Talent Acquisition Manager

Aurora University (AU) is committed to the transformative power of learning by creating a student-centered environment and an equity of experience and opportunity, to ensure that students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds feel welcome and included. Our culture of collaboration, generosity, and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty, and staff.

AU is grounded in the transformative opportunity it provides to a diverse student body. As a private university with a public mission and a commitment to making a difference in peoples’ lives, AU has a long history of resilience and of providing access to an education that values innovation, focuses on continuous improvement, and has a positive impact on the communities we serve. We are proud of our service to and economic impact on the state of Illinois, where over 80% of our students stay to live and work, where 90% of our students come from, and where we foster strong community partnerships to develop the workforce in areas such as nursing, education, business, technology, and social work.

We are looking for passionate and purposeful individuals who represent the full diversity of Aurora and who demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, ability, identity, and ethnic backgrounds present in our community. When you join the team at AU, you can expect to be part of an inclusive, innovative, and equity-focused community that approaches higher education as a matter of social justice requiring broad collaboration among faculty, staff, students, and community partners.

At AU we believe that continuous learning is a fundamental part of working life, and our goal is for all colleagues on our campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support our community by providing all employees with opportunities to engage in professional development activities, as well as a range of tuition and employee benefits that can be found here.

Position Purpose:

The primary responsibility of the Talent Acquisition Manager (TAM) includes finding, hiring, onboarding, and retaining employees. The TAM is a dedicated strategist that is expected to cultivate relationships with hiring managers through the full cycle recruitment process. The TAM will develop recruitment plans based on department needs and serves as the point of contact for all aspects of the recruitment life cycle from requisition creation to onboarding. A key function of this position is to create and implement effective talent acquisition strategies designed to identify top talent and assess their suitability for open positions.

The position will develop recruiting plans, use traditional sourcing strategies while also developing new, creative recruiting plans to address hard to fill positions. This position is key in ensuring the university is hiring and retaining the best talent.

Work Hours:

Expected equivalent of 40 hours per week, but days/hours may vary as needed. Hybrid or work from home employment will be considered if candidate can demonstrate ability to fulfill this role effectively off-site.

Core Competencies:

  1. Represents Aurora University in the most positive manner with prospective, former and current students, clients, suppliers, and the community we serve. Interacts effectively with a diverse group of faculty, staff, students and other customers of our service, learns and uses operating practices of the department and Aurora University.
  2. Upholds the Mission Statement: Aurora University is an inclusive community dedicated to the transformative power of learning. As a teaching-centered institution, we encourage undergraduate and graduate students to discover what it takes to build meaningful and examined lives. We empower our students to achieve lasting personal and professional success.
  3. Handles all information with tact and discretion and recognizes the confidential nature of university business.
  4. Supports learning through performance of essential job functions and performing other duties and functions as necessary or as assigned.

Essential Job Functions:

  1. Serve as subject matter expert on all university recruiting and onboarding functions with particular emphasis for creating a welcoming and equitable process by which all candidates are provided equal opportunity to showcase their talents and suitability for available positions.
  2. Develop, implement, and continuously improve a best-in-class talent acquisition program supplemented by maintaining a candidate database via an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and producing collateral materials to promote Aurora University as an employer of choice.
  3. Manage the entire recruitment/onboarding process through consultation with hiring managers as to meaningful job descriptions, ideal candidate attributes, best markets for talent mining, effective screening of responsive candidates, and interview planning to efficiently and successfully fill open positions.
  4. Create a pipeline of potential candidates cultivated from targeted industries using various social media platforms such as LinkedIn, job boards, and other online resources as well as attending career fairs and professional networking events.
  5. Serve as the candidate point of contact beginning with initial inquiries through a comprehensive onboarding program to ensure an excellent candidate experience and smooth transition into the workplace.
  6. Monitor and report key employee metrics such as time-to-fill, time-to-hire, retention rates, reasons for separations, hiring demographics, and other recruitment statistics.
  7. Seek feedback from hiring managers and new hires to continuously improve the university recruiting and onboarding programs.
  8. Monitor policies and procedures to maintain compliance with federal and state labor and hiring laws.
  9. Serve on project committees or contribute to other university initiatives as assigned.

Essential Job Requirements:

Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or related field. PHR or SPHR certification is a plus.

Experience:

  • 5-7 years of progressively responsible experience in human resources, particularly with talent acquisition methods and related best practices. Demonstrated experience in a talent acquisition leadership role, preferably in higher education, managing the full recruitment to onboarding cycle.

Skills:

  • Experience using social networks for talent acquisition (such as LinkedIn) to source candidates.
  • Knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations as they pertain to hiring.
  • Excellent interpersonal, decision-making, and communication skills.
  • Ability to represent the university well as the first point of contact with a potential candidate.
  • Self-motivated with exceptional organizational skills, strong detail orientation, and ability to manage multiple tasks, while maintaining accurate information, confidentiality, and productivity.
  • Extensive understanding of human resource databases, applicant tracking systems, and candidate management systems.
  • Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite applications including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
  • Tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty while being able to move responsibilities forward in a timely manner.
  • Collaborative leadership style and understanding of position as service to others.
  • Ability to work across organizational boundaries to build and maintain relationships.
  • Ability to interact respectfully with people across diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds.

Physical Requirements:

  • Ability to work with a computer for long periods of the day.
  • Ability to attend off campus meetings.

Benefit-eligible positions offer excellent benefits including health, dental, life, vision, long term disability, a 403(b) retirement plan through TIAA, and tuition remission.

To apply, please send resume, cover letter, and contact information for three references including name, telephone, and email address.

If you were referred by a current employee of Aurora University please include the name of the employee in your submission.

Aurora University
Human Resources
347 South Gladstone Ave
Aurora, IL 60506
jobs@aurora.edu - email

Aurora University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.