Talent Acquisition Advisor – Contract

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center•New York, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a six-month contract with the potential for extension based on performance. If a full-time role opens on our team and your work supports it, there’s a real path to converting and growing with us. The work, team, and expectations are the same as any Advisor here. At MSK, TA success is defined by Speed × Quality × Partnership. You would be responsible for ensuring all three aspects are met. This role requires you to be a partner with hiring managers, focused on getting the right person hired to advance team capability, culture, and the organization's mission. This involves understanding MSK beyond specific roles, the ability to recruit for diverse positions (volume, niche, leadership, corporate, or clinical), making data-driven decisions, and conducting honest, direct, and empathetic conversations. You will act as a healthy skeptic, digging below the surface to ensure good hiring decisions are made. The ideal candidate adapts to change, is comfortable making judgment calls, thinks critically, can tell compelling stories about roles, is scrappy and creative, thinks on their feet, remains calm under pressure, knows how to prioritize, and prefers in-person interactions over emails. You will be flexible about working across MSK’s NYC sites and enjoy participating in hiring events.

Requirements

Ability to recruit for anything: volume, niche, leadership, corporate or clinical.
Ability to pivot and figure out what works for different types of recruitment.
Ability to make decisions based on evidence, not hunches or "how we’ve always done it."
Ability to have honest, direct and empathetic conversations.
Ability to protect the relationship with leaders and trust your own judgment.
Ability to get below the surface and ask probing questions.
Adaptability to change.
Comfort with making judgment calls and explaining the reasoning.
Critical thinking skills.
Ability to connect the dots and question what doesn’t add up.
Storytelling ability to paint a real picture of the role.
Ability to turn data into a story a leader remembers and acts on.
Scrappiness and creativity to try different approaches.
Ability to think on your feet when things come up last minute.
Ability to stay good under pressure.
Ability to prioritize tasks.
Flexibility to work across MSK’s NYC sites.
Enjoyment of hiring events.
Competitive spirit against agencies.
Ability to coach a hiring manager through unrealistic expectations.
Enjoyment of building an attraction strategy.
Understanding that applicant volume is a meaningless number in an oversaturated market.
Focus on quality over quantity in recruitment.
Ability to discuss compensation, considering market, internal equity, candidate ask, and budget.
Ability to not negotiate just for the sake of it when it's not the right call.
Use of AI and tech to work smarter.
Trust in personal judgment and critical thinking skills.
Willingness to provide work samples upon request (market insights, search strategies, tough conversations, offer negotiations, lessons learned from searches).

Nice To Haves

Experience in a non-profit cancer center environment.
Experience with specific tools like Workday, HiredScore, Paradox, and Braintrust.

Responsibilities

Keep searches moving with clear steps and quick decisions, and never leave candidates hanging.
Make the right hiring choices by using data and judgment to ensure hires perform well and stay with the organization.
Partner with hiring managers, sharing ownership of the outcome and providing market insight.
Understand MSK beyond the roles you recruit on, including how the hospital runs, how clinical and research teams collaborate, and leadership objectives.
Recruit for a wide range of positions, including volume, niche, leadership, corporate, and clinical roles.
Make decisions based on evidence rather than hunches or traditional methods.
Conduct honest, direct, and empathetic conversations with candidates and hiring managers.
Guide hiring managers and make decisions, understanding that sometimes leaders need to learn through experience.
Protect relationships and trust your judgment when advising leaders.
Investigate candidate claims and hiring manager statements by asking probing questions to get to the truth.
Adapt to changing priorities, evolving work, and shifting candidate behaviors.
Make judgment calls and explain the reasoning behind them.
Connect dots, question inconsistencies, and provide recommendations.
Paint a realistic picture of roles, including both positive and challenging aspects, to attract the right candidates.
Transform data into memorable stories that leaders can act upon.
Develop and implement alternative strategies when standard approaches are not effective.
Think on your feet and manage last-minute situations without compromising quality.
Remain calm and efficient when faced with urgent requests.
Prioritize tasks effectively and help partners understand what can wait.
Engage in face-to-face interactions with leaders rather than relying solely on email.
Work flexibly across MSK’s NYC sites and participate enthusiably in hiring events.
Compete with agencies by demonstrating superior partnership and understanding of the organization.
Coach hiring managers through unrealistic expectations and establish achievable plans.
Develop attraction strategies to encourage candidates to leave current roles for positions at MSK.
Focus on the quality of candidates over sheer volume, providing insights on candidate strength and market comparison.
Navigate complex compensation discussions, considering market rates, internal equity, candidate expectations, and budget.
Utilize AI and technology to enhance efficiency while maintaining personal judgment and critical thinking.