Director of Talent Acquisition

ExplorUS Corporate•Overland Park, KS

About The Position

The Director of Talent Acquisition & Recruiting Strategy is a hands-on Talent Acquisition leader responsible for developing and executing scalable recruiting strategies for a multi-state, highly seasonal hospitality operation. This working-manager role combines recruiting leadership with active involvement in operational, seasonal, and management-level hiring while driving a more efficient and consistent talent acquisition process. The Director oversees end-to-end recruiting operations, from requisition intake through hiring, while leading the internal recruiting team, partnering closely with operational leaders, and ensuring the organization is prepared to meet fluctuating seasonal staffing demands.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience as a working recruiting manager actively filling roles while leading a recruiting team.
Experience with high-volume recruiting for hourly, frontline, and multi-site operational roles.
Experience supervising recruiters or coordinating hiring teams across multiple locations.
Strong working knowledge of applicant tracking systems and high-volume recruiting workflows.
Familiarity with wage competitiveness, turnover dynamics, and labor availability in hospitality or retail environments.
Strong operational planning and seasonal workforce management skills.
Data-driven approach to staffing and recruiting decisions.
Ability to operate with urgency in fast-paced environments.
Clear, practical communication with operational leaders.
Hands-on leadership style with a focus on results and accountability.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting hospitality, retail, food service, recreation, or travel-related operations.
Experience staffing seasonal operations, new site launches, or contract-driven environments.
Experience building internship, seasonal leadership, or returning-associate pipelines.
Knowledge of federal and state employment laws applicable to seasonal employment.

Responsibilities

Lead and actively participate in high-volume, full-cycle recruiting for hourly, supervisory, and management roles in hospitality and retail operations.
Plan and execute seasonal hiring ramps tied to peak operating periods, new site openings, and contract start dates.
Personally manage recruiting for critical leadership, hard-to-fill, or time-sensitive roles.
Ensure rapid yet compliant hiring processes that balance speed, quality, and candidate experience.
Develop, implement, and maintain standardized recruiting policies, workflows, and tools designed for high-volume and seasonal hiring.
Supervise, coach, and support in-house recruiters, while engaging with HR specialists who assist in hiring.
Establish recruiting service-level expectations, requisition prioritization frameworks, and surge-capacity plans during peak hiring periods.
Oversee use of third-party recruitment and staffing agencies.
Partner closely with Vice Presidents, Directors, General Managers, and site leaders to forecast staffing needs, align hiring plans with operational timelines, and understand competitive hiring practices.
Translate operational requirements into recruiting strategies that account for local labor markets, seasonality, wage competitiveness, and turnover patterns.
Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders on hiring tradeoffs, market constraints, and workforce availability.
Build and maintain ongoing talent pipelines for frontline, seasonal, and returning associate roles.
Establish relationships with colleges, universities, trade schools, hospitality programs, workforce agencies, and community organizations.
Oversee and expand the internship program, seasonal leadership pipelines, and early-career hiring initiatives.
Develop rehire and return-season strategies to improve retention and reduce time-to-fill.
Track and manage all open requisitions across multiple locations; maintain real-time visibility into vacancy status and seasonal hiring progress.
Monitor and analyze recruiting metrics including time-to-hire, time-to-start, source-of-hire, applicant conversion rates, and seasonal fill rates.
Use data to identify bottlenecks, improve recruiter productivity, and inform staffing decisions during peak periods.
Implement, administer, and continuously optimize the applicant tracking system (ATS) for high-volume recruiting workflows, batch hiring, and reporting.
Optimize use of hospitality- and retail-focused job boards and sourcing platforms, including CoolWorks, Indeed, LinkedIn, and similar channels.
Manage posting strategies, budgets, and performance tracking to ensure maximum applicant flow during peak hiring windows.
Ensure job postings are clear, compelling, and aligned with employer branding for frontline and seasonal candidates.