Employment Specialist - Light Industrial

Express Employment Professionals - Cincinnati East; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Training & development

Career advancement

Job summary

Express Employment Professionals is seeking a Recruiter / Employment Specialist in the St. Louis area. The role combines recruiting, account management, and business development with a focus on light industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, and skilled-trades positions.

You’ll build candidate relationships, manage client accounts, make placements, and identify opportunities to grow the business. If you’re competitive, organized, and thrive in a fast-paced setting where results matter, this could be

Qualifications

• Strong recruiting background, with emphasis on light industrial and related fields.
• Experience in sales, account management, or client services is a plus.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Comfort with proactive outreach and business development activities.

Responsibilities

• Recruit, interview, evaluate, and place candidates in light industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, and related roles.
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of qualified candidates to meet client hiring needs.
• Manage candidates through the hiring process and coordinate onboarding and assignments.
• Develop understanding of client operations to make quality matches and expand accounts.

Skills

Recruiting

Account management

Business development

Communication

Organization

Problem solving

Sales

Education

High school diploma or GED

College education a plus

Job description

Recruiter / Employment Specialist

About the Opportunity

Pay: $45,000 - $55,000 annually

Express Employment Professionals is looking for a motivated Recruiter / Employment Specialist to join our locally-owned team. This is a full-desk staffing position combining recruiting, account management, and business development, with a primary focus on light industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, and skilled-trades positions.

This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys recruiting but also wants more ownership over their work. You’ll build relationships with candidates, manage client accounts, make placements, and help identify opportunities to grow the business.

We’re looking for someone who is competitive, personable, organized, and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where your results directly impact your success.

What You'll Do

Recruiting & Placement

• Recruit, interview, evaluate, and place candidates in light industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, skilled-trades, and related positions.
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of qualified candidates to quickly respond to client hiring needs.
• Manage candidates throughout the hiring process, including interviews, employment verification, onboarding, assignment coordination, and follow-up.
• Develop a strong understanding of each client's operation, work environment, and hiring needs to make quality matches rather than simply filling openings.
• Maintain regular communication with associates throughout their assignments and address attendance, performance, or other concerns when necessary.

Client & Account Management

• Manage relationships with existing clients and serve as a dependable point of contact for their staffing needs.
• Regularly communicate with clients regarding current employees, open positions, upcoming hiring needs, and overall service.
• Reconnect with previous and inactive clients to identify new opportunities to support their business.
• Conduct client visits, safety tours, and in-person meetings to better understand each client's operation.
• Work to expand existing accounts by identifying additional positions or departments where Express can provide staffing support.

Sales & Business Development

• Participate in proactive business-development efforts through phone outreach, candidate marketing, client visits, referrals, and relationship building.
• Market qualified candidates to prospective and existing clients when their experience aligns with potential hiring needs.
• Identify opportunities to introduce clients to additional staffing and workforce solutions.
• Partner with leadership on new-business opportunities and help turn new relationships into long-term accounts.

Organization & Operations

• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of candidate, associate, and client activity in our internal system.
• Stay organized while managing multiple job orders, candidates, associates, and client priorities simultaneously.
• Work closely with the rest of the team to ensure positions are filled quickly without sacrificing candidate quality or client service.
• Follow Express procedures and applicable employment laws and regulations.

What We're Looking For

• Previous recruiting or staffing experience is strongly preferred, particularly within light industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, skilled trades, or similar environments.
• Experience in sales, account management, customer service, or other relationship-driven roles is a plus.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to comfortably interact with candidates, employees, supervisors, and business owners.
• Comfortable with proactive outreach, including recruiting calls, client follow-up, and business-development conversations.
• Competitive and goal-oriented with the ability to work toward measurable performance expectations.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize in a fast-moving environment.
• Willingness to take ownership of problems and follow through until they are resolved.
• Comfortable learning new industries, positions, recruiting strategies, and technology.
• High school diploma or GED required; college education is a plus.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $45,000–$55,000, depending on experience
• Commission and bonus opportunities in addition to base salary
• Health, dental, vision, and life insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid time off
• Comprehensive training and ongoing professional development
• Opportunities for increased responsibility and career advancement

Why Express?

Express Employment Professionals is a locally owned staffing company backed by an international organization and proven staffing system. Our office works with businesses throughout the St. Louis area across light industrial, skilled trades, administrative, professional, and other specialized positions.

You won't be expected to walk in and build a desk from nothing. You'll have existing client relationships and business to work with while also having the opportunity to develop your own relationships and grow your earning potential.

We believe in giving people ownership of their work, recognizing strong performance, and creating opportunities for employees who want to grow their careers.

If you enjoy recruiting, building relationships, solving problems, and seeing the direct impact of your work, we'd like to talk with you.

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