Talent Acquisition Specialist

The Talent Acquisition Specialist leads full-cycle recruiting across the organization, partnering with hiring leaders to attract, assess, and secure high-quality talent aligned with business needs and workforce plans. This role acts as a strategic recruiting partner, applying expertise in sourcing, market intelligence, candidate assessment, selection, and offer development.

You will manage searches across a range of professional, technical, skilled trades, leadership, and operational roles, with a focus on difficult-to-fill and business-critical positions. You’ll proactively build talent pipelines, strengthen employment brand awareness, improve candidate experience, and continuously look for ways to make recruiting more efficient and effective.

We’re seeking a consultative recruiter who can balance business urgency with disciplined recruiting practices, compensation considerations, organizational fit, and a long-term talent strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition & Recruiting

• Own the full-cycle recruiting process, from intake and sourcing through interviews, selection, offer negotiation, and the onboarding handoff.

• Partner with hiring managers to understand workforce requirements, role expectations, organizational structure, and success factors.

• Develop and execute targeted sourcing strategies for professional, technical, skilled trades, operational, and leadership roles.

• Build and maintain active talent pipelines for current and anticipated hiring needs.

• Use LinkedIn, job boards, professional networks, employee referrals, community partnerships, recruiting events, and other creative sourcing channels.

• Identify and cultivate relationships with passive candidates to ensure readiness for upcoming openings.

• Conduct recruiter screens and provide hiring leaders with well-vetted, qualified candidate slates.

• Coordinate and facilitate interview processes while ensuring a consistent, positive candidate experience.

• Collaborate with hiring leaders and HR to assess candidates based on qualifications, competencies, cultural alignment, and role requirements.

• Lead offer development and negotiations in partnership with HR leadership and hiring managers, considering internal equity, market competitiveness, candidate expectations, and established compensation structures.

• Maintain recruiting documentation and ensure timely updates in the applicant tracking system (ATS).

Business Partnership & Workforce Planning

• Serve as a trusted talent advisor to hiring managers and business leaders.

• Provide labor-market intelligence, recruiting trends, competitive talent insights, and compensation observations to support hiring decisions.

• Consult with leaders on job requirements, candidate availability, market conditions, and realistic hiring timelines.

• Support workforce planning by anticipating talent needs and developing pipelines for critical and recurring positions.

• Partner with HR Business Partners and leadership on organizational changes, succession needs, internal mobility, and talent planning initiatives.

• Identify potential internal candidates and encourage internal mobility when appropriate.

Sourcing & Talent Pipeline Development

• Develop targeted recruiting strategies for hard-to-fill and high-priority roles.

• Build relationships with technical schools, colleges, universities, trade programs, professional associations, community organizations, and other talent sources.

• Create and maintain talent communities and ongoing engagement with high-potential candidates.

• Use creative, data-informed approaches to reach candidates in competitive labor markets.

• Monitor recruiting activity and sourcing effectiveness and recommend improvements to increase impact.

Candidate Experience & Employment Brand

• Deliver a professional, responsive, and engaging candidate experience throughout the recruitment journey.

• Represent Principal Mineral accurately and compellingly to prospective employees.

• Support employment branding initiatives, recruiting events, career fairs, and community engagement efforts.

• Help strengthen the company’s reputation as an employer of choice within relevant talent markets.

• Ensure candidates receive timely communication and clear expectations throughout the process.

Recruiting Process & Continuous Improvement

• Track recruiting metrics including time-to-fill, source effectiveness, pipeline activity, offer acceptance, and other key indicators.

• Identify process gaps and implement improvements that enhance recruiting efficiency, hiring quality, and hiring-manager satisfaction.

• Ensure recruiting practices align with company policies and applicable employment laws and regulations.

• Maintain accurate and timely applicant and recruiting records.

• Support the development of standardized recruiting processes, tools, templates, and best practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business, organizational development, or a related field; or equivalent relevant experience.

• 5+ years of progressive talent acquisition/recruiting experience, preferably in a corporate, manufacturing, industrial, technical, or similarly complex environment.

• Proven experience managing full-cycle recruiting across multiple levels and functional areas.

• Demonstrated ability to source and recruit passive candidates for difficult-to-fill positions.

• Strong interviewing and candidate assessment skills.

• Experience partnering directly with hiring managers and business leaders.

• Knowledge of recruiting practices, employment law, and candidate selection principles.

• Experience working with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and HRIS.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities, requisitions, and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment when handling sensitive information.

Preferred

• Experience recruiting within manufacturing, industrial, chemical, engineering, or other technical environments.

• Experience recruiting skilled trades, maintenance, engineering, operations, and technical talent.

• Experience recruiting leadership and specialized professional roles.

• Experience developing recruiting strategies for high-growth, expansion, or organizational transformation initiatives.

• Experience using LinkedIn Recruiter or similar advanced sourcing platforms.

• Experience with compensation benchmarking, offer analysis, and market intelligence.

• Experience developing relationships with technical schools, colleges, trade programs, and community organizations.

Key Characteristics

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strategic Thinker – Builds pipelines for future needs, not just today’s openings.

• Business-Minded – Understands how talent connects to performance, workforce costs, and business outcomes.

• Consultative Partner – Provides thoughtful guidance and credible expertise to hiring managers.

• Relationship Builder – Builds meaningful connections with candidates, leaders, HR partners, and external talent sources.

• Resourceful & Persistent – Stays energized and creative in competitive or limited talent markets.

• Strong Evaluator – Distinguishes between candidates who meet requirements and those most likely to succeed long-term.

• Excellent Communicator – Communicates clearly, professionally, and promptly with all stakeholders.

• Results Oriented – Takes ownership of recruiting outcomes and delivers high-quality talent within appropriate timelines.

• Highly Organized – Manages multiple searches, priorities, and stakeholder expectations effectively.

• Discreet & Trustworthy – Treats confidential information with care and good judgment.

• Collaborative – Works effectively across HR, operations, finance, and leadership.

• Adaptable – Thrives in evolving environments where priorities and needs change quickly.

• Continuous Improvement Mindset – Actively seeks ways to improve processes, candidate experience, and sourcing effectiveness.

• Talent-Minded – Shows genuine interest in attracting, developing, and retaining people who drive long-term success.

Success Measures

Success in this role will be demonstrated through:

• Consistent delivery of qualified pipelines for critical positions.

• Improved time-to-fill and time-to-present qualified candidates.

• Strong offer acceptance and candidate conversion rates.

• Positive feedback from hiring managers and candidates.

• Increased effectiveness of passive sourcing and talent pipeline development.

• Strong partnerships with business leaders and HR teams.

• Improved recruiting processes, tools, and overall candidate experience.

• The ability to anticipate talent needs and reduce reliance on reactive recruiting.