Talent Acquisition Specialist
The Talent Acquisition Specialist leads comprehensive recruiting and talent management activities within a manufacturing environment, partnering closely with operations and corporate leaders to attract, hire, and retain top talent. This role manages full life-cycle recruiting, supports onboarding and engagement initiatives, ensures compliance with HR regulations, and drives employer branding and talent strategies to optimize workforce performance and organizational growth. The position requires strong relationship-building, organizational skills, and proficiency with recruiting technologies, operating fully onsite at the Cedar Rapids facility.
About Careertakes
👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, manufacturing industry.
Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.
What You’ll Do
This Contract-to-Hire Talent Acquisition Specialist will partner with the Confidential Client’s Cedar Rapids site to lead full life‑cycle recruiting and support HR/talent initiatives that strengthen operations, increase retention, and improve associate experience.
- Lead full life‑cycle recruiting for production, skilled trades, technical, and site support roles: sourcing, screening, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and onboarding.
- Act as primary recruitment liaison between plant leadership and corporate HR/Talent Management.
- Develop and maintain recruitment dashboards, KPIs, and the campus organizational chart to provide visibility into hiring activity and workforce structure.
- Use CRM/ATS tools (ideal: UKG), Boolean search, LinkedIn, job boards, and social sourcing to identify active and passive talent.
- Conduct new‑hire orientation, stay interviews, and exit interviews; support disciplinary processes in partnership with HR.
- Coordinate career fairs, campus outreach, employer‑branding events, facility tours, and other talent outreach activities.
- Manage temporary labor needs and relationships with external staffing partners.
- Support onboarding, performance management cycles, engagement surveys, and organizational talent reviews.
- Help maintain accurate personnel, medical, and training records; ensure timely completion of HR forms and documentation.
- Maintain compliance with federal and state legal requirements and EEOC reporting and integrate requirements into practices.
- Advise hiring teams on market conditions, talent availability, compensation trends, and candidate pipelines to inform proactive talent strategies.
- Assist with benefits activities on site (open enrollment, leaves, new‑hire enrollment) and coordinate candidate travel when needed.
Who You Are (Qualifications)
- Bachelor’s degree OR at least 2 years of recruiting/talent acquisition experience.
- Experience with full life‑cycle recruiting and candidate sourcing techniques.
- Comfortable using applicant tracking systems and recruiting CRMs (UKG experience strongly preferred).
- Strong relationship‑building and consultative skills; customer‑service mindset with hiring managers and candidates.
- Knowledge of HR compliance, government reporting, and EEOC requirements.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple requisitions, dashboards, and records simultaneously.
- Proactive, self‑starter attitude; able to drive projects and recruiting activities forward.
- Open to recent graduates or entry‑level candidates who show strong motivation and willingness to learn.
Preferred / Additional Skills
- Experience supporting onboarding, engagement, performance management, or retention programs.
- Administrative or coordination experience within HR or recruiting.
- Familiarity with benefits administration (open enrollment, leaves of absence).
- Experience running or supporting employer branding, campus programs, or community hiring events.
- Prior experience hiring in a manufacturing or operations environment is a plus.
Compensation & Benefits
- Pay range: $25.00 - $30.00 per hour (Contract to Hire). Actual compensation will depend on qualifications, experience, and other job‑related factors.
- Temporary assignment with potential for direct hire and eligibility for a full benefits package upon transition to direct employment.
- If eligible, temporary benefits may include: medical, dental & vision; 401(k) retirement plan; voluntary life & AD&D; short & long‑term disability; HSA; transportation benefits; Employee Assistance Program; and paid time off policies.
Work Environment & Logistics
- Location: Cedar Rapids, IA — fully onsite at a manufacturing facility with a professional office adjacent to operations.
- Frequent interaction with production/operations teams and corporate stakeholders; routine use of computers and ATS/CRM tools.
- The role emphasizes safety, collaboration, and strong working relationships across departments.
- Anticipated application close date: Oct 23, 2026.
About the Confidential Client
Confidential Client is hiring locally to support growth at their Cedar Rapids manufacturing site. This role supports long‑term workforce planning and delivers operational recruiting and HR/talent processes that help the site meet business objectives.
Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency
Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.
If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.
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