Talent Acquisition Specialist

ACU is affiliated with the Fellowship of the Church of Christ. This position requires the employee to be a professing Christian and willing to support the Christian mission of ACU. ‌ The Talent Acquisition Specialist serves as a strategic, full-cycle recruiting partner responsible for attracting, assessing, and hiring mission-aligned talent for faculty, academic staff, adjuncts, students, temporary employees, leadership, and other employee populations. The position partners with hiring managers, academic leaders, and search committees to clarify workforce needs, develop sourcing strategies, facilitate consistent selection processes, and deliver a professional and welcoming candidate experience. The position supports ACU's evolving centralized, shared-services talent acquisition model by strengthening recruiting governance, standardizing hiring practices, improving Workday Recruiting workflows, and developing sustainable candidate pipelines. The role also connects recruitment with workforce planning, employer branding, compensation and offer processes, onboarding, employee integration, and broader employee flourishing initiatives across the ACU system. This position has the potential to be on-site in Abilene, Texas, or remote. Essential Duties and Responsibilities 1. Full-Cycle Recruitment and Hiring Lead assigned searches from approved requisition through accepted offer and onboarding transition for faculty, academic, staff, adjunct, student, temporary, leadership, high-volume, hard-to-fill, and other positions. Conduct intake meetings with hiring managers, academic leaders, and search committees to clarify position requirements, competencies, candidate profiles, sourcing strategies, timelines, and selection processes. Create and manage requisitions, postings, approvals, candidate workflows, interview activity, dispositions, and offer documentation in Workday Recruiting. Review applications and resumes against approved minimum and preferred qualifications, conduct structured phone or video screenings, and present qualified candidate slates with clear screening documentation. Coordinate interviews, candidate communications, reference checks, background checks, employment verifications, and other required pre-employment activities. Coordinate compensation and offer approvals with Talent Management and Total Rewards, and facilitate timely, professional offer communication and negotiation support. Maintain timely communication with candidates and hiring stakeholders throughout the recruitment lifecycle. 2. Faculty, Academic, Staff, and Student Recruitment Partner with Academic Affairs, deans, department chairs, and search committees on faculty, academic, adjunct, and other academic searches. Support consistent search practices while respecting academic authority for evaluating credentials, discipline-specific qualifications, and academic selection decisions. Support administrative, professional, operational, student, temporary, and other workforce recruitment across ACU divisions and locations. Develop scalable recruiting approaches for recurring, high-volume, specialized, and difficult-to-fill positions. Provide cross-functional recruiting coverage based on institutional priorities, workload, and business continuity needs. 3. Hiring Manager and Search Committee Partnership Serve as a consultative recruiting partner to hiring managers and search committees throughout the hiring process. Provide structured interview guides, evaluation tools, scorecards, and guidance on job-related candidate assessment and selection practices. Assist departments with developing or updating position descriptions and translating workforce needs into clear qualifications and recruiting criteria. Promote consistent hiring processes, approval requirements, documentation standards, and appropriate escalation of compliance, compensation, or selection concerns. Build collaborative relationships across Human Resources, Academic Affairs, Finance, operational divisions, and campus leadership. 4. Talent Sourcing, Pipelines, and Employer Brand Develop targeted sourcing strategies using professional networks, higher education resources, digital platforms, employee referrals, professional associations, churches, community organizations, and passive outreach. Build and maintain talent pipelines for recurring, critical, leadership, and difficult-to-fill roles. Represent ACU at selected job fairs, career events, professional gatherings, and recruiting activities. Contribute to recruitment marketing, employment branding, and value-proposition initiatives that position ACU as a compelling, mission-centered employment destination. Monitor labor-market conditions, sourcing effectiveness, and emerging talent gaps to inform recruiting and workforce-planning strategies. 5. Candidate Experience and Onboarding Partnership Promote a candidate experience that reflects ACU’s Christian mission, institutional values, hospitality, professionalism, and commitment to employee flourishing. Coordinate virtual and in-person recruiting activities and ensure candidates receive clear, timely, and respectful communication. Facilitate a smooth transition from accepted offer to onboarding, orientation, integration, and employee-specific onboarding pathways. Partner with HR Operations, onboarding and development leaders, Academic Affairs, and hiring departments to support effective new-hire transitions. Identify and address candidate-experience gaps and recommend practical improvements. 6. Compliance, Documentation, and Hiring Governance Apply university policies and established hiring requirements and support compliance with applicable federal and state employment laws. Maintain complete, accurate, confidential, and auditable recruitment and selection records. Promote consistent, job-related screening and selection practices and appropriate candidate disposition documentation. Identify and escalate potential hiring, compensation, conflict-of-interest, records, or compliance concerns to the appropriate HR leader. Support process standardization and governance across divisions, campuses, and employee populations. 7. Workday Recruiting and Systems Support Use Workday Recruiting as the primary platform for requisition, candidate, interview, disposition, offer, and hiring workflow administration. Support hiring managers and search committees in using Workday recruiting processes and employee or manager self-service practices. Monitor workflows, data quality, approvals, and aging activity and resolve or escalate process issues. Participate in Workday testing, optimization, reporting, automation, and system-enhancement initiatives affecting recruitment. Maintain accurate candidate and recruiting data and support electronic records-management requirements. 8. Reporting, Workforce Planning, and Continuous Improvement Monitor recruiting measures such as time-to-fill, requisition aging, candidate pipelines, source effectiveness, offer acceptance, and hiring activity. Prepare recruiting dashboards, hiring reports, and workforce insights for HR and institutional leaders. Identify recurring delays, process gaps, and opportunities to improve hiring quality, velocity, governance, and stakeholder experience. Support workforce-planning discussions by identifying emerging hiring needs, labor-market trends, and talent risks. Participate in talent acquisition projects, process improvement, policy development, cross-training, and business continuity planning. Perform other duties as assigned that are consistent with the purpose and level of the position. Supervisory Responsibilities None. The position may coordinate search committees, recruiting vendors, temporary resources, career-event activities, or project teams without formal supervisory authority. Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Communications, Organizational Leadership, Higher Education Administration, or a related field; equivalent relevant education and experience may be considered. Three years of progressively responsible recruiting, talent acquisition, staffing, human resources, or related experience. Experience managing multiple concurrent full-cycle recruitment processes. Experience using an applicant tracking system or HR information system. Demonstrated ability to evaluate candidates against documented qualifications and provide clear recommendations. Strong communication, organization, project management, interpersonal, and customer-service skills. Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and manage sensitive information professionally. Preferred Qualifications Experience recruiting in higher education, online education, a mission-driven organization, or a faith-based institution. Experience supporting faculty, academic, staff, adjunct, student, high-volume, hard-to-fill, or leadership recruitment. Workday Recruiting or Workday HCM experience. Experience with structured interviews, search committees, talent sourcing, recruitment marketing, employment branding, or workforce planning. Experience supporting a multi-campus, remote, or multi-state workforce. SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, AIRS, or another relevant professional certification. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Knowledge Full-cycle recruiting, talent sourcing, candidate pipeline development, and selection practices. Higher education recruitment methods and faculty, adjunct, staff, and student hiring processes. Applicant tracking systems, preferably Workday Recruiting. Job-related candidate assessment, structured interviewing, recruiting documentation, confidentiality, and records-management practices. Recruitment metrics, workforce planning, employment branding, and process improvement principles. Skills and Abilities Build credibility and productive relationships with candidates, hiring managers, academic leaders, search committees, and cross-functional partners. Manage multiple searches, recurring deadlines, and shifting priorities with strong attention to detail and follow-through. Develop sourcing strategies and qualified candidate pipelines for varied employee populations. Communicate clearly and professionally in writing, by telephone, virtually, and in person. Use recruiting data and systems to identify trends, improve workflows, and support decisions. Balance strategic thinking, consultation, hospitality, and operational execution. Work independently, exercise sound judgment, and maintain confidentiality and data integrity. Adapt to changing organizational needs and support consistent practices across divisions and locations. Core Competencies Talent Acquisition and Candidate Assessment Candidate Experience and Service Excellence Relationship Building and Collaboration Consultation, Communication, and Influence Organization and Project Management Sound Judgment and Confidentiality Data and Technology Fluency Process Improvement and Systems Thinking Operational Excellence and Accountability Mission Alignment and Cultural Stewardship Hospitality and Candidate Care Adaptability and Organizational Agility Professional Development and Training Ongoing training in Workday Recruiting, reporting, workflows, and applicable system enhancements. Continuing education in recruiting practices, structured interviewing, hiring compliance, sourcing, employment branding, and workforce planning. Training regarding ACU hiring policies, records management, data privacy, candidate experience, and mission-centered employment practices. Professional development supporting higher education, faculty, leadership, multi-state, and specialized recruitment as assigned. Physical and Work Environment Requirements Work is generally performed in an office, hybrid, or remote environment. Extensive use of computers, video conferencing, telephone, applicant tracking systems, and recruiting technologies. Ability to remain stationary for extended periods and perform detailed computer-based work. Frequent interaction with candidates, employees, faculty, managers, search committees, and institutional leaders. Occasional travel between ACU locations and to recruiting events may be required, including limited overnight travel. Occasional evenings or weekend participation may be required for interviews, recruiting events, or priority searches. Ability to communicate clearly in person, virtually, in writing, and by telephone, and to work effectively under pressure. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions. Time Demands The position must remain responsive during priority searches, high-volume recruiting periods, academic hiring cycles, and other critical institutional staffing needs. Work schedules may require occasional flexibility to support candidate availability, interviews, recruiting events, and time-sensitive hiring decisions. ACU does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, disability, genetic information, national or ethnic origin in employment opportunities, in keeping with applicable state and federal law. ACU is committed to maintaining a safe and secure campus environment and protecting the university's financial and physical assets. Therefore, Abilene Christian University conducts background checks on all candidates for employment in security sensitive positions. As a current employee, it will be determined if you need an additional background check upon your hire.