Talent Acquisition Lead

Athene•West Des Moines, IA

About The Position

We are driven to do more. More for our customers and the financial professionals who offer our products. If you are driven to do more and love the challenge of pursuing more, Athene is your kind of company. You will find we offer more than the basics to create an inclusive and dynamic work environment at our various locations. Purpose: Athene is seeking an experienced Talent Acquisition professional to partner closely with business leaders and manage complex, hard-to-fill roles. This role is well-suited for someone with strong consulting skills who is comfortable navigating ambiguity, influencing stakeholders, and delivering results in a fast-paced environment. Success in this role depends on sound judgment, adaptability, and the ability to build effective partnerships across the business. The ideal candidate brings discipline and persistence to each search, adjusts direction when needed, and stays focused on delivering results. Why This Role Stands Out: Recruiting at Athene is challenging, fast-paced, and deeply rewarding. Success comes from grit, creativity, and the willingness to keep pushing forward. This role offers the opportunity to make a visible impact, influence how leaders think about talent, and be recognized for persistence and results.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in corporate or agency recruiting, with demonstrated success filling complex, hard-to-fill roles.
Strong consultative and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge leaders and advocate for non-traditional or creative hiring solutions.
Proven persistence and resilience in high-volume, high-difficulty recruiting environments.
Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.
High level of professionalism, integrity, and adaptability.

Nice To Haves

Experience recruiting for finance, investment, or similarly specialized functions, or demonstrated ability to quickly learn and adapt to new domains.
Background in agency recruiting or environments that require creativity, urgency, and tenacity.
Proficiency with Workday or similar applicant tracking systems.
Drive.
Discipline.
Confidence.
Focus.
Commitment.

Responsibilities

Strategic Talent Consulting & Stakeholder Partnership Act as a trusted talent advisor to hiring leaders, partnering closely on complex, high-impact roles and continuously refining hiring strategies based on real-time market feedback.
Challenge assumptions related to compensation, location, profile, and experience, guiding leaders toward creative and practical solutions through data, insight, and influence.
Proactive Sourcing & Pipeline Development Lead bold, proactive sourcing efforts for specialized and hard-to-fill roles, leveraging a wide range of strategies—including direct sourcing, referrals, agencies, and opportunistic talent discovery.
Build and sustain pipelines for ongoing and future needs, with persistence and flexibility in approach when searches require restarting or rethinking.
Business Acumen & Functional Understanding Develop a strong working understanding of supported business areas, enabling thoughtful conversations about role scope, skills, and long-term talent needs.
Use labor market insights, candidate feedback, and business context to adjust search strategies and advise leaders on viable paths forward.
Full-Cycle Recruiting Execution Own the end-to-end recruitment process, demonstrating resilience and follow-through on searches that may evolve or require multiple resets.
Maintain transparent, frequent communication with hiring leaders and stakeholders to build trust, momentum, and shared accountability.
Cross-Functional HR Collaboration Partner closely with HR Business Partners and other HR teams to align recruiting strategies with workforce plans and broader people initiatives.
Contribute ideas and feedback to continuously improve recruiting practices, particularly in high-demand, highly competitive talent markets.