Talent Acquisition Specialist

Department: Human Resources 

Job Type: Limited Term

Full-time/Part-time: Full Time (>=1249 hrs/year) 

Campus: Waterloo 

Reports to: Associate Director, Talent Acquisition and Employee Experience

Employee Group: CPAG 

Application Deadline: 05/22/2025 

Requisition ID: 9257 

Wilfrid Laurier University is a leading multi-campus university that excels at educating with purpose. Through its exceptional employees, students, researchers, leaders, and educators, Laurier has built a reputation as a world-class institution known for its rich student experience, academic excellence, and global impact. With a commitment to Indigenization and commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, Laurier’s thriving community has a place for everyone.

Laurier has more than 21,000 students and 2,100 faculty and staff across campuses in Waterloo and Brantford, as well locations in Kitchener and Milton. The university is committed to providing an inclusive workplace, a flexible work policy and employing a workforce that is reflective of local and national demographics. Laurier's Waterloo, Kitchener, and Brantford campuses are located on the shared traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolizes the agreement to share, protect our resources, and not to engage in conflict.  Laurier's Milton campus is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and part of the Nanfan Treaty of 1701 between the British Crown and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Director, Talent Acquisition and Employee Experience and part of the Talent and Organizational Development team, the Talent Acquisition Specialist works collaboratively with hiring managers across multiple campuses as a strategic recruitment business partner. The Talent Acquisition Specialist provides strategic advice, expertise, coordination and delivery of end-to-end talent acquisition services to hiring managers for both union and non-union staff and management recruitment. As an experienced recruiter, the Talent Acquisition Specialist drives strategic and equitable recruitment and selection practices focused on attracting, sourcing, recruiting, negotiating, onboarding and retaining diverse talent which supports a thriving and future-ready community. The Talent Acquisition Specialist will work to support Laurier’s strategic priorities, including its commitments towards Indigenization and equity, diversity and inclusion.

Given the nature of the role, the Talent Acquisition Specialist must apply a high level of discretion and confidentiality. The Talent Acquisition Specialist must also be well-versed with the collective agreements and  principles of employment equity and work with managers to uphold equitable employment practices in a competitive talent market.

As well as performing administrative duties, the incumbent will participate on special projects and committees relating to broader Talent and Organizational Development and Human Resources matters.

Accountabilities

1. Recruitment:

• Leads and delivers end-to-end talent acquisition services
• Provides strategic recruitment advice on Laurier’s recruitment and selection processes
• Provides consultation to the hiring manager in developing recruitment plans based on collective agreement obligations, current market trends, talent availability and employment equity best practices.  Duties include:  reviewing job descriptions, advertisement preparation, direct sourcing and outreach planning and execution, reviewing areas of underrepresentation, screening of resumes, recommending assessment tools, creating, reviewing and  preparing of assessments, interview questions, and evaluation matrix that align with positions qualifications, accommodation requests, drafting and negotiating offers with candidates and notifying unsuccessful candidates with feedback;
• Ensuring job postings are compliant with Collective Agreement, university policies and applicable legislation
• Applying relevant employment legislation and collective agreement language on matters pertaining to terms and conditions of employments
• Provides guidance and ensures proper interpretation of collective agreements as they relate to recruitment, while collaborating with Human Resource Consultants ;
• Provides subject matter expertise related to recruitment best practices, and University policies, procedures, agreements, and guidelines; when hiring managers are out of practice
• Bringing forward union obligations when hiring managers want to hire outside of practice or guidelines
• Determine and recommend appropriate starting salary for all new hires, including reviewing candidate’s experience against the posted requirements, reviewing internal equity data,  and conducting market research on salaries for similar role.
• Seeking approvals from Director, Total rewards for salary that fall outside the compensation policy guidelines.
• Determine appropriate starting salaries for positions which are exempt from bargaining unit by reviewing
• Creates sound recruitment plans to ensure a strong candidate experience, retain candidates in a competitive talent environment and meet critical vacancy demands of key areas to the University’s operations.

2. Outreach

• Participate in strategic recruitment initiatives, including leading and participating in events, branding and community outreach;
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders;
• Conducts market research to determine talent trends and talent pool availability
• Project manages third party search vendors to assist with hard-to-fill recruitment needs
• Researches new talent sources to access passive talent in a competitive marketspace
• Analyze talent data and industry trends to develop and implement strategic recruitment plans to recruit passive talent and maintain talent pipelines;
• Networking and maintaining talent pipelines

3. Onboarding

• Provide input into the creation and implementation of on-going onboarding initiatives including new employee orientation and material provided to new employees;
• Maintains onboarding system to identify issues and work with HRIS for resolution to ensure positive new employee experiences
• Maintaining a timely and positive candidate onboarding experience

4. Career Portal Implementation and Improvement:

• Reviews current functionality of the Career Portal and identifies gaps/errors and works with HRIS to address the issues in a timely manner
• Documents current functionality issues and tracks status of improvement
• Develops and implements interim solutions to maintain strong candidate experience while issues are addressed
• Utilizing the HRIS and ATS to facilitate effective management of recruitment process

5. Training

• Participate in the development and delivery of training programs for hiring managers on recruitment processes and best practices
• Training student employees

6. Administrative

• Managesadministrative components related to recruitment activities including but not limited to template creation, job posting/advertising, interview questions and matrixes,  interview scheduling and candidate correspondence
• Proctoring assessments
• Manages student employees to assist with administrative components related to recruitment activities.
• Works with Talent Coordinator in any of the areas related to recruitment
• Collects and ensures accurate and defensible records for all requisitions, interviews, and decisions including salary calculations and academic credentials, reference checks, and interview notes and evaluations
• Provides back up for other Talent Acquisition Specialist
• Provides assistance for senior administrative search processes during times of high volume
• Answers inquiries from potential applicants and candidates
• Manages Talent inbox, and responds to inquiries from candidates and hiring managers

Qualifications

• University degree and/or college diploma in a related field (e.g. business administration, psychology, communications, social sciences), preferably with a concentration in Human Resources Management;
• Minimum of 2-5 years of experience in a full cycle talent acquisition
• Experience and knowledge of equity, diversity and inclusion in recruitment practices and recruiting talent from equity deserving groups including those who identify as Indigenous, racialized, having disabilities and as sexual and/or gender minorities.
• Experience in analyzing job requirements and determining effective outreach methods and advertising strategies for talent acquisition purposes;
• Knowledge and practice of working with union and non-union employee groups;
• Knowledge and practice of interpreting and applying collective agreements to ensure compliant and equitable recruitment practices
• Proven ability to provide sound advice, consultation and guidance on recruitment best practices;
• Proven ability to source and recruit passive talent in a competitive marketspace
• Excellent communication skills in order to ensure the clarity of roles, accountabilities and expectations in all interactions;
• Strong organizational skills including the ability to multi-task,  project manage, prioritize and strong attention to detail;
• High level of customer service and professionalism;
• Knowledge of applicable legislation such as Employment Standards Act, Labour Relations Act, Human Rights Code
• Demonstrated proficiency in HRIS systems, and cloud-based systems;
• High regard for the sensitivity and confidentiality of information;

Preferred or Asset Skills:

• Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) or Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation;
• Demonstrated experience in a public sector environment

Hours of work

This is a full-time limited term position from August 8, 2025 to  August, 8, 2026. The normal hours of work are Monday to Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm.

This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement, as per Policy 8.14 (Flexible Work Policy). In-person attendance for events, as required to meet operational needs, is expected. On occasion, this schedule may need to be adjusted to meet operational requirements.

Compensation

Level: EX- G

Salary:  $70,992 - $84,892 annually 

Considerations for new hire salaries include, qualifications and length/depth of required experience, relevant market rates for similar jobs, internal equity, and estimated learning curve in starting the job.

Wilfrid Laurier University endeavors to fill positions with qualified candidates who have a combination of education, experience, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position while demonstrating Laurier's Employee Success Factors.

Equity, diversity and creating a culture of inclusion are part of Laurier’s core values and central to the Laurier Strategy. Laurier is committed to increasing the diversity of faculty and staff and welcomes applications from candidates who identify as Indigenous, racialized, having disabilities, and from persons of any minority sexual and gender identities. Indigenous candidates who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives. Candidates from other equity deserving groups who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact Equity & Accessibility. We have strived to make our application process accessible, however if you require any assistance applying for a position or would like this job posting in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources. Contact information can be found at careers.wlu.ca/content/How-to-apply/

Should you be interested in learning more about this opportunity, please visit www.wlu.ca/careers for additional information and the online application system. All applications must be submitted online. Please note, a resume and cover letter will be required in electronic form.