Recruitment and Talent Acquisition Manager

Role Overview

The Recruitment and Talent Acquisition Manager leads the end-to-end staffing approach to attract, onboard, and retain exceptional talent for Giordano's corporate offices, restaurant sites, and manufacturing facility. This position manages high-volume staffing for restaurant hourly roles and manufacturing hires while strategically targeting corporate leadership to address high turnover rates in hospitality.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with executive leadership, regional operations directors, and restaurant general managers to anticipate workforce needs across 30+ locations nationwide.
• Modernize recruitment strategies for hourly positions such as pizza cooks, servers, and hosts, along with salaried management roles.
• Develop sustainable talent pipelines to reduce hiring time and uphold brand hospitality standards for every candidate.
• Set up localized sourcing strategies tailored to high-turnover hourly jobs and critical leadership positions at various organizational levels.
• Improve and scale mobile-friendly Applicant Tracking Systems to streamline applicant processing.
• Represent and promote Giordano's 1974 Chicago heritage at hospitality job fairs, culinary school panels, and online platforms.
• Analyze recruitment metrics including time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, and 90-day retention to optimize sourcing investments.
• Forge partnerships with regional culinary schools to secure fresh talent pipelines.
• Organize localized hiring events for new restaurant launches and seasonal volume increases.
• Monitor employee review platforms to gauge and report on employer brand perception and sentiment.
• Deliver training workshops for hiring managers on compliant interviewing, bias reduction, and candidate communications.
• Co-develop and maintain compliant hiring documentation reflecting evolving labor laws and fair-chance hiring practices.
• Collaborate with HR and operations to establish clear career progression paths from hourly team members to management roles.
• Continuously update onboarding content to provide engaging and informative new hire experiences.
• Conduct exit interview data analysis to identify retention challenges and recommend cultural initiatives to leadership.
• Oversee background screening and drug testing vendors ensuring compliance and timely processing.
• Travel nationally up to 60% of the time to support recruitment and compliance activities.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years full-cycle recruitment experience within high-volume corporate restaurant or hospitality organizations.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Hospitality Management, Business Administration, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Proficiency in enterprise HRIS/ATS platforms and hospitality job portals such as UKG.
• Deep familiarity with labor markets in Chicago and the wider national hospitality sector.
• Strong interpersonal communication and negotiation skills across all organizational levels.
• Thorough knowledge of federal, state, and local employment regulations, including I-9 compliance and fair chance hiring laws.
• Ability to stand, walk, bend, reach, squat, lift up to 30 pounds, and perform repetitive hand motions extensively.

Additional Information

• Reports directly to Vice President of Human Resources.
• Engages with internal stakeholders including executive leadership, operations, restaurant managers, HR, and corporate staff.
• Interacts with external candidates, recruitment vendors, and restaurant industry networks.
• Physical demands include extensive travel and manual tasks as outlined above.