Job description
Role Summary
The Talent Acquisition Manager owns the recruiting function at Blacksmith Agency and leads a small team of recruiters. This role is responsible for building a high performance recruiting engine that consistently delivers top talent across sales, delivery, and operations.
This is a player coach role. You will personally recruit for critical roles while managing and developing 2 to 3 recruiters. You are accountable for talent quality, hiring velocity, and team output. Your success is measured by who we hire, how fast they ramp, and how well your recruiting team performs.
Core Responsibilities
Hiring Strategy and Workforce Planning
Partner with leadership to forecast hiring needs tied to revenue, capacity, and growth plans
Translate headcount plans into clear quarterly hiring priorities
Pressure test hiring plans and advise leadership when timing or expectations are misaligned
Full Cycle Recruiting Ownership
Personally own recruiting for priority and hard to fill roles
Oversee full cycle recruiting across all open roles
Ensure job descriptions reflect real expectations and success criteria
Drive decisive hiring outcomes without unnecessary delays
Recruiting Team Leadership
Manage, coach, and develop 2 to 3 recruiters
Set clear expectations for sourcing volume, pipeline quality, and time to hire
Review pipelines, screens, and candidate quality regularly
Hold recruiters accountable to standards, output, and follow through
Identify skill gaps and provide direct coaching to improve performance
Talent Quality and Hiring Bar
Set and enforce a consistent hiring bar across the company
Review and calibrate recruiter assessments to ensure signal driven evaluations
Step in when hiring quality is at risk
Push back on hires that do not meet standards, even under pressure
Recruiting Systems and Process
Own the ATS and ensure clean data and accurate reporting
Build and refine recruiting workflows, scorecards, and interview guides
Create repeatable playbooks for recurring roles such as SDRs, AEs, PMs, and specialists
Continuously improve recruiting efficiency and decision clarity
Hiring Manager Enablement
Train hiring managers on structured interviewing and evaluation
Ensure hiring managers provide timely and meaningful feedback
Hold hiring managers accountable to recruiting timelines and decisions
Act as a thought partner on final hiring calls
Employer Brand and Candidate Experience
Ensure candidates have a clear and honest view of expectations and culture
Maintain a professional, direct, and respectful candidate experience
Protect Blacksmith Agency’s reputation as a selective and well run company
Onboarding Handoff and Feedback Loop
Partner with operations and leadership on clean onboarding handoffs
Track early performance and retention of new hires
Use post hire outcomes to refine screening criteria and recruiter coaching
Success Metrics
Quality of hire and early performance outcomes
Time to fill and pipeline health
Recruiter productivity and consistency
Hiring manager satisfaction
Reduction in mis hires and early churn
Ideal Background
Experience leading and developing recruiters
Proven success owning recruiting in a high accountability environment
Strong hiring judgment across sales and professional services roles
Comfortable giving direct feedback and making hard calls
Experience with outbound sourcing and proactive recruiting
Personal Traits That Matter Here
High ownership and high standards
Direct, calm, and decisive communicator
Strong people judgment and pattern recognition
Comfortable saying no when the bar is not met
Invested in building a team, not just filling roles
Why This Role Matters
This role directly impacts growth, delivery quality, and leadership focus. A strong Talent Acquisition Manager creates leverage by building a team and system that consistently hires well without chaos or compromise.
