Talent Acquisition Manager

An Overview

The Talent Acquisition Manager for the City of Alexandria is a strategic human resources leader responsible for planning, developing, and executing comprehensive recruitment strategies to attract, hire, and retain a highly qualified and diverse workforce. This position plays a critical role in supporting citywide workforce needs by aligning talent acquisition initiatives with organizational goals, service delivery priorities, and community expectations.

The Talent Acquisition Manager oversees the full lifecycle recruitment process, including workforce planning, sourcing, screening, selection, and onboarding. This role partners closely with department leaders and hiring managers to understand current and future staffing needs, develop targeted recruitment strategies, and ensure efficient and compliant hiring practices.

This position is essential to ensuring the City attracts top talent capable of delivering high-quality public services to residents. By building strong talent pipelines and modernizing recruitment practices, the Talent Acquisition Manager directly contributes to organizational performance, workforce diversity, and long-term sustainability.

• Lead, develop, and mentor the Talent Acquisition team as well as provide oversight of initiatives and programs such as social media recruiting, employment branding, university relations, summer internship, diversity outreach, and onboarding.
• Lead the development and implementation of talent acquisition goals, objectives, metrics, budget, and work plans.
• Drive high performance and continuous improvement of talent acquisition and human resource operations functions in support of City government strategic goals.
• Develop and maintain relationships with City government leaders, professional organizations, academic institutions, and industry contacts.
• Partner with key stakeholders to establish and/or update hiring and selection policies, guidelines, procedures, and best practices to ensure compliance and streamline hiring.
• Partner with key department and Human Resources team members to understand current talent needs and forecast hiring needs; build talent pipelines for current and future job openings.
• Lead or participate in project teams to implement new city-wide integrated talent management system solutions for employee onboarding, learning, and performance management.
• Refine and manage talent acquisition processes that support a positive candidate and hiring manager experience and organizational efficiencies.
• Assess labor markets and stay current on trends, latest innovations, and best practices in talent acquisition and operations that deliver results.
• Provide guidance and training to hiring managers and interviewers in effective hiring, interviewing, and selection.
• Perform other duties and projects as assigned.

The Ideal Candidate

Four-Year College Degree; five (5) years of professional experience at the level of a senior Human Resources professional or the equivalent professional level with responsibilities that have involved the administration of talent acquisition, and completion of college-level courses in human resources, public administration, business administration, employment law; two (2) years of lead and/or supervisory experience; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Thorough knowledge of public human resources administration including accepted methods and practices, relevant state, local and federal regulations and employment law.
• Proven track record of developing and driving talent acquisition transformation in a mid-sized to large organization at the corporate level, in an executive search firm, or staffing agency, ensuring operational excellence of Talent Acquisition and Operations team goals and key performance metrics are met.
• Thorough knowledge of human resources policies, administrative regulations and human resources procedures.
• Experience writing policies, procedures, and complex related reports, and using data and measurements to manage quality and effectiveness of programs.
• Some knowledge of automated systems, budgeting, ability to organize, plan, supervise and review the work of others.
• Ability to present ideas and recommendations clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to accomplish assigned responsibilities with a minimum of oversight
• Ability to apply technical knowledge to varied and complex circumstances.
• Outstanding presentation, verbal and written communication skills.

The Department of Human Resources is made up of a dedicated team of professionals working to support the strategic direction of the City government through the recruitment, development, and retention of a high-quality workforce capable of delivering public services in a complex and stimulating community environment. Through thoughtful planning and the diligent execution of work, the Department of Human Resources focuses on the critical needs of our dynamic organization and its employees. If you are curious for a broader view, click the City of Alexandria to learn more about our great City. 

Four-Year College Degree; five (5) years of professional experience at the level of a senior Human Resources professional or the equivalent professional level with responsibilities that have involved the administration of programs in the human resources functional areas of employee relations, learning & development, classification & compensation, benefits, records management, or talent acquisition, and completion of college-level courses in human resources, public administration, business administration, employment law; two (2) years of lead and/or supervisory experience; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

• Thorough knowledge of public human resources administration including accepted methods and practices, relevant state, local and federal regulations and employment law.
• Experience writing policies, procedures, and complex related reports, and using data and measurements to manage quality and effectiveness of programs.
• Some knowledge of automated systems, budgeting, ability to organize, plan, supervise and review the work of others.

Any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities may be substituted for the experience qualifications above.

Preferred Qualifications: 

To be considered as an ideal candidate, one must also possess a Master's degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration or a related field, as well as:

• Thorough knowledge of public human resources administration including accepted methods and practices, relevant state, local and federal regulations and employment law.
• Knowledge of federal, state and local hiring laws (e.g., EEOC, ADA, FLSA)
• Experience writing policies, procedures, and complex related reports, and using data and measurements to manage quality and effectiveness of programs.
• Some knowledge of automated systems, budgeting, ability to organize, plan, supervise and review the work of others.

Any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities may be substituted for the experience qualifications above.

First Screening Date:  April 15, 2026. 

Please note that the working location for this role is: 2331 Mill Rd, Alexandria, VA 22314. 

The City of Alexandria is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in its workforce. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, genetic information, military status, or disability.