Talent Acquisition Manager

MANAGER, TALENT ACQUISITIONCompany: Justrite Specialty ManufacturingReports To: Chief Human Resources OfficerLocation: Deerfield, IL (Hybrid - Tuesdays & Thursdays in office)Compensation: $125,000 - $140,000 base + BonusPosition Overview- The Manager, Talent Acquisition will lead our enterprise talent acquisition function. This is a hands-on, player-coach leadership role requiring direct ownership of senior-level and hard-to-fill searches while refining the infrastructure, standards, and team capability needed to scale as a fast-growing, Private Equity-backed manufacturing company. The ideal candidate will transform the function from a reactive support model into a proactive, talent-headhunting engine rooted in accountability and high-performance culture.The Contribution You'll BringThis individual will bring a highly strategic, disciplined, and proactive approach to acquiring top-tier talent. Serving as a trusted advisor to senior executives and business unit leaders, the successful candidate fosters a high- performance culture focused on rigorous accountability, continuous improvement, cross-functional collaboration, and an exceptional candidate/new-hire experience. This role directly leads a team of three Talent Acquisition Specialists while managing key external partners, suppliers, and search agencies.What You'll Do at JustriteFull Life-Cycle Recruitment: Lead end-to-end recruitment efforts from targeted research and mapping through active sourcing, selection, offer alignment, and final negotiation.Stakeholder Advisory: Partner deeply with business leaders, hiring managers, and HR Business Partners to analyze future staffing demand, build tailored talent strategies, and fill roles with speed.Executive & High-Impact Sourcing: Personally execute complex searches for leadership positions and specialized, technical engineering/manufacturing roles, minimizing reliance on outside headhunters.Team Development & Leadership: Mentor, manage, and scale a team of 3 TA Specialists; instill a proactive sourcing methodology, providing continuous coaching, professional development, and performance support.Process Continuous Improvement: Lead or oversee critical operational projects, employer branding initiatives, and compliance protocols across all recruitment pipelines.Data-Driven Management: Track, analyze, and communicate performance metrics; establish proactive countermeasures when searches miss milestones or fall off track. Ensure absolute data integrity within the corporate ATS.Vendor & Budget Optimization: Standardize and manage all external search firm contracts, agency service levels, and the overall corporate recruitment budget to achieve optimized spend.Core CompetenciesExecution & Accountability: Plans and delivers measurable results. Operates with extreme urgency, discipline, and a strong bias for action. Uses data to guide decisions and course-correct underperforming pipelines immediately.Resourcefulness: Passionately identifies paths over, around, or through barriers to success. Moves quickly to achieve high-quality outcomes despite finite resources.Change Leadership: Actively intervenes to drive, stabilize, and energize positive organizational transformation. Leads the recruitment team and hiring managers by strong professional example.Effective Communication & Influence: Clear, highly professional, and strategic communication style that quickly establishes trust and aligns stakeholder expectations with company growth goals.Customer & Candidate Focus: Committed to building flawless internal client relationships and delivering an transparent, high-touch experience for all active and passive candidates.Requirements8+ years of proven, progressive experience in professional corporate talent acquisition, with at least 2+ years of direct people management experience.Demonstrated mastery of modern executive and passive recruiting methodologies, direct sourcing strategies, and sophisticated candidate negotiation protocols.Prior experience managing talent acquisition within a decentralized, matrixed, or Private Equity-backed manufacturing environment is strongly preferred.Expert command of modern Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), advanced professional networks (e.g., LinkedIn Recruiter), and market intelligence tools.Deep understanding of recruitment best practices, compliance laws, employer branding principles, and structured assessment methodologies (e.g., Topgrading).Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a closely related discipline is required.International recruitment experience is a plus.