Talent Acquisition Advisor - Early Career Programs

Location: Onsite Hybrid 2‑3 days per week at our Varsity Brands HQ in Farmer Branch, TX.

About the role

The Talent Acquisition Advisor – Early Career Programs is a strategic talent advisor responsible for shaping, scaling, and continuously improving Varsity Brands’ early‑career talent strategy. This role partners with business leaders, HR, Talent Acquisition, and Workforce Planning to translate future workforce needs into targeted early‑career pipelines, including internships, entry‑level hiring, rotational experiences, and university partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the enterprise subject‑matter expert and trusted advisor on early‑career talent strategy, university recruiting, and emerging‑talent market trends.
• Partner with business leaders, HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition leaders, and Workforce Planning to identify future talent needs and determine where early‑career talent can create meaningful business value.
• Develop and lead a scalable, multi‑year early‑career strategy that aligns with business priorities, workforce plans, and the overall Talent Acquisition strategy.
• Advise leaders on role design, timing, selection approach, onboarding, development, and conversion practices for internships, co‑ops, rotational programs, and entry‑level hiring.
• Build and steward strategic relationships with universities, community organizations, professional associations, and other early‑career talent partners; assess partnership performance and recommend investments.
• Lead the design and execution of a compelling early‑career employment brand and recruitment marketing approach in partnership with Internal Communications, Marketing, and Talent Acquisition.
• Own the annual early‑career recruiting calendar, campus engagement plan, budget recommendations, and program operating rhythm; balance business needs with candidate experience and resource priorities.
• Plan and facilitate high‑impact virtual and in‑person engagement activities, including career fairs, information sessions, interview days, campus events, and targeted outreach.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition colleagues to develop sourcing strategies, provide clear recruiting guidance, and ensure a consistent, high‑quality candidate and hiring‑manager experience.
• Lead the selection process for assigned early‑career roles, including requisition planning, candidate assessment, interview strategy, offers, and candidate communications, in accordance with company practices and applicable law.
• Design and improve program experiences that support successful onboarding, mentorship, development, engagement, and conversion of early‑career talent.
• Use talent‑market intelligence, program data, candidate feedback, and stakeholder input to identify trends, assess return on investment, and make recommendations for program enhancements.
• Create and communicate clear program dashboards, progress updates, and executive‑ready insights that inform decisions and demonstrate program impact.
• Establish and document scalable processes, tools, and best practices that enable consistent execution across business units and promote continuous improvement.
• Partner with internal resources to advance inclusive early‑career outreach and build diverse candidate pipelines.
• Stay current on emerging early‑career technologies, recruiting practices, and regulatory requirements; apply innovations that improve reach, efficiency, and experience.
• Ensure all early‑career recruiting and program activity is compliant with applicable employment laws, company policies, and data practices.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to influence and advise senior leaders in a highly visible, matrixed environment.
• Strategic talent advisory and stakeholder‑management skills, with the ability to translate business needs into scalable early‑career solutions.
• Strong business acumen and ability to assess workforce needs, talent‑market conditions, and program trade‑offs.
• Ability to collect, analyze, and interpret data from multiple sources and turn findings into clear recommendations and executive‑ready narratives.
• Strong program‑management skills, including strategy development, operating plans, budgets, timelines, process design, and risk management.
• Knowledge of early‑career recruiting cycles, university relations, candidate attraction, and recruitment marketing practices.
• Ability to develop effective, audience‑specific campaigns and engagement experiences for students, recent graduates, and internal stakeholders.
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills in one‑to‑one, group, and executive settings.
• Strong relationship‑building and networking capability with students, university partners, business leaders, vendors, and cross‑functional colleagues.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities independently, exercise sound judgment, and drive work to completion in a fast‑paced environment.
• Working knowledge of employment laws, equal employment opportunity practices, and compliant selection processes.
• Ability to work in a hybrid environment and travel to assigned campuses, events, and company locations up to 25 % during peak seasons.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Communications, Marketing, or a related field.
• Five or more years of progressive experience in Talent Acquisition, university recruiting, early‑career programs, talent management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing campus recruiting, university relations, internship, rotational, or early‑career talent strategies.
• Proven ability to advise business leaders and manage complex stakeholder relationships across a matrixed organization.
• Experience using applicant tracking systems (ATS) and/or candidate relationship management (CRM) platforms; experience with Handshake, LinkedIn Recruiter, and campus recruiting tools.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple complex projects, partnerships, events, and program budgets.
• Experience creating, cultivating, and evaluating external partnerships and vendor relationships.
• Experience using data and reporting to evaluate recruiting outcomes and recommend program improvements.
• Preferred: Advanced degree or relevant professional certification; Workday (ATS) and Phenom (CRM) experience.

Physical demands and work environment

• Operates in a home office and/or professional office environment; ability to sit or stand for long periods during meetings and while using office equipment.
• During events, ability to stand and walk for long periods (5 hours plus).
• Ability to lift, bend, push, pull, and manipulate equipment weighing a minimum of 30 lb.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Our values

• Service – We lead with heart and champion community.
• Passion – We love what we do; it fuels our purpose.
• Integrity – We do what we promise and own our actions and decisions.
• Respect – We earn it by giving it, because everyone deserves it.
• Innovation – We never stop striving to be better for ourselves and our community.
• Transparency – We are committed to openness and honesty in everything we do.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health‑care benefits with HSA employer contribution and FSA opportunities.
• Wellbeing program.
• 401(k) plan with company matching.
• Company‑paid life, AD&D, and short‑term disability insurance.
• Generous paid time off and paid holidays.
• Varsity Brands ownership program.
• Employee Resource Groups.
• Access to financial coaching and member‑owned credit union.
• St. Jude partnership and volunteer opportunities.
• Employee perks, including discounts on personal apparel and equipment.