Talent Acquisition Manager

Position Summary:

The Talent Acquisition Manager is a key leader within the Human Resources organization, partnering with HR and business leaders to develop and execute proactive talent acquisition strategies that support business growth and organizational success. This role leverages the Ventura Foods Employee Value Proposition, employment marketing, talent insights, and innovative recruiting practices to attract, engage, and hire top talent across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Talent Acquisition Manager drives continuous improvement in recruiting processes, technology, and analytics to deliver exceptional candidate experiences and business results while ensuring Ventura Foods attracts talent whose strengths, backgrounds, and experiences embody the Ventura Edge.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

•  Serve as the Subject Matter Expert for Talent Acquisition and collaborate with HR and key business partners to proactively plan and execute recruitment strategies that anticipate current and future talent needs.
• Partner closely with HR and business leaders to build and launch immediate and long-term talent acquisition strategies that meet the needs of the business and scale across sites in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as appropriate.
• Take a continuous improvement mindset to evaluating existing TA systems and processes to modernize and improve the overall full-cycle recruitment funnel for recruiting. Evaluate processes and emerging technologies to modernize, optimize, and scale Talent Acquisition across the organization.
• In partnership with HRIS & People Analytics, develop reporting and analytics capabilities to “measure what matters”, drive the right behavior and share best practices/results. Refine and adjust strategies based on insights and alignment to business need.
• Partner with Employment Marketing to leverage the Ventura Edge and Employee Value Proposition to launch effective employment marketing campaigns across all platforms (social media, paid media, job boards email marketing, grassroots marketing, etc.) to attract new top talent and re-engage existing candidates.
• Partner with Employment Marketing to monitor and analyze talent marketing data and analytics to inform marketing strategy, evaluate ROI and effectively prioritize targeting, spend, content, tactics, engagement, follow-through, etc.
• Champion the Ventura Edge by attracting and selecting talent whose diverse strengths, backgrounds, and experiences help us innovate, grow, and deliver for our customers, while ensuring equitable and bias-free hiring practices.
• Develop and maintain a network of professional vendors to help identify and source qualified candidates. This includes contacts with schools, alumni groups, external staffing firms, technology platforms, and job boards.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable employment laws, regulations, company policies, and selection processes while promoting consistent and effective hiring practices across the organization.
• Establish and manage relationships with external recruiting partners, monitoring performance, costs, and service levels to ensure optimal return on investment.
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.
• Ability to travel up to 25%, including international travel, required.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field required.
  Five (5) or more years of progressive Human Resources experience, including talent acquisition, people leadership, and influencing stakeholders at all levels of the organization required.
• Prior direct people leadership experience required.
  Experience in manufacturing, food manufacturing, consumer packaged goods (CPG), or a similar operational environment preferred.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing employment marketing strategies, including leveraging job boards, social media, sourcing techniques, candidate engagement campaigns, and ROI  measurement in partnership with Employment Marketing required.   
• Experience managing external recruiting agencies, search firms, and other talent acquisition vendors
  required.
• Experience developing recruiting KPIs, reporting, analytics, and executive dashboards that provide actionable insights into recruiting performance, hiring outcomes, and workforce trends required.
• Experience leveraging Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and recruiting technologies to optimize recruiting processes, improve efficiency, and drive measurable results required.
• Experience leading talent acquisition initiatives across the United States required, with familiarity supporting hiring practices, employment regulations, and talent markets in Canada and Mexico strongly preferred.
• In-house, full-cycle recruiting experience preferred. 
• Executive and senior leadership recruiting experience preferred.
• Experience with Oracle Recruiting Cloud (ORC), Oracle HCM, or related enterprise recruiting systems preferred.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Experience with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and related recruiting technologies, with a demonstrated ability to optimize systems, workflows, and tools to drive effective, measurable, and efficient recruitment outcomes.
• Continuous improvement mindset with proven experience leading change management initiatives and successfully implementing new processes, technologies, and ways of working across an organization.
• Demonstrated creative problem-solving skills, including evaluating, recommending, and implementing innovative recruiting strategies, tools, and processes that improve efficiency and effectiveness across the talent acquisition lifecycle.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence, collaborate, and build credibility with stakeholders at all levels while consistently demonstrating integrity and professionalism.
• Strong partnership and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively across Human Resources, business leadership, and cross-functional teams to achieve shared objectives.
• Understanding of federal, state, provincial, and local employment laws and regulations impacting recruitment, with the ability to partner with HR and Legal to ensure compliance and mitigate risk.
• Strong analytical and data interpretation skills, including the ability to leverage recruiting metrics and talent market insights to guide decision-making and improve results.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Exceptional organizational, project management, and follow-through skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) communication skills preferred.