Talent Acquisition Specialist

About the position:

THIS IS NOT A REMOTE POSITION; Consideration to working a hybrid work schedule (2 days remote/3 days in office) will be given after an assimilation period. Recruitment firms and contractors will not be considered and should not apply. 

The Talent Acquisition Specialist is how Arkana finds its people before they need them. This new position on Arkana's small but mighty HR Team is so much more than posting jobs and waiting for applicants—it proactively sources candidates, builds and nurtures talent pipelines, runs full-cycle recruitment, and handles the front end of onboarding. It recruits across the full range of Arkana’s positions, from lab techs to accounting, administrative, and operational roles. Physician recruiting is handled separately within the physician area and sits outside this role. For most candidates, this person is their first real experience of Arkana, long before a start date.

Everything we do at Arkana is grounded in three values: Pulling the Sled, Generosity, and Do Better, Try Harder. In this role, that means keeping searches moving when a dozen things compete for attention, treating every candidate and new hire like we would like to be treated, and staying curious about how to make hiring and compliance work better than they did last quarter while ensure excellent candidate experience.

What you'll do: 

Proactive Sourcing & Pipeline Building – 25% (Core)

Go find candidates and inform them of Arkana's amazing work atmosphere and environment instead of waiting for them to come to you. Build and maintain talent pipelines for Arkana’s recurring and hard-to-fill roles through direct outreach, networking, referrals, professional communities, and sourcing tools. Keep warm relationships with promising candidates so that when a role opens, there is already a bench to draw from rather than a search starting from zero.

Full-Cycle Recruitment – 20% (Core)

Partner with hiring managers to scope roles, write and refresh job descriptions, and design the recruitment strategy for each search — deciding which channels, sourcing mix, and screening approach fit the role, rather than following a fixed process for every requisition. Exercise independent judgment in evaluating candidates against both qualifications and fit, advancing or screening out applicants without requiring case-by-case sign-off, and advise hiring managers on interview design and candidate selection. Negotiate preliminary offer terms with candidates within approved compensation bands, escalating only matters outside that authority. Keep every search moving while providing excellent service to the supervisor and the candidate.

Onboarding Kickoff – 15% (Core)

Own the handoff from offer to onboarding, using judgment to resolve gaps or delays in pre-employment drug and background screening rather than escalating every exception. Design and maintain the HRIS processes and checklists that govern this handoff, deciding how they should evolve as issues surface, so nothing gets missed between the offer and the first day.

Greenhouse (ATS) Administration – 10% (Core)

Own Greenhouse configuration and workflow design as the subject-matter expert, deciding how stages, templates, and automations should be structured, and manage the vendor relationship. Set the standard for candidate communication timing and quality across the team, and coach hiring supervisors on using the system well.

AI in Recruiting & HR – 10% (Core)

Decide where and how AI tools should be applied in this role—both within Greenhouse and the recruiting workflow (sourcing, screening, candidate communication, scheduling) and in day-to-day HR tasks—and choose which approaches to adopt or discontinue based on results. Identify where these tools help, test new approaches, and report back on what works and what doesn’t so the team can scale what does. This is an expected part of the role, not an optional add-on, and growth in this area will be part of how performance is measured.

Compliance, Legal & Training – 10% (Core)

Maintain solid working knowledge of the employment laws that govern recruitment—EEO, ADA, FCRA background checks, and federal contractor obligations—enough to spot issues and to train and coach hiring managers on lawful, effective recruitment and interviewing practices. Provide administrative support to the Chief People Officer on immigration and work authorization matters for applicable candidates and employees—completing and tracking required paperwork, processing fees, and flagging issues for the CPO. Own the Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) processes and reporting, making the calls needed to keep them compliant and on time, and flag where policies or practices need to change as the law does.

Recruiting Metrics, Reporting & Workforce Planning – 10% (Core)

Collect, monitor, and report on the metrics that show how recruiting is performing—time-to-fill, candidate and quality-of-hire measures, source effectiveness, offer-acceptance, and turnover and retention trends. Bring these to the Chief People Officer on a regular cadence, with context and recommendations rather than raw numbers, and use what the data shows to collaborate with CPO to sharpen sourcing and improve the process. Support workforce planning by analyzing staffing needs and building processes to map and track Arkana’s future talent pipeline.

Other Job-related Duties as Assigned

The right person doesn’t wait for the perfect applicant to show up—they go find them, and they bring a way of working that makes Arkana’s hiring faster, fairer, more compliant, and more human.

Pulling the Sled

• Hunter mindset – They don’t wait for a requisition to open to start looking. They’re always building relationships and pipelines using systems thinking, so Arkana isn’t starting from scratch every time a role comes up.
• Calm under competing demands – Sourcing is open-ended, two interviews need scheduling, a manager needs coaching around interview question development, and an AAP report is due. The ideal candidate manages it all without letting quality or accuracy slip.

Generosity

• Candidate-first mindset – Every candidate, whether they applied or were sourced directly, is forming an opinion of Arkana based on how this role treats them. The ideal candidate sees the person behind the resume and treats the experience as part of someone’s first impression of the company.
• Discretion as instinct – They handle salary history, accommodation requests, and personnel details the way they should be handled. It’s second nature, not a rule they have to be reminded of.

Do Better, Try Harder

• Legally grounded – They know the employment law that applies to hiring—EEO, ADA, FCRA, and federal contractor and AAP obligations—well enough to coach managers on the fundamentals, and they know when a question is above the line and needs to be escalated. They treat staying current as part of being good at the job, not a chore.
• AI-forward – Using AI is part of how this role is expected to work, not a someday goal. They know how to apply it within Greenhouse and the ATS, and in everyday HR work, to make sourcing, recruitment, and communication faster and fairer. Some experiments won’t land the first time, and they treat that as part of the process.

How this role operates:

How the work gets done matters as much as the work itself. The ideal candidate brings three habits in particular:

• Proactive communication and follow-through. The ideal candidate keeps a regular, predictable cadence of updates and surfaces information early, while there is still plenty of time to act on it. They lean toward over-communicating, and they follow a simple rule: if something seems worth mentioning, it is worth mentioning.
• Recommendations that move work forward. The ideal candidate brings a point of view to every update—here is the situation, here is what I recommend, and here is why. Leading with a recommendation shows they have thought through the full picture, and it sharpens their judgment over time; it does not have to be the final decision to be valuable.
• Process discipline and built-in checkpoints. The ideal candidate builds reliable checkpoints into their workflows so the work is consistently accurate and complete. They take the time to fully understand a request before starting, and they confirm the work is right before considering it done—focused on delivering something they can stand behind.

You should have: 

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field plus a minimum of 3-5 years experience in similar role w/recruiting and pipeline development experience (or equivalent experience and/or education combined may be considered)
• HR Certification required (either through SHRM or HRCI) or willingness to obtain in 12-18 months

Experience:     

• Experience as system administrator and expert user of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS); Greenhouse preferred
• Knowledge of HR practices, regulations, and compliance requirements including those related to Federal Contractors and Affirmative Action Plans (AAP)
• Experience using various AI platforms to scale HR processes to provide better customer and candidate experience along with improving efficiencies
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritize effectively
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• High level of discretion and ability to handle sensitive and confidential information
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team
• Demonstrated problem-solving and decision-making abilities

Technology Skills:  

• Proficiency in HRIS and MS Office 365 (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel etc)
• Working knowledge of how to apply AI tools within Greenhouse and the ATS workflow, and in day-to-day HR work, to improve efficiency and the candidate and employee experience
• Solid working knowledge of federal and state employment law as it applies to recruitment and hiring (e.g., EEO, ADA, FCRA, work authorization/immigration, and OFCCP/Affirmative Action obligations), with the ability to coach hiring managers on the fundamentals and the judgment to escalate complex matters when appropriate
• Proficiency with LinkedIn Recruiter and other proactive sourcing channels and tools (professional networks and candidate databases)

Additional Information: This position may involve occasional driving for business purposes using a company, personal, or rental vehicle. Employees must maintain a valid driver’s license and adhere to Arkana's Vehicle Operations Policy. Driving records will be monitored and any policy violations may result in disciplinary action. Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs) will be checked before hire, periodically during employment, and as needed.