3 Month Contract - Talent Acquisition Lead

Certified Group is committed to partnering with customers to deliver innovative scientific solutions and expertise – So The World Can Trust In What It Consumes™. Our network of 30+ North American and European laboratories serves the food & beverage, dietary supplements, cosmetics, OTC, tobacco/nicotine, cannabis, and hemp industries.

Our Brands

Certified Group is comprised of a set of specialized brands that collectively deliver laboratory testing, regulatory consulting, and certification & audit services across highly regulated industries:

• Certified Laboratories – Provides comprehensive analytical and microbiological testing, primarily supporting food, beverage, cosmetics, OTC, and dietary supplement industries.
• Food Safety Net Services (FSNS) – A leading network of ISO-accredited laboratories across North America, focused on food safety testing, operational support, and technical services for the food industry.
• Labstat – A global leader in contract research and testing for nicotine, tobacco, cannabis, hemp, and next-generation products, with deep expertise in analytical chemistry and toxicology.
• EAS Consulting Group – A regulatory consulting firm offering expert guidance, training, and auditing support across FDA, USDA, and other regulated sectors, powered by a large network of independent advisors.
• FSNS Certification & Audit – Provides accredited third-party auditing and certification services, including food safety, animal welfare, and GMP programs.

Interim Talent Acquisition Lead (Contract – Maternity Leave Coverage)

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Talent Acquisition leader to provide interim support during a maternity leave coverage period. This role will partner closely with the Talent Acquisition team, HR Business Partners, executives, and hiring managers to ensure continuity of critical recruiting activities, maintain strong hiring practices, and support key Talent Acquisition operations.

The ideal candidate is a strategic, hands-on recruiting leader who can operate as a player-coach — owning complex searches, providing coaching and guidance to a team of three recruiters, advising hiring managers and business leaders, and driving operational excellence across key Talent Acquisition processes.

This role requires someone who can balance strategic recruiting leadership with hands-on execution, including executive recruiting, team coaching, ATS ownership, recruiting analytics, process optimization, and stakeholder partnership.

Approximate Time Allocation & Areas of Focus

Executive & Leadership Recruiting

• Own full lifecycle recruitment for approximately 5–10 Director-level and above positions, including intake, search strategy, sourcing, candidate engagement, interviewing, offer management, and closing.
• Partner with executives, HR Business Partners, and hiring leaders to understand business needs and develop effective recruiting strategies.
• Build and maintain proactive talent pipelines for leadership, critical, and hard-to-fill roles.
• Provide market insights, talent intelligence, compensation considerations, and recommendations throughout the search process.
• Manage executive candidate experience and ensure strong communication throughout the recruitment lifecycle.
• Support complex searches where additional recruiting expertise, escalation support, or strategic partnership is needed.

Talent Acquisition Team Coaching & Support

• Provide day-to-day coaching, guidance, and support to a team of three recruiters.
• Conduct regular 1:1 meetings with recruiters and participate in weekly Talent Acquisition team meetings.
• Serve as a resource for recruiters on complex searches, sourcing strategies, stakeholder management, candidate engagement, and recruiting best practices.
• Help prioritize recruiting efforts and provide guidance on competing business needs.
• Join recruiter hiring manager meetings whenever possible, prioritizing locations, business areas, or searches where additional TA partnership is needed.
• Support recruiter development through coaching, mentorship, knowledge sharing, and problem-solving.
• Provide guidance on recruiting strategy, candidate assessment, and effective stakeholder management.

Talent Acquisition Strategy & Hiring Manager Partnership

• Support execution of the overall Talent Acquisition strategy in alignment with business priorities and workforce needs.

• Partner with hiring managers and HR Business Partners to develop recruiting strategies, hiring plans, and sourcing approaches.
• Lead weekly hiring manager meetings for assigned searches and provide recruiting recommendations and updates.
• Guide hiring managers through recruiting processes, interview expectations, candidate evaluation, and selection decisions.
• Coach hiring managers on effective interviewing practices and successful candidate engagement.
• Own and facilitate requisition approval processes, including reviewing business justification, financial considerations, recruiting data, and hiring priorities.
• Lead weekly requisition approval meetings to ensure timely review, alignment, and movement of approved positions.
• Provide insights on recruiting challenges, market conditions, talent availability, and hiring timelines.

Recruiting Operations, Greenhouse ATS Ownership & Process Optimization

• Serve as a key Talent Acquisition owner and partner for Greenhouse ATS.
• Partner regularly with Greenhouse stakeholders to review system enhancements, maintenance needs, workflow improvements, and optimization opportunities.
• Troubleshoot ATS issues, workflow challenges, reporting discrepancies, user questions, and system-related issues.
• Dedicate approximately 1–2 hours per week to ATS troubleshooting, maintenance, and system support.
• Manage ATS workflow updates, configuration improvements, and process enhancements.
• Ensure recruiting processes, workflows, and data requirements are accurately maintained.
• Support recruiters and hiring managers in effectively utilizing Greenhouse.
• Identify opportunities to improve recruiting efficiency, scalability, reporting accuracy, and user experience.
• Ensure strong adoption of recruiting processes and system functionality across stakeholders.

Recruiting Analytics, Reporting & Insights

• Own weekly Talent Acquisition reporting and provide insights to TA leadership and business stakeholders.

• Dedicate approximately 2 hours per week to analytics, reporting, and recruiting insights.
• Track and analyze key recruiting metrics, including pipeline activity, time-to-fill, source effectiveness, hiring progress, and recruiting trends.
• Provide recommendations based on recruiting data and business needs.
• Prepare reporting to support decision-making around hiring priorities, recruiting challenges, and resource allocation.
• Manage reporting related to recruiting programs, vendors, referrals, assessments, and recruiting effectiveness.

Agency Relationships, Recruiting Vendors & Talent Programs

• Own and manage relationships with external recruiting agencies, job board vendors, and recruiting technology partners.
• Evaluate when agency support is appropriate based on role complexity, urgency, talent availability, and business needs.
• Manage agency partnerships, including expectations, communication, performance, and overall effectiveness.
• Monitor agency performance, candidate quality, responsiveness, utilization, and return on investment.
• Partner with hiring managers and HR Business Partners to ensure appropriate use of external recruiting resources.
• Manage job board vendor relationships and optimize recruiting channel effectiveness.
• Support recruiting campaigns and targeted sourcing strategies for priority hiring needs.
• Manage employee referral program reporting, tracking, validation, and coordination of referral payments.

Job Descriptions, Leveling & Compensation Partnership – Incorporated Across Recruiting Support

• Partner with hiring managers, HR Business Partners, and Compensation & Benefits Director to create new job descriptions and update existing job descriptions.
• Provide guidance on role scope, responsibilities, qualifications, and market competitiveness.
• Support job leveling discussions by providing recruiting market insights and recommendations.
• Partner with Compensation on salary benchmarking, market alignment, and offer strategy.
• Ensure job postings accurately reflect role expectations, organizational needs, and employment brand messaging.
• Identify opportunities to improve job descriptions to better attract qualified candidates.

Candidate Experience, Onboarding Readiness & Additional TA Support

• Participate in weekly onboarding readiness meetings to prepare for upcoming new hires.
• Partner with HR and hiring teams to ensure recruiting handoffs are complete and candidates have a seamless transition from offer acceptance through start date.
• Support hiring assessment tools, reporting, and process improvements.
• Provide additional Talent Acquisition support based on evolving business priorities.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of Talent Acquisition experience with demonstrated success managing complex recruiting initiatives.
• Experience leading full-cycle recruitment for Director-level and above positions.
• Experience coaching, mentoring, or supporting recruiter teams.
• Strong corporate recruiting experience with the ability to partner effectively with executives, HR Business Partners, Compensation teams, and hiring leaders.
• Experience managing recruiting agency relationships, job board vendors, and external talent partnerships.
• Experience owning ATS platforms; Greenhouse experience strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting job description development, job leveling, compensation discussions, and market alignment.
• Strong understanding of recruiting strategy, sourcing, candidate assessment, interview processes, and hiring practices.
• Experience developing recruiting reports, analytics, and insights for leadership.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication, influencing, relationship management, and organizational skills.

Success in This Role Looks Like

• Director-level and above searches continue to progress effectively with strong candidate pipelines and an exceptional candidate experience.
• The TA team of three recruiters has consistent coaching, support, and guidance to execute recruiting priorities successfully.
• Hiring managers receive strong partnership and follow effective recruiting processes.
• Requisitions move efficiently through approval and hiring workflows.
• Greenhouse remains optimized, maintained, and effectively utilized.
• ATS issues are quickly resolved and system processes continue to improve.
• Recruiting data and reporting provide meaningful insights to stakeholders.
• Agency relationships, job board vendors, and recruiting resources are strategically managed.
• Candidates and new hires experience a seamless recruiting and onboarding process.
• Talent Acquisition operations continue smoothly throughout the maternity leave coverage period.

By applying, you acknowledge that Certified Group will process your personal information for recruitment and hiring purposes in accordance with our Applicant Privacy Policy. California residents may review additional information about how we collect and use personal information, including retention and rights, in our California Notice at Collection. To view our Privacy Policy, click the link here: Certified Group Privacy Policy

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and make employment decisions without regard to protected characteristics under applicable law.