Recruitment and Talent Acquisition Manager

Position is located in Chicago, IL and is required to be in the office. This is not a hybrid role.

The Manager of Recruitment and Talent Acquisition owns the full-cycle staffing strategy to attract, hire, and retain top talent across both corporate office, restaurant locations andour manufacturing plant. This role balances high-volume restaurant management & restaurant hourly hiring and manufacturing hiring with strategic corporate searches to combat the hospitality industry's high turnover rates.

The Talent Acquisition Manager partners closely with Executive Leadership, Regional Directors of Operations, and Restaurant General Manager sand Americana leadership to forecast workforce needs across over thirty plus locations and as we continue to grow nationally. This role is responsible for modernizing the recruitment framework to source hourly staff—including pizza cooks, servers, and hosts—alongside salaried management positions, directly combating high hospitality turnover rates through strategic employer branding.

forecast headcount needs, build sustainable pipelines, and reduce time-to-hire.

Internal:
Executive Leadership, Regional Director of Operations, Restaurant managers, HR team, corporate staff and Americana staff.

External:
Candidates, Vendors, Restaurant networking

• Experience:
  
  Minimum 7 years of full-cycle recruiting experience for high-volume corporate restaurant or hospitality brands.
• Education:
  
  Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Hospitality Management, Business Administration, or an equivalent combination of field experience.
• Technical Fluency:
  Proficient with enterprise HRIS/ATS systems and specialized hospitality job portals like UKG.
• Market Knowledge:
  In-depth understanding of the competitive Chicago labor landscape and broader national hospitality markets.
• Soft Skills:
  
  Strong interpersonal dexterity to manage corporate negotiations with upper management while maintaining approachable relations with restaurant team members.
• Compliance Management:
  Maintain strict alignment with federal, state, and local labor laws, ensuring absolute compliance with I-9 verifications and fair-chance ordinances.

Succeeding at Giordano's requires managing a unified corporate strategy that adapts to localized, high-volume market needs:

• Strategic Pipeline Architecture:
  Build localized sourcing channels for high-turnover hourly roles and critical leadership positions for all restaurant management levels, corporate staff, hourly team members, and Americana staffing.
• High-Volume Logistics Tech:
  Optimize and scale the mobile-friendly Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to capture and quickly process on-the-go applicants.
• Brand Ambassadorship:
  Champion Giordano’s rich 1974 Chicago heritage at regional culinary school panels, hospitality job fairs, and digital platforms.
• Data Optimization Tracking:
  Review and analyse talent acquisition metrics—such as time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, and 90-day retention to refine sourcing spends.

Building external local brand equity serves as a crucial cushion for high-turnover hospitality environments:

• Culinary Pipeline Engineering:
  Build ongoing partnerships with regional culinary arts schools (such as the Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute in Chicago) to lock in fresh graduating talent.
• Job Fair Event Production:
  Plan, resource, and organize localized open-call hiring days for new restaurant openings or seasonal restaurant volume surges.
• Digital Footprint Monitoring:
  Monitor corporate Glassdoor, Indeed, and Linked In review trends. Provide continuous feedback to leadership regarding overall employee sentiment and brand perception.

This position acts as a critical line of defence ensuring local restaurant management remains legally compliant:

• Hiring Manager Training:
  Conduct routine instructional workshops for General Managers regarding lawful interview questioning, bias mitigation, and proper candidate communication techniques.
• Compliance Documentation Storage:
  Partner with the VP of HR to build…