Senior Talent Acquisition Manager

Black Spectacles • Chicago, IL

3d • Remote

About The Position

Black Spectacles is hiring a Senior Talent Acquisition Manager to own and operate the system we use to attract, evaluate, select, and close exceptional talent. We have already developed a rigorous, evidence-based hiring philosophy and process. We need an experienced talent acquisition leader who believes in what we have built, can take full ownership of running it, and can use deeper expertise to make it stronger. This is a hands-on functional-owner role. You will personally source, engage, screen, evaluate, and close candidates while managing the entire recruiting process. You must be able to take the football and run with it—without disregarding the standards, systems, and judgment that already exist. The mission is to own and continuously improve Black Spectacles’ talent acquisition system so the company can consistently hire the right people without relying on the CEO to manage recruiting day to day.

Requirements

• Typically 8+ years of talent acquisition or executive recruiting experience
• Several years personally sourcing and evaluating leadership, specialized, or hard-to-fill talent
• Demonstrated success attracting and closing passive candidates
• Experience owning a structured recruiting process
• Expertise in outbound sourcing, candidate outreach, screening, and pipeline management
• Experience working directly with founders, CEOs, or senior leaders
• Strong knowledge of role scorecards, interview design, assessments, structured references, and evidence-based debriefs
• Strong talent judgment and the ability to challenge unsupported conclusions constructively
• Willingness to personally operate the recruiting process rather than immediately delegating it
• Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Formal training or certification in structured hiring or assessment systems
• Experience using behavioral or cognitive assessments in hiring decisions
• Experience conducting chronological career interviews
• Experience using AI to improve recruiting and candidate evaluation
• Experience taking ownership of and improving an established hiring system
• Experience in a founder-led, remote, SaaS, education, or professional-services company
• Experience building candidate benches before roles are open

Responsibilities

• Candidate Sourcing and Attraction: Personally build strong candidate pipelines for leadership, specialized, and hard-to-fill roles through candidate research and target-company mapping, outbound sourcing and personalized outreach, referral and network development, candidate screening and follow-up, and ongoing relationship and talent-bench development.
• Hiring Process Management: Own and operate the existing hiring system, including role scorecards, sourcing strategies, interview plans, behavioral and cognitive assessments, chronological career interviews, candidate evaluation packets, structured references and debriefs, and recruiting dashboards and weekly reviews. Ensure the process is followed, searches move forward, hiring managers fulfill their responsibilities, and decisions are supported by evidence.
• Talent Judgment: Help determine whether candidates are not merely qualified, but right for the role, manager, company stage, and future the company is building. Recognize when enthusiasm is running ahead of evidence, a likable candidate does not meet the scorecard, interview feedback is vague or unsupported, assessment results require deeper investigation, or a candidate’s career history reveals an important pattern.
• System Improvement: Bring expertise the company does not yet have, identify meaningful gaps, and recommend improvements to the existing hiring system without replacing the established hiring philosophy with a generic or personally preferred process.
• Future Talent Benches: Build relationships with potential candidates before positions become urgent so Black Spectacles does not begin every important search from zero.
• Hiring Manager Accountability: Help managers clearly define the results required from each role, prepare for interviews, evaluate candidates against scorecards, provide timely, evidence-based feedback, and avoid decisions driven primarily by urgency, charisma, or likability.
• AI-Enabled Talent Acquisition: Help advance AI workflows in candidate research, interview preparation, assessment synthesis, documentation, and hiring decisions, while ensuring that final judgment remains human, rigorous, and evidence-based.

Benefits

• Work From Home: Enjoy the flexibility of working remotely year-round.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Starting day one, access to BCBS Health, Dental, Vision, Disability, and Life Insurance coverage.
• Savings & Retirement Plans: FSAs, HSAs, and a 401(k) plan with company match up to 4%.
• Referral Program: Earn rewards by referring top talent to our team.
• Team Building: Enjoy semi-annual team gatherings and events that foster collaboration and camaraderie.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed