Executive Recruiter

University Human Resources, Talent Management focuses on the attraction, development, engagement, and retention of employees, beginning with talent acquisition and onboarding, continuing through benefits and Learning & Organizational Development (L&OD), and closing with retirement. Along the USC career journey, this team provides ongoing development and meaningful experiences that allow our employees to thrive and in turn help the university grow and achieve its central mission.

The Opportunity:

USC’s University Human Resources, Talent Acquisition department is seeking an experienced and excellence-driven Executive Recruiter to deliver the highest quality full-cycle executive recruitment services to fill a variety of leadership, professional, and specialty positions. The Executive Recruiter will support university hiring managers and collaborate with university leaders, human resources partners, administrators and hiring teams to foster relationships and deliver customized talent acquisition services that attract, identify, hire, and retain a richly diverse best-in-class talent pool for the university. The Executive Recruiter will also provide consultative services to meet the talent acquisition needs in areas such as employer branding, strategic sourcing, DEI&B strategies, assessment and selection, and will partner with external, third-party search firms for selected search firm engagements, as necessary. The Executive Recruiter will enable USC’s vision by championing its culture and values, while positioning USC as a world-class employer and ensuring an exceptional client, candidate, and employee experience.

Job Responsibilities

• Performing other related responsibilities as requested and when necessary. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.
• Submits applications of the highest quality and most suitable executive/professional/specialty talent available in the marketplace to hiring managers for designated positions.
• Interacts with external recruitment vendors and consortiums for talent pools and is responsible for identifying and building relationships with professionals in numerous specializations, matching the talents of those professionals with open searches. Determines and understands prospective candidate career aspirations and professional goals and matches them with the needs of the university.
• Identifies and attracts prospective candidates using a variety of channels such as media advertising, networking, social media platforms (i.e., LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Develops comprehensive profiles to advertise positions.
• Please note that while this role is not required to be on site daily, professional discretion to establish relationships should be exercised at all times, and travel to campus will be required, as necessary.
• Delivers the highest quality of full-cycle executive, professional and specialty recruitment services to hiring managers within the university. Meets and partners with executives, human resources partners, and/or hiring managers to obtain a clear view on strategic and financial objectives, requirements and hiring needs for specific executive/professional/specialty positions. Collaborates with executives, human resources partners, and/or hiring managers on strategic planning efforts and direction and provides creative solutions. Makes formal presentations as appropriate.
• Stays informed of developments in field. Reads pertinent literature, attends meetings, and participates in professional associates as appropriate. Establishes and maintains an active network of professional contacts.
• Conducts in depth screening of perspective candidates to establish suitability based on information gathered during recruitment intake meeting. Designs and executes valid, reliable, and consistent interviewing and selection practices to ensure a fair and equitable recruitment process that delivers the best available candidates for further consideration.
• Provides suggestions, direction, and guidance to the development of sourcing strategies in partnership with other departmental staff to ensure that all sourcing efforts will attract the highest caliber talent.
• Devises and carries out a targeted research strategy.
• Develops a variety of recruitment communications including compelling recruitment advertising announcements, executive candidate summaries, recruitment status reports and other communication vehicles for various audiences.
• Provides guidance and direction to hiring managers and others involved in the talent acquisition process to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations and reporting obligations.
• Develops and maintains a national portfolio of top talent.
• Establishes partnerships with hiring managers and other managerial professionals to provide coaching and consultation in areas such as recruitment management, employer branding, selection strategies, and other talent acquisition relation functions.
• Partners with third-party search firms as necessary. Manages the search firm process to ensure compliance with university policy, and state, local and federal regulations.
• Facilitates panel or individual interviews with hiring managers and executives to ensure consistent and effective selection practices are being used and provides recruitment expertise in the process of final selection. Designs interview questions, guides applicants through the process, and provides guidance during the interview process with all panel participants.

Preferred Qualifications

The ideal candidate for the position of Executive Recruiter has the following qualifications:

• Ten or more years of experience in one or more of the following fields: human resources, talent acquisition, sourcing, recruiting.
• Ability to proactively network and both nationally and globally and establish effective working relationships.
• Any of the following certifications: CIPD, CPLP, CPTD, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, SPHR.
• Ability to create strategies for difficult-to-fill positions, and screen senior level candidates.
• Experience in higher education.
• Experience engaging with and managing third-party search firms to ensure quality of service and compliance with university policy and state/federal regulations.
• Extensive experience providing recruiting and sourcing advice to senior talent leaders and hiring managers.
• Knowledge and experience with the principles, best practices, and techniques relevant to college/school/university fundraising programs and/or major campaigns.
• Ability to continually seek new sourcing options.
• Advanced degree in business, psychology, human resources, communications, or related field.
• Ideal candidates will have a minimum of 3 years of experience in recruiting positions within Foundation Relations, Corporate Relations, Development or Advancement Services, preferably in a large university setting.

The annual base salary range for this position is $113,769.58 - $125,000.00. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

The University of Southern California is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree; Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education. Minimum Experience: 8 years. Minimum Field of Expertise: Directly related senior management/executive level recruitment experience in a university or corporate environment. Excellent communications skills both written and verbal. Demonstrated interpersonal, networking, analytical, and facilitation skills. Ability to network and build relationships with prospects and candidates. Strong knowledge of candidate selection methods and recruiting best practices. Proven track record of success with both clients and candidates at the senior management/executive levels.