Talent and Development Specialist

Key Responsibilities

• Manage full-cycle recruiting for assigned requisitions, including sourcing, screening, interviewing, and extending offers to qualified candidates.
• Partner with hiring managers to understand staffing needs, define role requirements, and build effective sourcing and interview strategies.
• Build and maintain relationships with universities, staffing vendors, and other talent pipelines (e.g., collegiate partnerships, temporary staffing programs) to support ongoing hiring needs.
• Aid in the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of training and development programs, including product/process training and leadership development.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records in the HRIS/ATS (e.g., Workday), including requisitions, candidate pipelines, and job descriptions.
• Support career development and succession-planning initiatives, helping identify and track high-potential employees for future growth opportunities.
• Track and report on recruiting and training metrics (e.g., time-to-fill, retention, completion rates) to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Ensure compliance with employment laws and internal policies throughout the recruiting and onboarding process.
• Partner cross-functionally with HR, department leaders, and Executive Leadership to standardize best practices and improve talent and development workflows.

Preboarding & Onboarding Responsibilities

• Own the candidate and new-hire experience from offer acceptance through the first days on the job, including:
• Managing the preboarding process for new hires, serving as the main point of contact between offer acceptance and start date.
• Initiating and tracking background checks for all new hires, following up on results and escalating any concerns per company policy.
• Cooking and coordinating pre-employment and DOT/non-DOT drug testing, ensuring results are received and cleared before start date.
• Preparing and sending offer letters and new-hire paperwork, ensuring accuracy and timely completion.
• Collecting and processing required new-hire documentation, including I-9s and other employment eligibility verification.
• Scheduling and setting up new hires in the HRIS/ATS (e.g., Workday) and coordinating with IT, Operations, and other departments to ensure equipment, systems access, and workspace are ready before day one.
• Communicating proactively with new hires throughout the preboarding period to confirm start details, answer questions, and reduce pre-start drop-off.
• Facilitating new-hire orientation and the first-day/first-week onboarding experience, ensuring a smooth transition into the role.
• Tracking preboarding and onboarding milestones (background check status, drug test results, paperwork completion) and reporting on bottlenecks or delays.
• Ensuring all preboarding and onboarding activities comply with employment law and internal company policy.

Qualifications & Skills

• A bachelor's degree is preferred.
• 1+ years of experience in talent acquisition, recruiting, training, or human resources preferred, but not required; experience in a logistics, distribution, or fast-paced operational environment a plus.
• Strong work ethic with a high level of ownership, reliability, and follow-through.
• Experience managing full-cycle recruiting and/or developing and delivering training content.
• Familiarity with HRIS/ATS platforms (e.g., Workday) and Learning Management Systems preferred.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships with candidates, employees, and leaders at all levels.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple requisitions and projects simultaneously.
• Ability to prioritize requests and handle changing priorities seamlessly.
• Strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and comfortable learning new systems and tools.
• Open to travel as needed.