Workforce Development Coordinator

Emery Sapp & Sons • Columbia, MO

2d

About The Position

At Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS), building a strong workforce doesn’t start on the jobsite—it starts long before. The Workforce Development Coordinator plays a critical role in introducing the next generation of builders to ESS and the heavy civil construction industry. This role is on the front lines of workforce recruitment and outreach—showing up in schools, classrooms, career fairs, and communities to spark interest, build relationships, and create early connections to ESS careers. By maintaining a consistent, professional, and engaging presence in targeted talent markets, this role helps ensure ESS has a healthy pipeline of future employee-owners ready to grow with the company. Position Overview- Reporting to the Workforce & Industry Outreach Manager, the Workforce Development Coordinator executes ESS’ recruitment outreach and pipeline development efforts across schools, community organizations, and workforce partners. Working in a merit shop heavy civil construction environment, this role partners closely with Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, Marketing, Operations, and Safety to align outreach activity with current and future hiring needs. This position serves as the FACE of ESS at external workforce events—delivering presentations, attending career fairs, coordinating site tours, and maintaining consistent partner communication to maintain positive industry relationships and generate qualified candidate interest and warm leads. Helpful insight: This role is focused on external recruitment outreach and talent pipeline development. Technical recruiting or delivery of internal employee training programs sits outside of the scope of this role.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in recruiting, workforce outreach, campus recruiting, community engagement, or a related field.
• Strong public speaking and presentation skills; comfortable engaging students, educators, and community groups.
• Proven ability to build relationships and maintain partnerships over time.
• Highly organized with strong follow-through and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple events, schedules, and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; familiarity with HRIS or ATS tools is a plus.
• Willingness to travel regionally and work occasional evenings or weekends for events.
• A professional, approachable, field-first mindset.
• MUST BE ABLE TO TRAVEL

Nice To Haves

• Preferred exposure to construction, skilled trades, manufacturing, or industrial environments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary ESS representative at high schools, trade schools, technical colleges, universities, and community events.
• Deliver engaging presentations on heavy civil construction careers, career paths, internships, and entry-level opportunities.
• Build and maintain relationships with counselors, instructors, program directors, and community leaders to support long-term workforce pipelines.
• Coordinate and support jobsite tours, classroom visits, and experiential learning opportunities when appropriate.
• Support and maintain partnerships with schools, workforce boards, industry associations, and community organizations.
• Manage ongoing communication with partners, including event planning, follow-ups, and next-step coordination.
• Identify new outreach opportunities aligned with geographic priorities and workforce needs.
• Serve as a consistent point of contact to ensure ESS remains visible, responsive, and reliable to partners.
• Plan and support recruiting activities such as career fairs, hiring events, school visits, and community programs.
• Collect candidate leads, conduct basic interest and fit screening, and coordinate warm handoffs to Talent Acquisition.
• Ensure timely follow-up with candidates and partners to maintain engagement and momentum.
• Support internship and early-career pipeline activity as directed.
• Support internship recruiting efforts by collecting, organizing, and tracking intern applications and resumes.
• Assist with initial candidate screening, interview scheduling, and coordination with hiring managers.
• Maintain accurate intern candidate pipelines and status updates across operations and regions.
• Coordinate logistics for intern interviews, onboarding touchpoints, and communications.
• Serve as a point of contact for intern candidates throughout the recruiting process, ensuring a professional and engaging experience.
• Partner closely with the Workforce & Industry Outreach Manager to ensure timelines, documentation, and operational leadership needs are met.
• Track outreach activity and results, including events attended, contacts made, leads generated, and conversion outcomes.
• Maintain organized records of partner contacts, event calendars, presentations, and outreach materials.
• Provide regular updates and insights to the Workforce & Industry Outreach Manager to support planning and resource allocation.
• Partner with Marketing to support recruitment messaging, presentations, and materials used for outreach and events.
• Ensure all public-facing communication reflects ESS values, safety standards, culture, and employee-owner mindset.
• Help deliver engaging, on-brand activations at workforce events that represent ESS professionally and authentically.

Benefits

• Employee ownership from day one.
• A company committed to safety, development, and long-term careers.
• Help introduce the next generation to meaningful, hands-on work in the heavy civil industry.
• Make a direct impact on the future workforce of ESS.

What This Job Offers

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