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.

REQUIREMENTS

We develop and deliver adaptable, agile solutions by managing operations and teams that produce critical mineral and material inputs for the electronics, defense, and energy industries. Through strategic partnerships, we help accelerate essential capabilities and support durable, competitive domestic production. As our organization grows, talent acquisition plays a vital role in building the skilled workforce needed to deliver on our mission and long-term objectives.

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