Job Description

Talent Acquisition Specialist

On Behalf of a Skybox Capital Portfolio Company

Location:

Chicago, IL, 4 Days in Office

Hours:

Full-time | High-ownership role

About the Role

We are hiring a Talent Acquisition Specialist to act as a force-multiplier for leadership at a fast-growing Skybox Capital portfolio company.



This role owns the front door to the company. You will be responsible for designing, executing, and continuously improving the hiring engine -- ensuring the right people are in the right seats, fast. You will run multiple searches in parallel, manage high-volume pipelines when required, and operate with clear standards, urgency, and accountability.



This is a role for someone who thrives under pressure, pushes back when necessary, and treats hiring as a mission-critical operating function -- not a support role.

Your Core Contributions to the Team

Hiring Strategy & Intake Ownership

Own intake sessions with hiring managers: clarify role outcomes, success metrics, non-negotiables, and tradeoffs. Translate ambiguous needs into clear, executable search strategies. Set expectations on timelines, candidate quality, and interview bandwidth -- and enforce them.

Sourcing & Pipeline Execution

Proactively source passive and active candidates across LinkedIn, ATS/CRM systems, referrals, and niche channels. Build and maintain always-on pipelines for recurring and high-impact roles. Pressure-test candidate quality early; do not advance marginal candidates. Own candidate momentum -- no stalled processes, no dead pipelines.

Interview Process Management

Design and run structured interview processes with defined stages, scorecards, and decision criteria. Schedule and manage interviews end-to-end; ensure fast turnaround and tight feedback loops. Conduct high-signal screens that assess capability, motivation, and fit. Run reference checks with rigor; surface risks clearly and early.

Offer Management & Closing

Partner with leadership on compensation strategy and offer construction. Manage candidate expectations and close decisively. Anticipate objections and address risk of fallout before it happens. Maintain offer acceptance rates that reflect strong process and candidate alignment.

Candidate & Hiring Manager Experience

Maintain a high-bar, high-respect candidate experience -- clear communication, direct feedback, no ambiguity. Hold hiring managers accountable to timelines, feedback quality, and interview discipline. Act as a trusted advisor to leadership on talent market realities. Represent the winning team you are hiring for

Process, Data & Continuous Improvement

Track and report recruiting KPIs (time-to-fill, pipeline conversion, offer acceptance). Identify bottlenecks and fix them -- process, people, or priorities. Build and document recruiting SOPs that scale with the business. Continuously raise the bar on hiring quality and speed.

What Success Looks Like (KPIs)

Time-to-Fill: Roles filled on or ahead of agreed timelines. Pipeline Health: 3-5 qualified candidates per priority role at all times. Quality of Hire: Strong hiring-manager satisfaction and post-hire performance. Offer Acceptance: 90% acceptance on extended offers. Process Discipline: Clear scorecards, timely feedback, zero "drift" in searches.

About You

Knowledge, Abilities, and Qualifications

2+ years of full-cycle recruiting or talent acquisition experience (agency, in-house, or both).

Proven ability to run multiple searches simultaneously without loss of quality.

Strong sourcing instincts and comfort reaching out cold to senior-level candidates.

Exceptional judgment and communication; comfortable pushing back when standards slip.

Data-driven, organized, and relentless about follow-through.

Experience recruiting in fast-growth, PE-backed, or founder-led environments strongly preferred.

The Standard

This role is high trust and high accountability. You will be measured on outcomes, not activity. The expectation is speed, precision, and ownership -- with direct exposure to leadership and meaningful impact on the company's trajectory.