Talent Acquisition Specialist (Contract)

As a Talent Acquisition Specialist (12-month contract) at Sporting Life Group (SLG), you will lead full-cycle recruitment across retail and corporate support functions. Reporting to the Director, Talent Development and Acquisition, this role blends hands-on candidate engagement with talent strategy and employer branding to elevate SLG’s talent acquisition practices.  You’ll work directly with hiring managers to proactively source, assess, and hire top talent in the sports retail industry, while contributing to scalable recruitment campaigns and projects that strengthen our employer brand, build talent pipelines, and support internal mobility.  Success in this role will be measured through quality of hire, speed-to-fill, hiring manager satisfaction, and contribution to scalable talent practices.  Responsibilities;  Own full-cycle recruitment for assigned roles across SLG banners, including retail management and shared corporate services. Conduct hiring manager intake meetings to align role requirements, key success factors, and ideal candidate profiles. Design and execute sourcing strategies using multiple platforms to attract both active and passive candidates. Build and maintain candidate pipelines for priority and hard-to-fill roles, with a focus on long-term talent engagement. Independently manage competing priorities across multiple requisitions, stakeholders, and timelines in a fast-paced environment. Facilitate screening, interviewing, and selection processes, ensuring a consistent, inclusive, and structured approach at every stage. Coach hiring managers on interview best practices and contribute to stronger hiring decisions through structured assessment tools. Reduce agency dependency through proactive sourcing, pipeline development, and effective stakeholder partnership. Track and maintain accurate recruitment data, ensuring visibility to pipeline health, time-to-fill, and candidate outcomes. Collaborate with HR and Store Operations to support workforce planning, internal promotions, and succession needs. Contribute to the evolution of SLG’s employer brand by supporting recruitment marketing and storytelling content for LinkedIn, career sites, and internal campaigns.  Requirements and Qualifications;  3+ years of experience in recruitment, ideally in a multi-site, high-volume retail or corporate environment.  Demonstrated ability to manage end-to-end recruitment processes, from intake through offer, across a variety of roles and levels. Strong experience with proactive sourcing, pipeline development, and candidate engagement using tools such as LinkedIn Recruiter, ATS platforms (Ceridian Dayforce), and job boards. Strong interviewing and assessment capability, with the ability to evaluate both technical skills and cultural alignment. Experience writing compelling, inclusive job ads and maintaining accurate job descriptions. High emotional intelligence with strong communication skills (written, verbal, and interpersonal) to build trust and influence hiring decisions. Comfortable working with recruitment metrics and using data to inform sourcing strategies and stakeholder conversations. A strategic mindset with curiosity for talent trends, labour market shifts, and emerging recruitment technology. Knowledge of employer branding strategies and digital recruitment marketing is considered a strong asset. Passion for the sports lifestyle and an understanding of talent across retail, active, and lifestyle industries. Bilingualism (English/French) is considered an asset.