The Job in a Nutshell:

We are looking for a data-driven Talent Acquisition Strategist to move beyond traditional recruiting metrics (like "time to fill") and focus on hiring quality and longevity.

In this role, you will not be a full-desk recruiter, although you will be expected to help recruit as needed. Your focus will be to act as an internal consultant, analyzing our current hiring practices to answer critical questions: Why do some new hires fail? Why do some internal promotions succeed? Where are we missing top talent?

You will be responsible for architecting the roadmap that allows us to source external innovators for new positions while simultaneously building a culture where internal candidates are primed and ready for existing openings.

Main Ingredients:

Recruitment Strategy & Process Evaluation

1. Audit the current end-to-end recruitment process to identify bottlenecks and biases that prevent us from finding top-tier talent.
2. Develop innovative sourcing strategies specifically designed to attract external candidates where no internal talent pool exists.
3. Design targeted internal mobility campaigns to increase the quantity and quality of internal candidates applying for existing open roles.
4. Partner with Operations and the Video Department to explain why (compensation, benefits, career development and promotion paths, and culture) Natural Grocers is a great company to work for and a place to advance your/have a career to appeal to both passive external candidates and current employees.

ATS (Applicant Tracking System) Configuration and Reporting

1. Optimizes ATS configuration, workflows, and user experience to improve recruiter efficiency, applicant experience, and overall process effectiveness.
2. Partners with the ATS vendor, HRIS, and internal stakeholders to maintain accurate data integrations, reporting structures, and system functionality.
3. Audits ATS processes, data integrity, and reporting outputs to support compliance, accuracy, and reliable recruiting analytics.
4. Evaluates current and emerging ATS capabilities, recommends system enhancements or investments, and ensures the company is using cost-effective, time-saving recruiting technology solutions.

Vendor Management

1. Develops and manages monthly recruitment advertising spend across sourcing platforms, ensuring budget alignment, cost effectiveness, and measurable return on investment.
2. Plans, coordinates, and evaluates recruiting events, including both onsite and virtual hiring events, to support critical staffing needs.
3. Oversees recruitment-related social media content and job-marketing campaigns to strengthen employer visibility and candidate engagement.
4. Researches, evaluates, and pilots new recruiting tools, vendors, and resources to determine effectiveness, scalability, and alignment with company hiring goals.

People Analytics & Hiring Success

1. Conduct Predictive Hire Analysis: Work with Human Resources and the HRIS team to track the performance and retention rates of employees based on their hiring source (e.g., internal promotion vs. external hire).
2. Evaluate promotion success rates: Analyze the performance and tenure of internally promoted employees versus external hires to determine which method yields higher success for specific positions.
3. Identify the key traits and experiences of high-performing employees; use this data to build "Ideal Candidate Profiles" and "Success Profiles" for recruiters to use.
4. Report on quality of hire metrics, moving beyond subjective manager feedback to objective performance data (e.g., leadership metrics, sales goals met, project completion rates).

Partner with Store Operations to ensure recruiting practices align with operational goals.

1. Create recommendations to successfully fulfill the company’s internal promotion philosophy and identify opportunities to support candidate readiness, succession planning and development strategies.
2. Identify and track stores with a higher-than-average number of open critical store positions and work with the Recruiting Team to create a strategy to assist operations in filling these positions.

Workforce & Pipeline Planning

1. Partner with Operations, Regional Managers, and SSC Department Heads to understand upcoming skill gaps.
2. Utilize success rate data to determine best candidate profiles.
3. Build talent pipelines and communities to ensure a ready supply of external candidates for hard-to-fill or future strategic roles.

Traits for Success:

1. Strategic Mindset:You don't just do what we have always done; you question why we are hiring, where we are looking, and how we can do it better.
2. Data Literacy:You can interpret hiring data, turnover rates, and performance metrics to tell a story and influence C-level stakeholders.
3. Internal vs. External Expertise:Deep understanding of the nuances of recruiting internal retail employees (career pathing, discreet outreach) versus external candidates (branding, competitive analysis).
4. Project Management:Ability to manage multiple initiatives, from revamping the referral program to implementing a new sourcing tool.

Success Measures:

1. In 3 Months:Completed a comprehensive audit of the current recruitment funnel and promotion success rates.
2. In 6 Months:Implemented a new internal job posting strategy resulting in a 15% increase in internal applicants.
3. 12 Months:Established a baseline "Quality of Hire" metric and identified the sourcing channels that yield the highest-performing employees.

Although this is a general outline of job responsibilities all employees are expected to be “hands on” and do whatever it takes to get the job done and make the company thrive.

Recipe for Success:

1. High School diploma or equivalent required 
2. Minimum 7 years of leadership experience in Talent Acquisition, Recruitment Operations, or HR Analytics.
3. Proven track record of designing recruitment strategies that improved hiring outcomes.
4. Experience creating and implementing successful talent acquisition related strategies  
5. Experience with HRIS and Recruitment Analytics tools
6. Experience with multiple ATS and Social Media sourcing solutions 
7. Must have high volume recruiting experience, retail experience preferred. 
8. Ability to effectively align strategy and results with the company culture and driving principles. 
9. Experience working with members of the executive team of an organization 
10. Thorough understanding of recruiting methods and best practices, as well as applicable policies and federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations 
11. Communication skills to effectively summarize data and proposals in both verbal and written form.   
12. Ability to communicate recruiting principals at all levels of the organization. 
13. Write and speak clearly, easily communicating complex ideas. 
14. Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail 
15. Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet strict deadlines  
16. Ability to build strong interdepartmental partnerships  
17. Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate 
18. Ability to function well in a high-paced and at times stressful environment 
19. Analytical skills to look at the numbers, trends, and data including graphs, charts, etc. to form reports for leadership. 
20. Extensive experience exercising judgment to plan and accomplish goals. 
21. High level of computer proficiency and technical aptitude including Microsoft 365 applications 
22. Intermediate to Advanced Excel skills 
23. Ability to skillfully manage multiple, competing priorities concurrently while maintaining strong customer service  
24. Strong presentation and facilitation skills  

This job description is not an employment contract.  It does not guarantee a job or that the above listed duties are the limit of responsibilities.  The job and job description are subject to change with and without notice.  Employees are required to accomplish any and all tasks assigned to them by their Manager and/or other Store Support Center manager that might not be listed in this job description.