Recruitment Specialist

Talent Acquisition & Onboarding Specialist — New Plant Startup On-site — Southaven, Mississippi Reports to: Chief Human Resources Officer Compensation commensurate with experience. Location: On-site, Southaven MS. Help Build the Future of SIP Manufacturing We're a beverage co-packer opening a new facility in Southaven, Mississippi — approximately $100 million in investment upon full buildout. Before a single case ships from that plant, we have to hire the people who will run it. That's this job. Over the next six months you'll partner with the site HR Manager and HR Coordinator to staff Southaven to roughly 180 people, from production operators and sanitation through maintenance, QA and plant leadership, and onboard every one of them. Alongside that, you'll provide recruiting support to our Lake Elsinore, California operation, where 8–10 requisitions run at any given time. This role sits in a shared services model reporting to the CHRO. Both plants have their own full HR teams, and those teams own the staffing model, the workforce plan and employee relations at their site. They don't report to you and you don't report to them. You consult on the model; you deliver against it. Your voice matters in how the plan gets built — sequencing, market realities, time-to-fill assumptions, agency mix — but the plan isn't yours to set. What is yours is the pipeline, the hires, the onboarding, and front-line HR support in Southaven until the site's own HR coordinator is in place. This is a build role. Interview loops, agency relationships, sourcing channels and onboarding curriculum don't exist yet. You're creating them. In both locations the staffing model and workforce plan belong to site HR and the CHRO. You advise on them, and you are accountable for delivering against them. How the Role Phases Phase 1 — now through roughly February: approx. 70% onboarding and HR support Orientation curriculum, day‑one paperwork and I‑9/E‑Verify workflow, HRIS configuration and records, benefits enrollment. Front‑line employee support in Southaven starts at effectively zero — nobody works there yet — and grows as the plant fills. Phase 2 — from roughly March: approx. 90% recruiting Full‑cycle talent acquisition across both sites as Southaven moves from startup staffing into replacement, backfill and expansion hiring, with California requisitions running continuously alongside. Front‑line support transitions to the Southaven HR coordinator once that role is filled. Ongoing: backup and coverage for the Southaven HR coordinator and HR manager. The percentages are a planning assumption, not a wall. Some weeks in Phase 1 will be nothing but sourcing, and some weeks in Phase 2 will be nothing but a bad turnover month. Key Responsibilities Southaven staffing — the primary mandate Deliver approximately 180 hires against the workforce plan set by site HR and plant leadership, working backward from when each department needs people trained and on the floor Advise on that plan as it's built and revised — sequencing, local market realities, time-to-fill assumptions, agency mix — and say so early when something won't hold Source and fill hourly production, sanitation, warehouse and maintenance roles at volume — job boards, community partnerships, technical and vocational schools, workforce development agencies, referral programs and hiring events Recruit salaried and technical roles: line leads, supervisors, maintenance techs, QA, planning and plant leadership Manage staffing agency relationships, including rate negotiation, requisition allocation, quality scorecards and temp-to-hire conversion California recruiting support Support 8–10 concurrent requisitions at Lake Elsinore — sourcing, screening, pipeline management and agency coordination, working to the priorities the Lake Elsinore HR team sets Recruiting only. Onboarding, employee support and employee relations for California stay with the Lake Elsinore team. Keep California moving during the Mississippi ramp; the volume push cannot be an excuse for cold pipelines in Lake Elsinore Onboarding (Southaven) Build and run the orientation and onboarding program end to end — offer letters through 90-day check-ins Define day‑one readiness with operations, safety and QA: GMP and food safety training, safety orientation, PPE, time‑keeping setup, badge access Own new hire documentation and compliance: I‑9, E‑Verify, background and drug screening, state and federal notices Track and act on early attrition; 30‑and 90‑day retention is a core measure of whether the hiring is actually working Front‑line HR support (Southaven) Serve as first‑line HR contact for Southaven employees: benefits enrollment and changes, payroll and time‑keeping questions, leave paperwork, policy interpretation, HRIS self‑service Maintain accurate employee records and process documentation in the HRIS Hand this off cleanly to the Southaven HR coordinator once hired, then serve as backup coverage for the coordinator and HR manager Route employee relations matters — performance, conduct, complaints, investigations — to site HR and the CHRO. This role does not carry ER. Hiring compliance Own hiring compliance in two states. Mississippi and California are not the same environment: California requires pay scale disclosure in postings, Fair Chance Act sequencing on background checks, and specific candidate notice requirements. Support EEO reporting, affirmative action obligations where applicable, and audit‑ready hiring documentation Maintain confidentiality and sound judgment around compensation and candidate information Reporting Report hiring progress against plan to the CHRO and plant leadership: time‑to‑fill, fill rate against startup milestones, offer acceptance, source effectiveness, agency spend, and 30/90-day retention Flag risk early. A staffing plan that is quietly two weeks behind is a line that doesn't start on time. Several years of full‑cycle recruiting experience in manufacturing, industrial, warehouse or similar hourly‑workforce environments Demonstrated high‑volume hiring track record — plant startup, new site launch, seasonal ramp or comparable Onboarding and HR operations grounding: new hire compliance, benefits administration, HRIS record‑keeping, front‑line employee support Working knowledge of employment law and hiring compliance, including I‑9/E‑Verify, EEO, and multi‑state differences Familiarity with California hiring requirements, or the discipline to get current on them quickly Experience managing staffing agencies as a partner and as a vendor Proven ability to deliver in a shared services or centralized model — consulting on plans you don't own, and accountable for the results either way ATS and HRIS proficiency; comfortable with Excel and reporting against a plan Clear, direct communication with candidates, hiring managers and executives — including delivering bad news about timelines Based in or willing to relocate to the Memphis, TN / Southaven, MS area; able to work on‑site and travel periodically to Lake Elsinore Willingness to flex hours to overlap with Pacific time and with off‑shift hiring events Food, beverage or CPG manufacturing experience Prior greenfield or new‑facility staffing experience UKG experience (Pro, Ready or Dimensions) Familiarity with plant environments — shift patterns, GMP and food safety training requirements, OSHA basics PHR, SPHR, SHRM‑CP or SHRM‑SCP What You Can Expect From Us Competitive compensation package Retirement savings plan with employer contribution Health, dental, and vision coverage PTO and paid holidaysA direct line to the CHRO and real influence over how this plant gets staffed A ground‑floor role in a major national manufacturing investment #J-18808-Ljbffr SIP Manufacturing