Recruiter / HR Generalist

McDaniels Auto Group – Columbia, SC

Full-Time | Monday–Friday

McDaniels Auto Group is looking for a Recruiter / HR Generalist to join our corporate HR team and support our current and expanding operations.

This position is recruiting-heavy. We need someone who can take ownership of our recruiting process, develop talent pipelines, and proactively identify great candidates—not simply post jobs and wait for applications. We are growing and we need your expertise.

As our organization continues to grow and evolve, we want to strengthen our ability to identify talent before the need becomes urgent and develop recruiting resources that support our dealerships for the long term.

The position will also handle onboarding and day-to-day HR responsibilities throughout the employee life cycle. You'll work directly with our Director of HR and dealership managers across the organization.

What You'll Do

Recruiting & Talent Acquisition

Manage recruiting from job posting through accepted offer.
Work directly with managers to understand what they actually need in a candidate.
Write and maintain effective job postings.
Review applicants, conduct initial interviews, and coordinate manager interviews.
Actively source candidates for key and specialized positions.
Develop ongoing talent pipelines for technicians, service advisors, sales professionals, managers, and other dealership positions.
Build relationships with technical schools, trade programs, community resources, and other sources of talent.
Identify and develop new recruiting channels and sourcing opportunities.
Maintain relationships with promising candidates for future opportunities.
Track recruiting activity and follow up consistently with candidates and managers.
Continuously evaluate and improve recruiting strategies to expand our reach, strengthen candidate pipelines, and keep pace with the Company's hiring and growth needs.
Maintain accurate information in our applicant tracking system.

Onboarding & HR Operations

Manage the onboarding process from accepted offer through the employee's first day.
Ensure new hires complete required onboarding documents and employment requirements.
Assist with I-9 and E-Verify administration.
Maintain accurate employee information in our HR systems and internal records.
Process employee changes, transfers, promotions, and other employee lifecycle updates.
Assist with benefits enrollment and routine employee benefit questions.
Support termination and offboarding processes.
Maintain HR spreadsheets, employee records, and reporting.
Respond to routine employee and manager HR questions.
Assist with basic employee-relations matters and recognize when an issue needs to be escalated.
Help keep HR processes organized, accurate, and moving without requiring constant follow-up.
Assist with HR projects and process improvements as needed.

What We're Looking For

We are not looking for someone whose recruiting experience consists primarily of posting jobs and reviewing applications.

You should be comfortable taking ownership of an opening, determining where qualified candidates can be found, reaching out to them, and developing relationships with people who may be a good fit for McDaniels today or in the future.

The right person will be organized, resourceful, comfortable working independently, and able to manage a large number of moving pieces without losing track of the details.

We also want someone who is comfortable looking at an existing process and asking, \"Is there a better way to do this?\"

The ideal candidate will have 3 or more years experience in recruiting, preferably in the automotive dealership industry, as well as employee facing HR experience. They must also understand the importance of being impartial, controlling your emotions, maintain confidentiality, and be able to be proactive rather than reactive.

Qualifications

Prior full-cycle recruiting experience required.
HR generalist or employee life cycle experience strongly preferred.
Experience actively sourcing candidates rather than relying exclusively on inbound applicants.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Comfortable interviewing candidates and communicating with managers at all levels.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
Ability to independently prioritize responsibilities and follow issues through to completion.
Comfortable working with HRIS and applicant tracking systems.
Strong computer skills, including Google Workspace and spreadsheets.
Comfortable learning new technology and using modern productivity and AI tools.
Ability to appropriately handle confidential and sensitive employee information.
Automotive or dealership experience is helpful, but not required.

What Success Looks Like

You take ownership of recruiting and onboarding without needing constant direction. You know what positions are open, which candidates need follow-up, and what needs your attention next.

You're building talent pipelines before the need becomes urgent, developing relationships with strong candidates, and bringing us new ideas and recruiting resources as we continue to grow.

At the same time, you keep the day-to-day HR work organized, accurate, and moving, while knowing when something needs to be escalated.

Schedule

This is a full-time, in-person position based at our corporate office in Columbia, South Carolina.

Typical schedule is Monday through Friday, approximately 8:00 AM–5:00 PM or 9:00 AM–6:00 PM.

Occasional communication with our dealership locations outside normal business hours may be necessary.

About McDaniels Auto Group

McDaniels Auto Group is a multi-location automotive dealership group representing Acura, Audi, Ford, Porsche, Subaru, and Volkswagen across multiple states.

Our corporate HR team supports the people and managers behind each of those operations. As the organization continues to grow and develop, we are investing in our recruiting capabilities so we can continue attracting strong people across all areas of our business.

This is an opportunity for an experienced recruiter to take ownership of talent acquisition across a diverse dealership group while continuing to develop broader HR experience.

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