Director, Talent Acquisition

Are you ready to transform lives through academic excellence, innovative research, strong community partnerships and economic opportunity? Kennesaw State University is one of the 50 largest public institutions in the country, offering more than 190 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to over 50,000 students. Our entrepreneurial spirit, high-impact research, and Division I athletics draw students from throughout the region and from more than 100 countries across the globe.

Our Kennesaw campus is located at 1000 Chastain Road NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144. Our Marietta campus is located at 1100 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060.

About the Role

Responsible for leading and facilitating the design and execution of recruitment strategies for the University. This position will lead all sourcing and hiring strategies, manage external partnerships, monitor recruitment procedures from sourcing to hiring, manage a team of recruiters, and build and manage a strong employer brand.

Responsibilities

• Leads, manages, and develops the Talent Acquisition team by providing strategic direction, clear performance expectations, ongoing coaching, and professional development opportunities that build individual capabilities and strengthen overall team effectiveness.
• Provides leadership that promotes a shared understanding of the HR vision and strategic direction, ensuring all Talent Acquisition team members are engaged, aligned, and actively contributing to the achievement of departmental and organizational objectives.
• Establishes and oversees talent acquisition roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities across the hiring process, ensuring effective collaboration among recruiters, hiring managers, HR business partners, compensation team, and leaders while directing the full lifecycle recruitment, including sourcing, candidate assessment, interview management, selection, background screening, offer negotiation, and onboarding.
• Develops and executes comprehensive recruitment marketing strategies and talent sourcing strategies that strengthen the organization’s employer brand, builds qualified talent pipelines, and leverages innovative approaches to identify, engage, and attract both active and passive candidates across critical talent segments.
• Maintains and continuously monitors established service-level agreements (SLAs) and performance standards across the recruitment lifecycle, ensuring a consistent, efficient, and high-quality hiring process while optimizing recruitment resources, controlling cost-per-hire, and meeting organizational talent acquisition objectives.
• Serves as a collaborative partner with university leadership to develop effective sourcing and recruitment strategies that result in client satisfaction.
• Develops effective relationships within the organization and the hiring community to influence and impact the recruiting process and hiring.
• Partners with the Organizational Development Team to ensure search members and hiring participants complete required search and interviewing training focused on understanding applicable employment laws and organizational hiring policies, and are equipped with effective behavioral interviewing techniques and best practices to support compliant, consistent, and effective hiring decisions.
• Works closely with the HRIS team to collect, analyze, and interpret talent acquisition data, transforming aggregate talent pool metrics into actionable insights that inform strategic decision-making and drive targeted action plans at the appropriate levels.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution of higher education in Human Resources, Business, or related field.
• Eight (8) years of broad experience in Human Resources, with specific experience in Talent Acquisition.
• Four (4) years of progressively responsible management experience.
• Experience designing, developing, and supporting Talent Acquisition programs, policies, and practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification.
• Advanced degree from an institution of higher education in a relevant field.
• Experience designing, developing, and supporting talent-related programs including performance management, talent development, succession planning, data analytics, and relationship management.
• Experience in capturing HR metrics and producing analytics for use by managers for employee decisions.

Skills

• Able to handle multiple tasks or projects at one time meeting assigned deadlines.
• Working knowledge of multiple sourcing strategies, applicant tracking systems, recruiting processes, and hiring metrics.
• Strategic thinking and planning skills, including ability to identify metrics, adjust priorities, anticipate and mitigate risks, and involve the right stakeholders at the right times.
• Excellent interpersonal, initiative, teamwork, problem-solving, independent judgment, organization, communication (verbal and written), time management, project management, and presentation skills.
• Proficient with computer applications and programs associated with the position (i.e., Microsoft Office suite).
• Strong attention to detail and follow-up skills.
• Strong customer service skills and phone and e-mail etiquette.

Pay

The salary range is $120,000 to $128,000. Offers are based on relevant experience.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits to include Medical, Dental, Vision.
• 13 paid holidays.
• Vacation.
• Generous retirement plans.
• Tuition waiver.
• Wellness options.