Talent Acquisition Specialist (Contract)

Umoja Biopharma is an industry-leading biotech with locations in Seattle, WA and Louisville, CO, focused on transforming the treatment of cancer with a novel integrated immunotherapy platform. Our vision is to develop off-the-shelf therapies capable of treating any tumor, any time. We are a diverse and growing team working in brand-new facilities in downtown Seattle, Washington and Louisville, Colorado, and we are looking for innovative thinkers who are excited by groundbreaking science and technology, and passionate about squaring up to the challenges inherent to cutting-edge drug development. We are committed to our core values and principles that support our overall mission and strongly invite applications from enthusiastic individuals who share our commitment and help position Umoja to deliver on our goals.  We at Umoja believe in the importance of stories; we are looking for great people to join our team to help us create more stories for ourselves, for you, and most importantly for patients and their families.

Umoja Biopharma – Your Body. Your Hope. Your Cure. 

POSITION SUMMARY

The Contract Talent Acquisition Specialist will play a key role in supporting hiring efforts for our Colorado manufacturing facility (The CLIMB), partnering closely with the Head of HR, Talent Acquisition Partner, HRBP, and site leaders to attract and hire top talent across Tech Ops, including Manufacturing and CMC roles. This role is responsible for full-cycle recruiting for entry-level through mid-manager positions, ensuring a high-quality, efficient, and candidate-focused hiring process.

The ideal candidate brings prior recruiting experience, preferably within life sciences and/or manufacturing environments, and demonstrates strong relationship-building skills with both candidates and hiring managers. This individual is a proactive communicator who operates with urgency, effectively manages competing priorities, and thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment. A natural curiosity and willingness to learn the business, technical roles, and talent landscape are essential to success in this position. This role is critical to enabling site growth by delivering qualified talent aligned to business needs while enhancing the overall candidate and hiring manager experience.

This role will be a 9-month contract assignment based onsite from our Louisville, CO site.

CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES

Specific responsibilities include:  

• Partner with leadership and hiring managers to define role requirements, develop job descriptions, and drive alignment on sourcing strategy, while maintaining strong stakeholder relationships and clear communication throughout the recruiting process.
• Manage the full-cycle recruitment process for the Technical Operations function, including Manufacturing, CMC, Process Sciences, Quality, and some support functions.
• Proactively source candidates using LinkedIn Recruiter, Indeed Smart Sourcing, networking, referrals, job boards, career/job fairs, and other innovative channels.
• Screen, schedule, interview, and assess candidates for both technical expertise and culture add.
• Support interview scheduling logistics as needed, partnering closely with Talent Acquisition Partner to coordinate candidate interviews, calendars, and communications.
• Prepare candidate offer packages for approvals maintaining market competitiveness and internal equity and deliver to candidates.
• Provide timely and proactive updates and data-driven insights to hiring managers and HR leadership.
• Ensure a positive and professional candidate experience from first contact through onboarding.
• Maintain timely ATS records, ensuring compliance and accurate reporting.
• Build and maintain recruiting process resources for our employees on our internal SharePoint
• Document and create clear full-cycle recruiting process instructions/resources for HR/Talent Acquisition team
• Support employer branding initiatives and contribute to building a strong biotech talent network.
• Other duties and projects as needed

The successful candidate will have:

• Minimum of 3 years recruiting experience with an Associate's degree or higher
• Demonstrated ability managing up to 15 open requisitions at one time while being organized and maintaining good communication to hiring managers and candidates
• Life sciences, biotechnology, or manufacturing experience preferred

Preferred Qualifications:

• The ability to be adaptable and flexible to changing market conditions, employer needs, and candidate expectations, solving complex challenges as they arise
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship management skills.
• The ability to build relationships and learn the business to understand talent needs and build trust
• Strong work ethic and self-motivation to follow through on tasks, meet deadlines, and deliver results consistently
• The ability to understand roles in depth and use smart questioning to understand the technical, soft, and cultural fit for each position
• The ability to work with a sense of urgency and pace to ensure recruiting is enabling the recruiting process and not slowing it down
• Experience with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and HRIS platforms, e.g., Greenhouse and UKG
• Skilled in sourcing passive candidates and building pipelines for niche roles.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, growing company with shifting priorities.
• Ability to work collaboratively within an HR team

Physical Requirements:  

• Ability to work onsite 5 days per week; occasional work from home with approval
• Frequent use of a computer, keyboard, mouse, and telephone/video conferencing tools
• Extended periods of screen time during high-volume recruiting cycles
• Ability to sit for prolonged periods of time

Salary Range: $84,900 - $104,900

Benefits Offerings

Umoja Biopharma offers its employees competitive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans. Additionally, we offer Umojians access to a 401k plan through Fidelity, with a 100% match up to their first 4% deferral. Umoja also provides a generous Paid Time Off policy, employee commuter benefits, and cell phone stipend. For a full breakdown of our benefits offerings, please see the Benefits section of our website.