Talent Acquisition Consultant

The City of Red Deer•Red Deer, AB

2d•CA$90,495 - CA$113,084

About The Position

The City of Red Deer is currently recruiting for a Talent Acquisition Consultant to fill a permanent full-time position. This role provides strategic guidance, process leadership, and labour-relations-aligned support across the talent acquisition function. The focus is on recruitment strategy, sourcing frameworks, process optimization, labour-relations considerations, and tools/templates that enable hiring leaders to execute recruitment effectively and fairly. The Consultant also manages recruitment grievances alongside Consulting Services and advises on recruiting best practices at the City of Red Deer. This role will support the department by owning a recruitment portfolio consisting of hard-to-fill, specialized and business critical positions. Overall, this role acts as a Strategic Talent Acquisition Advisor/Lead, responsible for developing recruitment strategies, advising leaders, building sourcing pipelines, improving hiring processes, ensuring compliance, supporting labour relations matters, and leveraging workforce analytics to attract and retain top talent. The focus is on both strategic workforce planning and operational recruitment excellence.

Requirements

Post-secondary degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field
3–5 years of progressive experience in talent acquisition or recruitment
Demonstrated experience working in a unionized and/or public sector environment
Strong working knowledge of employment legislation, collective agreements, and public-sector HR practices
Ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships, including union and management interests
Excellent consultation, communication, and facilitation skills
Strong judgment and ability to manage sensitive and confidential information
Ability to manage competing priorities and high-volume recruitment demands
Proficiency with applicant tracking systems and Microsoft Office applications

Nice To Haves

Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation or working toward designation is preferred
Experience applying collective agreements and managing recruitment in a highly regulated environment is an asset

Responsibilities

Strategic Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning - Partner with leaders to identify workforce needs, talent gaps, succession requirements, and long-term staffing strategies. Develop recruitment strategies aligned with organizational goals and labour agreements.
Recruitment Advisory for Complex and Critical Hiring - Serve as a trusted advisor to hiring managers on specialized, hard-to-fill, and business-critical positions. Provide market intelligence and hiring recommendations throughout the recruitment process.
Talent Sourcing & Pipeline Development - Develop and implement multi-channel sourcing strategies. Build and maintain talent pipelines for critical and difficult-to-fill roles through networking, partnerships, and proactive talent mapping.
Hiring Manager Coaching & Capability Building - Train and mentor hiring managers and HR staff on interviewing, candidate assessment, inclusive hiring, and selection best practices. Develop tools, frameworks, and resources to improve hiring effectiveness.
Recruitment Process Design & Continuous Improvement - Lead the design, standardization, and optimization of recruitment and onboarding processes. Identify bottlenecks and implement improvements to increase efficiency, fairness, and candidate experience.
Compliance, Policy & Collective Agreement Administration - Ensure recruitment practices comply with employment legislation, collective agreements, organizational policies, and DEI objectives. Provide expert guidance on recruitment-related policies and procedures.
Employer Branding & External Relationship Management - Strengthen the organization's employer brand through networking, career fairs, industry partnerships, marketing materials, and community engagement. Establish relationships with professional associations, educational institutions, and recruitment partners.
Recruitment Program Management - Lead or support specialized employment programs and processes, including student employment, secondments, executive search engagements, redeployment initiatives, background screening, and pre-employment testing.
Union Grievance Support & Risk Mitigation - Provide recruitment-related grievance analysis, documentation, evidence, and subject matter expertise. Identify process risks and recommend corrective actions to prevent future disputes.
Recruitment Analytics & Reporting - Track and analyze recruitment metrics such as time-to-fill, sourcing effectiveness, pipeline health, and hiring trends. Deliver data-driven insights and recommendations to support workforce planning and organizational decision-making.