Talent Acquisition & Experience Specialist

October 1, 2026
Plymouth, MN, US
$65,000 – $75,000/yr

Who We Are

At JonnyPops, our team is empowered to make an impact at work every day — from producing high-quality, innovative frozen novelties to spreading kindness one pop at a time. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Elk River, MN, JonnyPops has grown into one of the fastest-growing brands in frozen novelties, now the #1 Frozen Novelties brand in the Natural Channel and a top-5 brand for household penetration growth. We manufacture in-house at our SQF Certified, peanut-free Elk River facility using simple ingredients with no artificial dyes, and every stick carries a kind deed — over 1 billion shared to date. We look for bright, ambitious people who thrive in fast-paced, high-growth environments, align with our core values (Integrity, Masterful Growth, Excellence, Team Work, Fact-Based Decisions, Alignment, and Service and Contribution), and want to help us build “A Better Pop for a Better World!”

Job Summary

The Talent & Experience Specialist supports the talent acquisition lifecycle for assigned roles — from intake through sourcing, screening, interviewing, offer, and close — and carries a second, equally important mandate: designing and delivering a new-hire and employee experience that turns great hires into engaged, retained team members. This is a step up from a coordination role. You work independently as the recruiter of record for your requisitions, partnering directly with hiring managers as a trusted advisor, building proactive sourcing pipelines, and making evidence-based hiring decisions grounded in the JonnyPops Talent Profile and our seven core values.
On the engagement side, you own the moments that matter — from a candidate's first touchpoint through their first 90 days — ensuring every new team member feels welcomed, connected to the kindness mission, and set up to contribute quickly. You bring warmth and hospitality, sound recruiting judgment, and the discipline to run a clean, data-informed process at speed. You are energized by building relationships across the company and by owning outcomes, not just tasks.

Full-Cycle Talent Acquisition (Independent Ownership)

  • Serve as the recruiter of record for assigned requisitions, independently managing the end-to-end hiring lifecycle from intake through offer acceptance and close.
  • Lead structured intake meetings with hiring managers to align on role requirements, candidate profile, and sourcing strategy — reinforcing a “green” hiring philosophy at the point of intake.
  • Screen and qualify candidates against the JonnyPops Talent Profile and our seven core values, applying consistent, evidence-based evaluation (People Analyzer).
  • Manage the interview process end to end: coordinate structured interviews, prepare hiring teams, facilitate debriefs, and drive timely, well-reasoned selection decisions.
  • Prepare, extend, and negotiate offers; guide candidates through acceptance and pre-boarding.
  • Own and report on key requisition metrics (time-to-fill, pipeline health, quality of hire) to Talent Acquisition & Engagement leadership and hiring managers.

Sourcing & Pipeline Development

  • Design and execute proactive sourcing strategies across job boards, social platforms, community organizations, referrals, and direct outreach.
  • Build and maintain talent pipelines for recurring and hard-to-fill roles, reducing reliance on reactive posting.
  • Represent JonnyPops at recruitment events and in the community to strengthen employer brand and candidate pipeline.
  • Contribute to employer branding efforts and administer the employee referral program.

New Hire Engagement & Employee Experience

  • Own the new-hire experience from offer acceptance through the first 90 days, ensuring every hire feels welcomed, informed, and connected to the kindness mission.
  • Design and facilitate culture-forward orientation and onboarding touchpoints that bring JonnyPops values and the “kind deed” story to life.
  • Build and run structured engagement checkpoints (first-week, 30-, 60-, and 90-day check-ins); gather feedback and act on it to improve the experience.
  • Partner with People/HR and hiring managers to coordinate personalized onboarding plans and smooth transitions into role.
  • Surface engagement and early-retention signals; recommend and pilot improvements to the new-hire journey.

Recruitment Operations & Systems

  • Maintain accurate, audit-ready candidate and requisition data in the ATS (JazzHR); keep the hiring funnel current.
  • Post and manage job listings across career pages, external boards, and community platforms.
  • Coordinate pre-employment screenings (background checks and drug testing) and new-hire system setup.
  • Continuously improve Talent Acquisition & Engagement processes, templates, and documentation.

Departmental & Cross-Functional Support

  • Provide support across the Talent Acquisition & Engagement and broader People/HR team, including compliance tracking, document audits, and internal communications.
  • Offer cross-functional support during peak hiring, events, or team absences.
  • Complete additional projects and duties as assigned.
  • Conduct yourself in a manner consistent with JonnyPops’ mission, values, and code of ethics.

Food Safety Responsibilities

  • Ensure all food safety protocols and GMPs are met while executing tasks relevant to the role, including for any candidates, new hires, or visitors brought onto the plant floor as part of the hiring and onboarding process.
  • Confirm every new hire completes required food-safety and GMP orientation training before being granted plant floor access, and keep that training documentation audit-ready.
  • Clearly reflect food safety and quality as part of the JonnyPops brand when planning and executing projects and interacting with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Maintain awareness of JonnyPops' SQF certification and be able to speak to Talent Acquisition & Engagement's role in supporting it if asked during an audit.

Minimum Qualifications

  • 3+ years of full-cycle recruiting or talent acquisition experience, including independent ownership of requisitions (relevant internship experience counts toward total experience).
  • Demonstrated ability to source, screen, and close candidates with minimal oversight.
  • Strong emotional intelligence — able to read a room, respond with empathy, and build trust with a variety of personalities.
  • Excellent organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple requisitions simultaneously.
  • Clear, professional written and verbal communication.
  • Comfort using an ATS and basic recruiting metrics to manage a pipeline.
  • Growth-oriented mindset with a bias toward improving processes and adding value every day.
  • Ability to work in office out of both Elk River, MN and Plymouth, MN locations.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience designing or running onboarding, new-hire engagement, or employee-experience programs.
  • Recruiting experience in manufacturing, food/CPG, or other high-growth, multi-site environments.
  • Familiarity with structured, values-based hiring frameworks (e.g., EOS People Analyzer or similar).
  • Experience with JazzHR or a comparable ATS.

Benefits

JonnyPops offers a competitive benefits package, including

  • Medical/Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, HSA, FSA, DCFSA
  • Life & AD&D Insurance, Short & Long Term Disability
  • FTO/PTO, Paid Holidays, Sick & Safe Leave
  • EAP Programs, Employee Referral Program, 401k

Expected Pay

$65,000-$75,000
Employees may also be eligible for additional bonuses/incentives.