Senior Director, Talent Acquisition

Responsibilities

• Help develop, implement, and evolve a comprehensive, scalable talent acquisition strategy aligned with Kiniksa’s mission, growth objectives, and near- and long-term workforce plans
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, HR Business Partners, and hiring managers by translating business priorities into effective recruiting strategies, hiring plans, and market-informed recommendations
• Oversee and continuously improve the full recruitment lifecycle, from intake and sourcing through screening, interviewing, offer management, closing, and onboarding
• Drive a high-quality candidate and hiring manager experience that reflects Kiniksa’s values and commitment to timely and transparent communication
• Build proactive pipelines for critical and hard-to-fill roles, including leadership, commercial, scientific, clinical, technical, and corporate functions, using targeted sourcing, referrals, market mapping, events, and external partnerships
• Partner closely with functional leaders, HR Business Partners, and hiring managers to understand current and future talent needs and deliver outstanding candidates who meet both capability and culture expectations
• Partner closely with the broader HR team, including HR Business Partners, HR Operations, and Total Rewards, to ensure recruiting, offer, onboarding, compensation, and talent processes are coordinated and effective
• Oversee a structured, consistent interview and assessment process, including interview plans, candidate debriefs, and selection processes that support quality hiring decisions
• Use recruiting analytics, dashboards, and key performance indicators to monitor pipeline health, time to fill, quality of slate, offer acceptance, source effectiveness, process bottlenecks, and overall recruiting effectiveness
• Identify opportunities to improve recruiting systems, tools, workflows, vendor partnerships, and processes to increase efficiency, scalability, consistency, and compliance
• Partner with HR and business leaders on employer brand initiatives, talent market insights, recruitment messaging, and external outreach that help position Kiniksa as an employer of choice
• Develop and lead the talent acquisition team by setting priorities, clarifying roles and expectations, providing coaching and feedback, building capabilities, and fostering a collaborative, high-performance team environment
• Remain hands-on in leading candidate searches, particularly for critical and senior-level roles, ensuring high-quality execution
• Stay current on recruiting trends, talent market dynamics, competitive intelligence, and best practices in life sciences talent acquisition

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business administration, life sciences, or a related field
• 12+ years of progressive talent acquisition experience, preferably with 2+ years of experience as the leader of the TA function within the biotech or pharmaceutical industry
• Full-cycle recruitment experience with a passion for recruiting and establishing high standards for attracting top talent; experience supporting a commercial environment is required
• Critical thinker with a demonstrated ability to collaborate with executive leadership and hiring teams, make thoughtful recommendations, challenge constructively, and drive alignment
• Demonstrated experience developing fit-for-purpose processes, analytics, and platforms that help streamline workflows, improve time to hire, enhance quality of hire, and ensure a diverse slate of high-quality talent
• Strong people leadership skills with experience coaching, developing and motivating recruiting professionals in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent communicator and influencer with the ability to flex style, build trust, manage competing priorities, and drive solutions across all levels of the organization
• Strong judgment, discretion, and professionalism when managing confidential searches, sensitive organizational information, and senior stakeholder relationships
• Self-starter able to drive work forward within a fast-paced, dynamic, and high-growth environment with a track record of execution and a startup mindset: adaptable, proactive, resourceful, and ready to roll up your sleeves