Reporting to: Director, Talent Acquisition with additional reporting/dotted line to CHRO
Position Summary: The Senior Manager of Recruiting Operations is a strategic and operational leader responsible for scaling, optimizing, and governing recruiting programs, processes, and infrastructure across the enterprise. This role supports the core recruiting team (reporting to the Director of Recruiting) by enabling efficiency, consistency, compliance, and data-driven decision-making, while also assuming ownership of recruiting technology initiatives as they mature from implementation into steady-state operations.
This leader serves as the key connection between Recruiting, Recruiting Technology, HR, Onboarding, and external partners—ensuring that recruiting programs, systems, and workflows are integrated, scalable, and aligned to business growth.
Key Responsibilities
Recruiting Operations Leadership
- Own day-to-day recruiting operations across programs, processes, vendors, and governance
- Establish standardized workflows, documentation, and operating rhythms for recruiting
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on recruiter efficiency, quality, and speed
- Serve as an escalation point for complex operational challenges impacting recruiters or hiring managers
- Develop and maintain recruiting operations roadmaps aligned to organizational growth
Recruiting Programs & Pipeline Strategy
- Lead and scale strategic recruiting pipeline programs, including:
- Scholars Program
- SkillBridge
- Alumni Networks
- Employee Referral Programs
- College Recruiting & Early Career Programs
- Oversee recruiting events, career fairs, recruiting socials, and targeted pipeline initiatives
- Partner with recruiters and hiring leaders to align pipeline programs to workforce plans and customer demands
- Develop success measures and report on outcomes, ROI, and conversion metrics for pipeline programs
Technology, Systems & CRM Ownership
- Assume operational ownership of recruiting technology projects as they transition from the Recruiting Technology Team into production
- Serve as primary owner for CRM maintenance, configuration governance, and data integrity
- Manage systems documentation, process flows, and user guides
- Partner with Recruiting Technology on roadmap planning, enhancements, and integrations
- Own tools such as CrossChq and other recruiting vendors post-implementation
Analytics, KPIs & Reporting
- Define, maintain, and evolve Recruiting Team’s strategic KPIs and develop quarterly reporting in collaboration with Recruiting Leadership and Talent Technology Manager
- Partner with leadership to translate recruiting data into actionable insights
- Ensure consistent reporting across pipeline health, recruiter productivity, time-to-fill, quality, and compliance
- Support data requests for leadership, proposals, audits, and compliance reviews
Recruiter Enablement & Training
- Develop and maintain onboarding checklists and training resources for new recruiters
- Own recruiter training programs, job aids, and best-practice documentation
- Maintain a centralized SharePoint site for recruiting resources, templates, and guidance
- Partner with the Director of Recruiting on skills development and capability building
Hiring Manager & Stakeholder Support
- Establish consistent hiring manager engagement models and interview program standards
- Develop interview training resources and structured interview frameworks
- Serve as liaison between Recruiting, HR, and Onboarding to ensure seamless handoffs
- Support internal transfers and redeployment processes in partnership with HR
Operational Governance & Compliance
- Own recruiting process documentation, SOPs, and audit-ready workflows
- Ensure compliance with applicable federal contractor requirements and internal policies
- Support contingent hiring process improvements and governance
- Track renewal dates, system access, and program compliance checkpoints
Financial & Vendor Management
- Track and manage the recruiting budget, including events, tools, and vendors
- Own vendor relationships, performance management, and renewals
- Oversee candidate travel reimbursements and related operational processes
- Manage email distribution lists and recruiting communications infrastructure
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
- 8+ years of experience in recruiting operations, talent acquisition operations, or HR operations
- Demonstrated experience scaling recruiting programs in a high-growth environment
- Strong understanding of ATS/CRM systems, recruiting technologies, and analytics
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence without direct authority
- Experience supporting compliance-driven recruiting environments (e.g., federal contracting, regulated industries)
- Exceptional organizational, documentation, and process-design skills
Preferred Qualifications
- 15+ years of experience in technical recruiting operations for aerospace, defense, technology, or IT recruiting in high growth environments
- Master’s degree in Business, Information Technology, Management, or related field
- Experience supporting technical, engineering, or cleared recruiting environments
- Hands-on experience with CRM/ATS optimization, dashboards, and KPI design
- Background in project management or operational transformation
- Familiarity with onboarding, internal mobility, and workforce redeployment programs
- Experience managing recruiting budgets and vendor portfolios
Success in This Role Looks Like
- Recruiters spend more time recruiting and less time navigating systems or processes
- Pipeline programs are measurable, scalable, and aligned to workforce needs
- Recruiting data is trusted, timely, and decision-ready
- Technology transitions from “new” to “operationally excellent”
- Hiring managers experience a consistent, professional, and efficient recruiting process
- Recruiting operations are audit-ready, documented, and continuously improving
