Talent Acquisition Manager

Talent Acquisition ManagerBetter Trucks. Better World.We're raising the standard for what a medium-duty truck should be — delivering vehicles, infrastructure, and support designed to work for you.About the RoleWorkhorse is seeking an experienced and highly driven Talent Acquisition Manager to lead and elevate our talent acquisition function. This is a hands-on leadership role designed for an experienced recruiter who excels at identifying and attracting technical and professional talent while also building scalable recruiting processes, systems, and strategies.The Talent Acquisition Manager will initially operate as a highly hands-on individual contributor, personally managing critical and difficult-to-fill searches across the organization. A significant focus will be placed on recruiting for engineering, technical, manufacturing, supply chain, operations, IT, leadership, and other salaried professional positions.Beyond recruiting, this individual will take ownership of strengthening the overall talent acquisition function, including our recruiting module/ATS, workflows, processes, reporting, candidate experience, hiring-manager practices, and recruiting tools.As the organization and hiring needs grow, this position will have the opportunity to build, develop, and lead a Talent Acquisition team.What You Will DoManage full-cycle recruiting for technical, professional, salaried, and leadership positions across the organization.Serve as a subject matter expert in recruiting highly skilled and difficult-to-fill talent, particularly within engineering, manufacturing, automotive/EV, technology, supply chain, operations, and related technical functions.Partner closely with hiring managers and business leaders to understand organizational needs, technical requirements, team structure, and ideal candidate profiles.Develop proactive sourcing strategies rather than relying solely on inbound applicants.Build pipelines of passive technical and professional candidates for current and anticipated hiring needs.Conduct effective candidate screening and assessment to ensure candidates meet both technical requirements and organizational expectations.Manage candidates throughout the recruiting lifecycle, from initial outreach through offer acceptance and transition into preboarding.Provide hiring managers with market intelligence regarding candidate availability, compensation expectations, competitive hiring trends, and recruiting challenges.Create recruiting strategies for positions that are difficult to fill or have historically experienced long time-to-fill.Talent Acquisition Strategy & Process ImprovementEvaluate the current talent acquisition function and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, quality, and scalability.Develop and implement standardized recruiting workflows and processes across the organization.Establish clear expectations and ownership throughout the recruiting lifecycle.Continuously evaluate recruiting practices and recommend improvements based on data, business needs, candidate feedback, and hiring-manager feedback.Develop structured processes for intake meetings, interview planning, candidate evaluation, interview feedback, offer approvals, and recruiting closeout.Partner with HR leadership to establish a scalable Talent Acquisition model that supports the organization's future growth.ATS / Recruiting Module OwnershipServe as the primary functional owner and subject matter expert for the company's recruiting module/Applicant Tracking System.Evaluate and redesign recruiting workflows to improve efficiency and eliminate unnecessary manual processes.Maintain requisition templates, approval workflows, candidate stages, interview processes, communication templates, and system configurations.Ensure recruiting data is accurate, consistent, and properly maintained.Identify opportunities for automation within the recruiting process.Develop recruiting dashboards and reporting to provide HR and leadership with visibility into hiring activity and performance.Train recruiters, HR team members, and hiring managers on appropriate use of the recruiting system and established processes.Hiring Manager PartnershipAct as a strategic recruiting partner to hiring managers and senior leaders.Conduct structured intake meetings for new requisitions to establish position requirements, recruiting strategy, interview teams, compensation parameters, and hiring timelines.Coach hiring managers on effective interviewing, candidate selection, and recruiting best practices.Establish expectations regarding timely interview feedback and candidate decisions.Challenge hiring assumptions when appropriate and provide market-based recommendations.Create a consistent and professional hiring-manager experience across the organization.Candidate Experience & Employer BrandEnsure candidates receive clear, timely, and professional communication throughout the recruiting process.Continuously improve the candidate experience from initial contact through offer acceptance and preboarding.Partner with HR and Marketing as appropriate to strengthen Workhorse's employer brand and employment messaging.Develop consistent candidate communication templates and recruiting materials.Monitor candidate feedback and identify opportunities to improve the recruiting experience.Recruiting Analytics & ReportingDevelop and monitor key Talent Acquisition metrics, including:Time-to-fillTime-to-hireRequisition agingCost-per-hireSource effectivenessOffer acceptance rateCandidate pipeline healthHiring-manager responsivenessAgency utilization and spendCandidate experienceNew-hire recruiting feedbackUse recruiting data to identify bottlenecks, forecast hiring challenges, and recommend improvements to HR and business leadership.Vendor & Agency ManagementEvaluate external recruiting agency utilization and identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary recruiting fees.Establish guidelines for when external recruiting agencies should be utilized.Manage recruiting vendor relationships and evaluate vendor performance.Develop internal sourcing capabilities that reduce dependency on third-party recruiters.Partner with HR leadership to evaluate recruiting technologies, sourcing platforms, and other TA tools.Future Team LeadershipHelp design the future structure of the Talent Acquisition function.Identify future staffing and resource needs based on recruiting volume and organizational growth.Participate in the selection and hiring of future Talent Acquisition team members.Develop recruiting standards, training, expectations, and performance metrics.Lead, coach, and develop Talent Acquisition team members as the function expands.Create a culture of urgency, accountability, collaboration, and exceptional service within Talent Acquisition.RequirementsRequired Qualifications & SkillsBachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.7+ years of progressive full-cycle recruiting or Talent Acquisition experience.Significant experience recruiting technical and professional salaried positions.Demonstrated success sourcing and recruiting passive candidates.Strong experience working with Applicant Tracking Systems and recruiting technology.Experience developing or improving recruiting processes and workflows.Strong understanding of sourcing strategies, interviewing practices, candidate assessment, and offer management.Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex searches simultaneously.Strong communication, organization, and stakeholder-management skills.Ability to confidently partner with hiring managers and senior leaders.PreferredPrevious Talent Acquisition leadership or team-lead experience.Experience building or scaling a Talent Acquisition function.Recruiting experience within automotive, electric vehicles, manufacturing, engineering, technology, or another highly technical environment.Experience configuring or optimizing recruiting/ATS workflows.Experience developing Talent Acquisition dashboards and recruiting analytics.Experience reducing external agency dependency and recruiting costs.Experience supporting recruiting across multiple locations.Why WorkhorseLead the Future of Electric MobilityWorkhorse is a leading electric vehicle company focused on delivering sustainable, purpose-built solutions that are transforming last-mile delivery and commercial transportation.Dog-Friendly WorkplaceWe believe great ideas come from people who feel comfortable being themselves—four-legged teammates included at many of our locations.Strong, People-First CultureWe foster a collaborative, respectful, and