Vice President Talent Acquisition

A growing, Chicago-based financial services organization is seeking a Vice President of Talent Strategy & Culture to build the talent infrastructure required for its next stage of growth. The organization serves individuals, families, and business owners through a coordinated advisory model. Its continued success depends on attracting exceptional professionals, developing strong leaders, and giving high-performing employees opportunities to build lasting careers. This is not a traditional HR administration position. Recruiting will be central to the role, particularly identifying and cultivating senior professionals who may require a year or longer to recruit. The Vice President will also strengthen onboarding, employee development, succession planning, manager effectiveness, and retention. The right person will combine the instincts of an executive recruiter, the relationship skills of a business developer, and the operational discipline to build scalable talent programs. Key Responsibilities Strategic Recruiting Lead recruiting across the organization, including senior advisors, firm leaders, attorneys, tax and financial professionals, operational employees, administrative support, and early-career talent. Build long-term pipelines of passive candidates before hiring needs become urgent. Manage priority searches from market research and direct outreach through assessment, references, offers, closing, and integration. Establish consistent recruiting processes supported by target lists, candidate scorecards, interview standards, and clear selection criteria. Develop relationships with senior professionals whose recruiting processes may extend 12 to 18 months. Create a candidate experience that is organized, transparent, responsive, warm, and appropriately confidential. Partner with executive leadership to recruit individuals who could meaningfully influence the organization’s growth. Build referral networks and market intelligence that provide access to professionals who are unlikely to apply directly. Onboarding and Development Design structured onboarding and 30-, 60-, and 90-day plans for critical positions. Translate the practices of top performers into practical training resources, manager guides, and repeatable development programs. Create meaningful career paths for advisors, operational employees, administrative professionals, and interns. Develop learning programs that measure demonstrated capability and performance improvement, not simply course completion. Equip managers with tools for coaching, feedback, and employee development. Monitor whether development plans are being implemented and producing results. Build an accessible knowledge library that supports employee effectiveness and organizational continuity. Retention and Leadership Accountability Lead quarterly talent reviews focused on performance, succession, high-potential employees, organizational gaps, and retention concerns. Identify critical roles and create succession and contingency plans. Recognize leadership, employee relations, and retention issues before they become larger organizational problems. Hold department leaders accountable for coaching, supporting, and developing their teams. Address ineffective management practices or behavior that conflicts with the organization’s standards. Support a high-performance culture grounded in integrity, accountability, service, collaboration, and follow-through. Give exceptional employees clear opportunities for continued development and advancement. The Vice President will play an important role in the organization’s broader expansion strategy, including relationships with independent firms, senior producers, and potential market leaders. Responsibilities will include: Mapping prospective firm leaders, senior advisors, and other strategically important professionals. Developing relationships with individuals who could join, lead, or become affiliated with the organization. Evaluating the leadership strength and talent needs of potential affiliated teams. Creating talent-integration plans for new groups and employees. Communicating a complex business opportunity persuasively within established parameters. Recognizing when executive leadership should enter or lead a strategic conversation. Success in this area requires commercial judgment and an understanding of how talent, client relationships, leadership, and enterprise value connect. Leadership Partnerships The Vice President will report to a senior operational executive and work closely with the CEO and other members of the leadership team. The direct manager will serve as the primary operating partner for setting priorities and executing the talent strategy. The CEO will participate in recruiting and closing senior professionals and other enterprise-level hires. The finance leader will collaborate on headcount planning, compensation, benefits, and administration. Functional leaders will define business needs and oversee employees day to day. The Vice President will ensure recruiting, development, succession, and retention practices operate effectively across the organization. This position offers substantial visibility and influence, with a corresponding expectation of discretion, candor, maturity, and sound judgment. Measures of Success First 30 Days Learn the organization’s services, operating model, culture, and growth strategy. Build relationships with leaders and employees. Review current recruiting, onboarding, development, talent management, succession, and retention practices. Identify immediate priorities, risks, and opportunities. First 90 Days Introduce a disciplined recruiting and candidate-management process. Develop market maps and candidate scorecards for priority roles. Improve onboarding for business-critical positions. Facilitate the first organization-wide talent review. Present a 12-month talent and culture roadmap. First 12 Months Build a market map of approximately 100 to 150 prospective senior professionals. Establish substantive relationships with 20 to 30 high-value candidates. Improve hiring outcomes and reduce reliance on inbound applicants. Strengthen onboarding, manager accountability, career development, and leadership visibility into talent. Create repeatable systems that can scale with the organization. First 18 to 24 Months Recruit at least one partner-level professional, senior producer, or comparably strategic hire, based on business priorities and market conditions. Build a stronger prospective leadership bench. Establish a durable system supporting recruiting, development, succession, and retention. Qualifications Approximately eight or more years of progressive experience in executive recruiting, talent acquisition, professional services recruiting, business development, or a related field. A demonstrated ability to recruit highly sought-after passive professionals through direct outreach and long-term relationship development. Experience recruiting senior advisors, attorneys, tax or accounting professionals, sales leaders, executives, firm principals, or other relationship-driven professionals. A background in financial services, wealth management, insurance, legal services, accounting, consulting, executive search, or another high-trust professional services environment is strongly preferred. Experience managing complex searches that extend beyond posting positions and reviewing applicants. Strength in market research, talent mapping, candidate assessment, references, relationship management, offer negotiation, and closing. Experience building or improving onboarding, training, manager resources, talent reviews, career paths, succession plans, or performance-development programs. Executive presence and the ability to engage credibly with senior professionals, business leaders, and prospective partners. Commercial curiosity and the confidence to challenge leaders constructively. Strong judgment, discretion, organization, resilience, communication, and follow-through. The ability to build effective systems without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. A bachelor’s degree is welcomed but not required. Results, judgment, work ethic, and relationship-building ability matter more than credentials alone. The successful candidate will be comfortable cultivating a senior candidate over an extended period, advising executives on critical hires, improving early-career programs, designing practical development tools, and holding managers accountable for developing their employees. This opportunity is best suited for someone who sees talent as a growth driver and wants to personally build the relationships and systems that will shape the organization’s future. Location and Benefits This is a full-time, hybrid position based in downtown Chicago. Regular in-person participation and occasional travel to other company locations are required. The organization offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, health insurance, a 401(k) plan with employer matching, and additional benefits for full-time employees. #J-18808-Ljbffr