Director of Talent Acquisition - AI-Driven, High-Volume Hiring

Bagel Brands; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 170,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Bagel Brands is seeking a Director of Talent Acquisition to lead strategy for Field and Support Center hiring at scale in Denver. You will run executive searches, modernize processes with AI, and guide analytics to show hiring impact across bakery locations and corporate teams.

The role requires 10+ years in talent acquisition, 5+ years leading teams, and a strong track record in high-volume recruiting, with the ability to travel to bakery locations.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive talent acquisition experience, including both field/multi-unit high-volume hourly recruiting and corporate/headquarters recruiting.
• 5+ years of experience directly leading and developing recruiting teams, including field-based or remote recruiters.
• Proven track record personally leading executive searches (Director and above) and managing retained and contingent search firm partnerships.
• Demonstrated success implementing AI, automation, or recruiting technology in a high-volume hiring environment with measurable results.
• Strong talent acquisition analytics skills, including funnel analysis, dashboard development, and using data to influence senior leaders (ATS reporting, Excel, and BI tools).
• Hands-on player-coach who is comfortable carrying requisitions while leading the team.
• Strong knowledge of multi-state employment law and hiring compliance.
• Excellent executive presence and communication skills, and the ability to travel regularly to bakery locations.

Responsibilities

• Set the multi-year Talent Acquisition strategy and roadmap for Field and Support Center hiring, aligned with enterprise priorities, new bakery openings, and workforce plans.
• Serve as a key advisor to the Chief People Officer and senior leadership on labor markets, hiring capacity, and workforce planning.
• Own the Talent Acquisition budget, including job advertising, recruiting technology, agency fees, and hiring events, tying spend to measurable outcomes.
• Together with Director Talent, build a compelling employer brand and recruitment marketing approach that attracts bakery team members, shift leaders, bakery managers, multi-unit leaders, and Support Center talent.
• Lead the Field Talent Acquisition team supporting hourly bakery team members, shift leaders, bakery managers, and multi-unit field leaders across all markets.
• Partner with Field Operations leaders and HRBPs to forecast staffing needs, close open-role gaps, and staff new bakery openings and seasonal peaks.
• Design simple, scalable hiring processes that bakery managers can execute consistently, from application through first shift.
• Build proactive pipelines for bakery management and multi-unit leadership roles, including internal promotion pathways in partnership with Training and Field Operations.
• Lead the strategy and rollout of AI and automation for field volume recruiting, including text-to-apply, conversational AI screening, interview self-scheduling, and automated onboarding handoffs.
• Evaluate, select, and manage recruiting technology partners (ATS, conversational AI, assessments, job distribution), ensuring integration with HRIS, payroll, and scheduling systems.
• Ensure AI-enabled hiring tools are fair, compliant, and inclusive, regularly auditing screening criteria so strong hourly candidates with non-traditional backgrounds are not filtered out.
• Drive adoption with bakery managers and field leaders through training, simple tools, and ongoing measurement of speed, candidate experience, and manager time saved.
• Lead the Support Center Talent Acquisition team in delivering full-cycle recruiting across all corporate functions.
• Serve as the key leader for executive searches (Director and above), personally managing searches in partnership with the Chief People Officer and executive team from intake through offer and close.
• Determine when to partner with external search firms for senior-level searches; select agencies, negotiate terms, and hold partners accountable for timelines, slate quality, and cost.
• Partner with People Leadership team to include internal candidates on senior slates and support succession planning.
• Maintain the highest level of confidentiality and a white-glove candidate experience throughout executive searches.
• Own the Talent Acquisition measurement framework, including time to fill, cost per hire, applicant-to-hire conversion, offer acceptance, quality of hire, source effectiveness, and 90-day retention.
• Team with analytics to build dashboards and reporting that give the Chief People Officer, Field Operations, and senior leadership clear visibility into hiring health by bakery, district, and region.
• Connect hiring outcomes to business results such as staffing levels, turnover, and bakery performance, and measure ROI on technology, advertising, and agency investments.
• Deliver clear, data-driven recommendations and regular updates to senior leadership.
• Build, lead, and develop the Field and Support Center Talent Acquisition teams, setting clear goals and building bench strength for future roles.
• Operate as a player-coach, carrying a personal requisition load of executive and critical searches while coaching recruiters on sourcing, selection, and business partnership.
• Maintain regular presence in bakeries and markets, partnering with field leaders and HRBPs to understand hiring realities on the ground.
• Ensure hiring practices comply with federal, state, and local employment laws, including pay transparency, fair chance hiring, background checks, I-9/E-Verify, and minor labor requirements.
• Effective Communication: Articulates vision and manages difficult conversations cross-functionally; communicates complex initiatives and navigates executive discussions.
• Accountability & Ownership: Owns budget and strategy and drives a culture of accountability; manages multi-team performance and champions data-driven decisions.
• Adaptability & Perseverance: Leads the department through major change and anticipates trends; drives change across functions and builds resilient teams.
• Empowerment: Creates space for innovation and mentors emerging leaders; designs structures for decentralized decision-making.
• Curiosity: Probes beyond surface issues and fosters a learning environment; benchmarks against top organizations and sponsors new ideas.
• Self-Awareness: Understands own leadership brand and exhibits humility; holds deep clarity on values and stays resilient under pressure.

Skills

Talent acquisition leadership

Executive searches

AI in recruiting

Analytics

High-volume hiring

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Workday

iCIMS

Paradox

Fountain

HigherMe

Workstream

Job description

Bagel Brands is seeking a Director of Talent Acquisition to lead strategy for Field and Support Center hiring at scale in Denver. You will run executive searches, modernize processes with AI, and guide analytics to show hiring impact across bakery locations and corporate teams.

The role requires 10+ years in talent acquisition, 5+ years leading teams, and a strong track record in high-volume recruiting, with the ability to travel to bakery locations.