Talent Acquisition Operation Lead

Why AIS?

When you join AIS, you’re joining a mission-driven team that’s passionate about making a difference. You’ll work on projects that matter, alongside industry-leading experts, in an environment that fosters innovation, driving client success, and empowering our team to make a lasting impact. As an employee-owned company, we value collaboration, inclusivity, continuous growth, and shared success.

• Employee Ownership: Your contributions directly impact the company’s success, and you share in its achievements.

• Continuous Learning: Access to resources, training, and mentorship to support your professional growth.

• Inclusive Culture: A workplace where diversity is celebrated, and everyone’s voice is valued.

• Mission-Driven Work: Engage in projects that make a meaningful difference for our clients and communities.

What are we looking for?

At AIS, we're looking for more than just skills - we're looking for driven individuals who are passionate about making a difference, eager to grow, and aligned with our core principles.

What you will be doing?

At AIS, we are dedicated to providing our employees with diverse opportunities to grow their careers while supporting a variety of impactful projects. For this position, we are seeking a talented individual to join AIS as a Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner.

As your initial career assignment, you will support the priorities and vital functions of our shared services teams as a(n) Talent Acquisition Operation Lead.

Project Summary

The Talent Acquisition Operations Lead is the operational backbone of the TA organization, providing day-to-day support to a team of recruiters and TA leadership across two regions. This role owns several of the function's most critical operational programs—background investigations, employee referrals, third-party staffing, and vendor management—and serves as the process, data, and compliance anchor that allows recruiters to focus on hiring. It is ideal for a detail-driven operator who thrives on building repeatable processes, managing programs and vendors end to end, and keeping a fast-moving, cross-time-zone team running smoothly.

Key Responsibilities

• Operational Support – Serve as the central operational point of contact for a distributed TA team, coordinating daily workflows, handoffs, and process adherence across U.S. and India-based recruiters and leadership.

• Background Investigation Program – Own the end-to-end background investigation program: initiate and track adjudications, manage the vendor relationship and monitor status through completion, escalate exceptions, and ensure candidate records are accurate, compliant, and audit-ready.

• Employee Referral Program – Own and administer the employee referral program: maintain program rules and eligibility, track submissions and payouts, coordinate with HR and Payroll, run periodic promotions, and report on program performance.

• Third-Party Staffing – Manage the third-party staffing process: onboard and coordinate staffing suppliers and RPO partners, distribute requisitions, track submittals and candidate status, enforce process and rate compliance, and serve as the operational liaison between suppliers and internal recruiters.

• Vendor Management – Own vendor management across the TA tool and services stack: maintain contracts, renewals, and spend tracking, monitor performance and support sourcing of new tools or partners as needs evolve.

• Reporting & Systems – Maintain data hygiene and integrity in the ATS; build and distribute recurring reporting and dashboards on pipeline, time-to-fill, program metrics, and vendor performance for TA leadership.

• Compliance – Safeguard compliance across all TA operations, including OFCCP/EEO applicant recordkeeping, process compliance, data integrity and support internal and external audits.

• Process & SOPs – Document, standardize, and continuously improve TA processes; build SOPs, templates, and job aids that create consistency across regions and reduce single points of failure.

• Onboarding Handoff – Coordinate pre-boarding and onboarding handoffs with HR, HRBPs, and hiring managers to deliver a seamless candidate-to-employee transition.

Required For This Opportunity

• Bachelor's degree, or an additional 4 years of relevant experience in lieu of a degree.

• Minimum of 8 years of related experience in talent acquisition, recruiting operations, or HR operations.

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience managing background screening programs and organization of 500+ employees.

• Proven vendor and third-party/staffing management experience, including managing suppliers to SLAs.

• Significant experience driving process improvement within a Talent Acquisition department.

• Strong working knowledge of an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and HR data reporting.

• Experience leading TA’s participation in compliance and audit activities.

• Excellent organizational, documentation, and cross-functional communication skills, with the ability to coordinate across time zones and regions.

• High attention to detail and comfort managing multiple concurrent priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Nice to Have Skills

• Experience in a government contracting (GovCon) environment.

• Hands-on familiarity with Workday (recruiting and/or HCM).

• Working knowledge of federal compliance frameworks (OFCCP, EEO, I-9).

• Experience with contingent workforce programs or a Vendor Management System (VMS).

• HR/recruiting certification (e.g., PHR, SHRM-CP, or Certified Staffing Professional).

• Experience supporting a globally distributed or offshore recruiting team.

At AIS, we are committed to offering competitive and fair compensation that reflects the skills, experience, and contributions of each team member.

The targeted base salary range for this role is $82,000-$125,000 per year. Please note that this range is provided as a guideline and the final offer will be based on several factors, including but not limited to, skillset and competencies, level of experience, education, certifications, and location.

We value transparency in our hiring process and are happy to discuss how your unique qualifications align with our compensation structure during the interview process.

Applied Information Sciences does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis. Employment decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs.

An Employee-Owned Company Dedicated to its People

If you're committed to curiosity, life-long learning, and passionate about technology – AIS is the place for you. Learn more at ais.com.

Our Benefits

We provide benefits that invest in your health and future. Some of our employee favorites:

• Competitive Salaries

• Qualified Overtime

• Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Flexible Holiday Leave (88 hours per year)

• Parental Leave

• Immediate Healthcare: Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance

• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

• 401(k) Retirement Plan (5% match on base compensation, immediate 100% vesting)

• Tuition Reimbursement & Learning Allowance

• Referral Bonus Program (up to $5k)