Head of Talent Acquisition & Employee Experience

The Head of Talent Acquisition & Employee Experience is a high-impact leadership role responsible for driving DCOMM’s recruiting, retention, and workforce development strategies across all regions and service lines, including Construction Services, Field Services, Technical Services, and Corporate Operations. Operating in a fast-paced environment with aggressive growth targets, this individual is accountable for building scalable talent systems, creating consistent hiring practices, and ensuring the company has the workforce it needs to meet operational demands. 

This role leads a blend of internal and external recruiting activity, managing the Talent & Retention Specialist while also overseeing staffing vendors, subcontractor sourcing, and field-based hiring support. The majority of hiring efforts are focused on skilled trades roles, including broadband technicians, fiber splicers, and construction labor, making it critical that this leader understands how to recruit and retain individuals in fast-moving, labor-driven industries. 

The position partners closely with Operations Leadership to develop local market strategies, track headcount needs and ensure a high-quality candidate experience across all touchpoints. It also owns DCOMM’s Applicant Tracking System (Paylocity), recruiting metrics, advertising spend, and internal communication related to hiring performance and workforce needs. 

In addition to talent acquisition, this role is a strategic leader in shaping DCOMM’s employee experience and long-term retention outcomes. Responsibilities include supporting onboarding improvements, managing early employment engagement, developing internal career progression pathways, and promoting cultural alignment across departments and regions. The individual in this position helps identify and address drivers of turnover and builds programs that improve employee satisfaction, performance, and long-term success. 

The ideal candidate brings strong leadership, recruiting operations expertise, field visibility, and a proactive mindset. This is a hands-on role in a growing company, designed for someone who thrives on solving complex people challenges, building programs from the ground up, and helping individuals grow with the organization. 

YOUR ROLE IN ACTION 

• Talent Sourcing and Acquisition: Strategic Leadership of Talent Acquisition: Lead all recruiting and talent acquisition activities across the company, covering Corporate Operations, Construction Services, Field Services, and Technical Services. Ensure alignment with operational needs, hiring goals, and workforce planning across all regions. 
• Team Oversight & Development: Directly manage the Talent & Retention Specialist and provide oversight to all recruiting-related activity occurring through third-party vendors or regional hiring managers. Set clear performance expectations and promote consistency across all candidate experiences. 
• Vendor & Staffing Partner Management: Establish and maintain relationships with external staffing firms, recruiting consultants, and workforce development partners. Evaluate vendor performance, manage contracts, and ensure accountability on delivery, compliance, and cost-effectiveness. 
• Workforce Planning & Collaboration: Partner with Operations Leadership and local leadership to understand headcount plans, project-driven needs, and regional talent gaps. Convert these insights into actionable recruiting plans with measurable targets. 
• Process Ownership & Compliance: Ensure all recruiting, onboarding, and subcontractor vetting processes are compliant with federal, state, and local employment laws and aligned with DCOMM’s internal policies. Support interview compliance and train internal teams on consistent and legal interview practices. 
• Subcontractor Sourcing & Coordination: Support and lead subcontractor identification and hiring initiatives in coordination with Operations, Safety, and Risk Management. Track subcontractor onboarding metrics, documentation status, and compliance using standardized processes. 
• Recruiting Technology & Data Management: Own the Paylocity ATS process company wide. Ensure data accuracy, drive full utilization, and extract insights to support decision-making and continuous improvement. 
• Employer Branding & Talent Marketing: Lead the development of recruiting collateral, advertising strategies, and event presence to position DCOMM as an employer of choice. Partner with marketing and field operations to develop targeted local campaigns and develop local market strategies for each operation. 
• Online Reputation Management: Monitor and manage DCOMM’s presence on job boards, review sites, and social media platforms. Respond to candidate reviews when appropriate, identify reputation risks, and collaborate with internal teams to strengthen employer perception online. 
• Early Employment Engagement & Retention: Design and implement first-90-day engagement strategies to ensure new hires and subcontractors are supported, aligned, and retained. Conduct check-ins, stay interviews, and trend analysis to identify improvement areas. Develop retention strategies and employee experience programs aimed at improving engagement, job satisfaction, and long-term retention. Collaborate with local operations on tailored retention strategies that meet the needs of specific markets and teams. 
• Interview Management & Candidate Evaluation: Conduct interviews directly with applicants and evaluate candidate fit for roles across multiple departments and locations. Support hiring managers by participating in interview panels and facilitating compliant and consistent decision-making. 
• Performance Metrics & Reporting: Define, monitor, and report recruiting and retention KPIs across all sources and regions, including: - Time-to-Fill 
• Interview Attendance Rate 
• ATS Utilization Rate 
• 90-Day Retention Rate 
• Hiring Manager Satisfaction 
• Subcontractor Onboarding Timeliness 
• Cost-per-Hire 
• Turnover by Role or Region 
• Field Presence & Hiring Events: Travel to operational locations to coordinate, attend, and run hiring events. Serve as a visible and proactive recruiting leader in the field by engaging directly with local managers, candidates, and partners. 
• Recruiting Budget & Financial Oversight: Manage the recruiting budget, advertising spend, and vendor-related expenses. Track and report on cost-per-hire, hiring ROI, and optimize spending for cost-effective hiring outcomes. 
• New Hire Training Collaboration: Collaborate with HR, Training, and Operations teams to support development and refinement of new hire training programs with a focus on improving early retention and engagement. 
• Cross-Functional Project Leadership: Collaborate with HR, Safety, Risk, and Operations on cross-functional initiatives that support headcount forecasting, onboarding improvements, and retention programs. 
• All Other Duties as Assigned: Perform additional tasks and responsibilities as directed by your supervisor to support the evolving needs of the business. 

 WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR 

• Recruitment & Talent Strategy Experience: 5+ years of progressive experience in recruitment, talent acquisition, or people operations with proven success managing full-cycle recruiting, vendor relationships, and team oversight. Experience in fast-paced, high-volume environments—preferably in telecommunications, construction, or skilled trades—is highly valued. 
• Leadership and Team Development: Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and mentor recruiting teams and cross-functional partners. Ability to manage through influence, promote collaboration, and build a high-performance culture focused on results and accountability. 
• Retention & Employee Experience Focus: Strong understanding of employee lifecycle touchpoints with a passion for improving the new hire experience, onboarding, and early engagement. Prior experience developing retention strategies and conducting stay interviews is a plus. 
• Financial Acumen: Experience managing recruiting budgets, advertising spend, and subcontractor sourcing costs. Ability to evaluate cost-per-hire and vendor effectiveness and make data-informed investment decisions. 
• Performance Accountability: Comfortable being measured against key talent metrics including time-to-fill, interview attendance rate, candidate drop-off rate, hiring manager satisfaction, candidates screened per week, ATS utilization, cost-per-hire, 90-day retention rate, and overall turnover percentage. Demonstrates a track record of improving outcomes through process optimization and team coaching. 
• Subcontractor Recruiting & Vendor Management: Experience sourcing subcontractor talent, developing vendor pipelines, and ensuring consistent standards across external hiring partners. Ability to negotiate contracts and evaluate vendor compliance. 
• Communication & Influence: Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to engage at all levels of the organization, from frontline field technicians to executive leadership. Adept at delivering clear updates, building trust, and resolving escalations quickly. 
• Talent Branding & Advertising Strategy: Experience developing or overseeing recruitment-focused social media campaigns, job board strategies, and employer brand initiatives. Able to create compelling messaging across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Indeed to attract qualified talent in diverse markets. 
• Technology & Tools Proficiency: Strong knowledge of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) such as Paylocity or equivalent. Comfortable using Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) and recruitment platforms (Indeed, LinkedIn, etc.) for pipeline management and reporting. 
• Brand Advocacy & Candidate Experience: Passionate about positioning DCOMM as an employer of choice. Able to lead job board response strategies, create branded content, and oversee consistent messaging across all platforms. 
• Creativity & Initiative: Brings a proactive mindset to solving recruiting and retention challenges. Has developed or executed local market strategies, job fair playbooks, or community partnerships to meet hiring needs. 
• Onboarding Strategy & Standardization: Oversee or support the standardization of onboarding experiences across departments to ensure new hires receive consistent, timely, and impactful early training and orientation. 
• Internal Communication & Awareness: Coordinate internal communication about open roles, recruitment performance, and retention programs to ensure transparency, alignment, and responsiveness across the company. 
• Change Leadership: Act as a change agent within the company, identify outdated recruiting practices, lead process modernization efforts, and gain buy-in from internal stakeholders on new talent strategies and workflows. 
• Cultural Stewardship: Serve as a cultural ambassador, ensure that every candidate and new hire experience reflects DCOMM’s values, expectations, and commitment to quality, professionalism, and long-term growth. 
• Career Progression & Internal Mobility: Champion internal growth by identifying high-potential employees, promoting career path visibility, and partnering with HR and Operations to support internal mobility initiatives. Serve as a steward of employee development by aligning talent acquisition with long-term career progression opportunities across DCOMM. 
• Adaptability and Prioritization: Thrives in dynamic environments with shifting demands. Able to manage multiple projects, travel frequently, and pivot focus quickly while maintaining high-quality outcomes. 
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business Administration, Communications, or a related field is preferred but not required. Equivalent work experience will be considered. 

LOCATION AND TRAVEL 

• Primary Work Location: This role is based at the company’s designated office location but will require active coordination with field teams and regional operations. 
• Travel Requirements: This position involves regular to frequent travel to support hiring events, job fairs, market-specific recruitment initiatives, and meetings with subcontractors, staffing vendors, or local operations leadership. Travel needs may fluctuate based on business growth, hiring demands, and seasonal trends. 
• Lodging Expenses: Lodging will be provided for any travel requiring an overnight stay, in accordance with company travel policies. 
• Per Diem for Meals: A per diem allowance will be provided for meals during approved business travel. 

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS 

• Competitive Wages: Offering a rate that is competitive within the industry and reflective of the responsibilities of the position. 
• Paid Training: Providing training programs at no cost to the employee, ensuring skill development and career growth. 
• Health Insurance: In accordance with the company benefits package. 
• Paid Time Off (PTO): PTO policy to support work-life balance. 
• Company-Provided Uniforms: Uniforms are provided by the company, ensuring a professional appearance and compliance with safety standards. 
• Vehicle: Company vehicle or vehicle stipend, based on travel requirements 
• Technology: Essential technological tools, including a computer and necessary software applications required to perform job duties, are provided to enhance productivity and connectivity in the workplace. 
• Retention Bonus
•  Career Opportunities and Advancement

COMMITMENT TO EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
 

DCOMM is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace where diversity is celebrated. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.