommend and coordinate executive sponsors and peer coaches to support successful assimilation, relationship building and organizational navigation; monitor engagement and effectiveness throughout the onboarding experience.

• Facilitate milestone check-ins with the executive, hiring leader and HRBP to assess integration progress, identify barriers and recommend timely support or adjustments as needed.

• Partner with key stakeholders to ensure executives receive the business, culture, governance and organizational insights necessary to accelerate effectiveness and achieve early impact.

• Exercise sound judgment, discretion and professionalism when managing confidential information and engaging with senior leaders and executive stakeholders.

Continuous Improvement & Analytics

• Establish the onboarding measurement strategy, baseline performance and targets in partnership with HRIS, Enterprise Learning, and Talent Acquisition.

• Develop dashboards and leadership reporting that assess new-hire and hiring-manager experience, participation and completion, time-to-productivity, early-stage turnover, executive integration milestones and consistency across functions and locations.

• Collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative feedback from new hires, executives, hiring managers and key stakeholders; segment insights by employee population, function, location and level, as appropriate.

• Translate insights and program outcomes into clear recommendations for HR and business leaders; test, evaluate and scale enhancements that improve engagement, retention and time-to-productivity.

• Maintain program documentation, controls and reporting to support data integrity, compliance and continuous improvement.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Lead and align cross-functional partners-including hiring leaders, executive leadership, HRBPs, Talent Acquisition, HRIS, Enterprise Learning, Total Rewards, Communications, Employee Experience, IT, Facilities, Security, Legal/Compliance and business operations-to deliver an integrated onboarding experience.

• Facilitate decisions, resolve process gaps and dependencies, and drive shared accountability across the onboarding lifecycle.

• Partner with Communications and Enterprise Learning teams to ensure onboarding messaging and materials are clear, consistent and aligned with FirstEnergy’s employee value proposition and culture.

Qualifications include

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Communications or a related field.

• 5+ years of progressive experience in onboarding, employee experience, talent management, recruiting operations or program management, including demonstrated ownership of an enterprise or large-scale program.

• Demonstrated experience designing, implementing and improving onboarding programs in a complex corporate or operational environment.

• Experience supporting executive leaders and facilitating effectively with senior leaders and key stakeholders.

• Strong program and project management, process improvement, change management, communication and stakeholder engagement capabilities.

• Ability to analyze data, identify trends and translate insights into practical recommendations and clear leadership reporting.

• Experience with HR technology and digital onboarding tools; familiarity with Oracle HCM or a comparable HR platform preferred.

• Demonstrated discretion, independent judgment and ability to influence without direct authority in a complex, fast-paced environment.

Preferred Attributes

• Strategic, enterprise mindset with a passion for employee experience, engagement and measurable business outcomes.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong attention to detail, customer orientation and commitment to continuous improvement.

Benefits, Compensation & Workforce Diversity

At FirstEnergy, employees are key to our success. We depend on their talents to meet the challenges of our changing business environment. We are committed to rewarding individual and team efforts through our total rewards philosophy which includes competitive pay plus incentive compensation, a company-sponsored pension plan, 401(k) savings plan with matching employer contribution, a choice of medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance programs, as well as skills development training with tuition reimbursement. Please visit our website at www.firstenergycorp.com to learn more about all our employee rewards programs. FirstEnergy proudly supports workforce diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with a disability. No recruiters or agencies without a previously signed contract. Unable to sponsor or transfer H-1B visas currently.

Safety

Safety is a core value for FirstEnergy and is essential to all our business activities. We ensure employees have the tools, information, and processes to perform their duties in a manner that assures safety for themselves, their co-workers, our customers and the public. Our goals are to provide a safe work environment, to maintain an accident-free, injury-free workplace, and to promote and maintain public safety. To meet these goals, we dedicate ourselves to achieving world-class safety standards.