Head of Recruitment (Global Sporting Event)

The iLUKA Collective•Los Angeles, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The iLUKA Collective is a specialised agency developing and delivering coordinated strategic activations for sponsors and other stakeholders at global sports events. We are experts in executing cutting edge event hospitality experiences born from intelligent strategic direction. Our heritage is big events for big companies looking for strategic and measured solutions which focus on creating unforgettable experiences for stakeholder's integral to sponsors success. Our experience working with Sponsors, Organising Committees, International Sporting Federations, Governing Bodies and City stakeholders enables us to develop our client's sponsorship story to ensure that activations maximise the communication of their messages as well as guide global teams and their local markets through the unique complexities of delivering effectively at global sports events. Working at The iLUKA Collective is a unique experience. We take people seriously, hospitality is about people, It is our people that drive the difference. We work with talented people from around the world who are renowned for their hard work and industry expertise. We are defined by our passion for sport, hospitality and creativity. In preparation for a major global sporting event in the US in 2028, the Head of Recruitment will be responsible for the recruitment, selection, onboarding and mobilisation of a large-scale event workforce across multiple operational and client-facing functions. Reporting to the People Director, this will be a highly hands-on recruitment role with a strong focus on interviewing, candidate assessment, high-volume recruitment campaigns and building operational event teams within demanding project timelines. The role will work closely with Hiring Managers and the wider People team to ensure candidates move effectively from initial application through interview, selection, offer, onboarding, accreditation and deployment. As the project moves closer to event delivery, the role will also support employee onboarding, training, workforce accommodation and the arrival and welcome of international team members. This is a contract role starting January 2026 until October 2028.

Requirements

Significant experience delivering high-volume recruitment campaigns.
Strong experience interviewing and assessing candidates across a wide range of roles and seniority levels.
Previous experience recruiting large event, hospitality, operational or temporary workforces.
Experience planning and delivering assessment centres.
Strong understanding of end-to-end recruitment processes from attraction through to onboarding.
Experience collecting and managing high volumes of employee data accurately and within strict deadlines.
Experience working to challenging recruitment deadlines and changing workforce requirements.
Experience managing recruitment pipelines across multiple roles simultaneously.
Strong stakeholder management skills with the confidence to work with senior Hiring Managers and operational leaders.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Confident interviewer and public speaker.
Strong project management, planning and organisational skills.
Ability to manage and interpret recruitment and workforce data and produce clear progress reporting.
Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Excel and recruitment / applicant tracking systems.
Understanding of candidate data confidentiality and appropriate recruitment practices.
High energy and comfortable working within a fast-paced event environment.
Naturally engaging and confident when interviewing and meeting candidates.
Highly organised with the ability to manage a significant volume of recruitment activity at the same time.
Calm and professional when working under pressure.
Flexible and adaptable as workforce requirements change.
Comfortable making decisions and managing competing priorities.
Strong attention to detail.
Approachable, personable and able to build relationships quickly.
Proactive and solutions focused.
Willing to roll sleeves up and get involved in all aspects of workforce delivery.
Passionate about delivering an excellent candidate and employee experience.
Comfortable working potentially long hours during key recruitment and event delivery periods.
Strong team player with a collaborative approach to working across departments.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing workforce accreditation processes would be highly advantageous.
Previous major sporting event, hospitality or large-scale event experience would be highly advantageous.
Experience recruiting for international or multi-location projects would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

Participate in the development and delivery of the overall recruitment strategy for the 2028 event workforce.
Work closely with operational teams and Hiring Managers to understand workforce requirements across all functional areas.
Develop recruitment plans aligned to project timelines, operational requirements and workforce deployment dates.
Manage recruitment activity against agreed headcount targets, critical paths and project deadlines.
Track and report recruitment progress, highlighting risks, shortfalls and areas requiring additional recruitment activity.
Develop recruitment contingency plans to respond to candidate withdrawals, changing client requirements and increased workforce needs.
Support workforce forecasting and ensure sufficient candidate pipelines are maintained across key roles.
Assist in the development of university, graduate and early-career recruitment strategies where appropriate.
Lead high-volume recruitment campaigns across multiple event workforce roles.
Manage candidate screening, shortlisting and selection processes.
Conduct a significant volume of candidate interviews across multiple functional areas.
Coordinate and support interview schedules involving Hiring Managers and senior operational teams.
Ensure candidates are assessed consistently against agreed role requirements and selection criteria.
Maintain strong candidate pipelines and proactively identify suitable candidates for future requirements.
Manage candidate communication throughout the recruitment process.
Deliver a positive and professional candidate experience from application through to deployment.
Research, plan and deliver large-scale candidate assessment centres.
Develop assessment centre formats, interview structures, exercises and evaluation criteria in collaboration with Hiring Managers.
Coordinate venues, schedules, assessors, candidate communications and logistics.
Brief and support managers participating in assessment centres.
Ensure candidate assessment results are accurately recorded and communicated.
Continually review and improve assessment processes based on recruitment outcomes and project requirements.
Work closely with the HR team to coordinate successful candidates through the offer and contracting process.
Provide HR with accurate candidate information required for offers and employment documentation.
Monitor offer acceptance and follow up with candidates where required.
Coordinate pre-employment requirements and onboarding information.
Deliver new starter onboarding and orientation sessions.
Ensure new employees receive clear joining instructions and information ahead of deployment.
Work with relevant internal teams to ensure new starters are appropriately set up ahead of joining.
Maintain regular communication with employees between offer acceptance and their event start date to support engagement and reduce candidate drop-out.
Coordinate the collection of all workforce accreditation data and supporting information.
Ensure employee accreditation information is complete, accurate and collected within required deadlines.
Maintain accurate accreditation trackers and monitor submission status across all workforce groups.
Support the preparation, formatting and submission of accreditation data to the relevant organising committee or accreditation authority.
Understand accreditation categories, access requirements and restrictions relevant to different workforce roles.
Liaise with project teams to ensure employees are assigned the correct accreditation based on their role and operational requirements.
Track accreditation approvals and identify any issues, delays or rejected applications requiring follow-up.
Coordinate the distribution of accreditation information and credentials to employees where required.
Ensure accreditation data is handled securely and in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection requirements.
Support the planning and delivery of workforce training ahead of the event.
Coordinate attendance at training sessions and ensure employees receive relevant information ahead of deployment.
Support onsite training activity where required.
Work with operational teams to ensure employees understand their roles, responsibilities and event expectations.
Assist with communication relating to working practices, accreditation, payroll processes and event-specific requirements.
Support the mobilisation and arrival of international team members travelling to the event.
Work with relevant teams to coordinate accommodation requirements for the international workforce.
Support arrival information, joining instructions and local orientation.
Assist with welcoming international employees and ensuring they have the information required to settle into the event environment.
Work closely with operational teams to resolve workforce accommodation or arrival issues where necessary.
Build strong working relationships with Hiring Managers across all functional areas.
Provide regular recruitment updates to project leadership and operational teams.
Participate in project meetings and recruitment planning sessions.
Work collaboratively with HR, Client Services, Operations, Finance, IT and other project teams to ensure effective workforce mobilisation.
Liaise with clients and organising committee representatives where required.
Promote a culture of service excellence across all candidate and employee interactions.