Senior Personnel Specialist (FTE and TLT)

City of Seattle; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

Seattle City Light is seeking a Talent Acquisition professional to lead full-cycle recruitment for skilled trades, apprenticeship roles, and high-volume hiring across the utility. You will build strategic sourcing, engage with unions, and guide hiring managers through postings, interviews, and offers.

The role emphasizes equitable, compliant recruiting, strong stakeholder relationships, and continuous improvement. Join a department committed to safety, integrity, and service in Seattle.

Qualifications

• Three or more years of full-cycle recruiting experience, ideally in technical, high-volume, or public-sector environments.
• Experience recruiting journey-level skilled trades or craft workers in utility, construction, energy, or transportation industries.
• Proficiency with NeoGov or similar applicant tracking system.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working in complex, unionized settings; familiarity with collective bargaining agreements.
• Knowledge of employment law, public-sector HR practices, and structured hiring methods.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong judgment, initiative, and ability to work independently with minimal direction.
• Experience developing sourcing strategies and pipelines for hard-to-fill, skilled trades, and apprenticeship roles.
• Ability to interpret recruitment data and apply insights to improve processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead full-cycle recruitment for skilled trades, apprenticeship roles, including intake meetings, sourcing, screening, interviews, and offer development.
• Recruit journey-level craft talent such as lineworkers, electrician constructors, cable splicers, and meter electricians.
• Develop and implement recruiting strategies to attract diverse and qualified talent across various job families, including skilled trades, apprenticeship, high-volume, technical, and hard-to-fill positions.
• Develop targeted sourcing strategies that reach skilled-trade talent through union halls, trade schools, apprenticeship programs, military pipelines, and regional workforce hubs.
• Build strong relationships with hiring managers and advise on job postings, assessments, interview processes, and labor-market trends.
• Conduct proactive outreach using social media, talent databases, community networks, technical schools, and workforce development partners.
• Represent Seattle City Light at skilled-trade events, career fairs, apprenticeship outreach activities, and military or vocational transition events.
• Build and maintain partnerships with IBEW, regional training centers, and workforce organizations to support ongoing hiring needs.
• Ensure recruitment processes comply with public-sector hiring standards, employment laws, collective bargaining agreements, and internal policies.
• Facilitate written exams, working tests, and structured interviews, with a focus on consistent and equitable candidate evaluation.
• Promote a positive candidate experience through respectful communication, transparency, and effective onboarding coordination.
• Coordinate pre-employment requirements such as background checks and physical assessments for safety-sensitive roles.
• Track hiring activity in HRIS and applicant tracking systems; analyze recruitment metrics, and recommend process improvements.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Public-sector recruiting

Attention to detail

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Sourcing strategies

Data interpretation

Unionized settings experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in social sciences / HR / business

Tools

NeoGov

Applicant tracking systems

Job description

Seattle City Light, a department of the City of Seattle, is one of the nation’s largest municipally owned utilities in terms of the number of customers served. Guided by our mission to provide customers with affordable, reliable, safe, and environmentally responsible energy services, we have worked hard over the years to maintain electricity that is accessible and environmentally sound. Today, City Light is recognized as a national leader in energy efficiency, environmental stewardship, and building a sustainable energy future for our communities.

Our Culture and Values

Seattle City Light is committed to building a workforce that reflects our values of integrity, accountability, mutual respect, and an uncompromising commitment to safety. Candidates joining our team will find an environment grounded in curiosity, learning, collaboration, and service — where every voice matters and everyone is empowered to make a difference. As part of the City of Seattle, we actively support initiatives that advance a more fair and just workplace, strengthen diversity and inclusion, and ensure equitable service delivery to all City Light customers.

As part of our Talent Acquisition team, you will guide hiring managers through the full recruitment lifecycle and help shape equitable, effective hiring practices for technical, operational, skilled-trades, and newly created roles across the utility. You will also develop strategic sourcing approaches that strengthen our pipelines in specialized and hard-to-fill areas. We welcome applicants who bring innovative ideas, strong collaboration skills, and a commitment to continuous improvement. This recruitment will result in one regular full-time hire and one term-limited temporary hire (2 years and 11 months).

Here is more about what you’ll be doing:

• Lead full-cycle recruitment for skilled trades, apprenticeship roles, including intake meetings, sourcing, screening, interviews, and offer development.
• Recruit journey-level craft talent such as lineworkers, electrician constructors, cable splicers, and meter electricians.
• Develop and implement recruiting strategies to attract diverse and qualified talent across various job families, including skilled trades, apprenticeship, high-volume, technical, and hard-to-fill positions.
• Develop targeted sourcing strategies that reach skilled-trade talent through union halls, trade schools, apprenticeship programs, military pipelines, and regional workforce hubs.
• Build strong relationships with hiring managers and advise on job postings, assessments, interview processes, and labor-market trends.
• Conduct proactive outreach using social media, talent databases, community networks, technical schools, and workforce development partners.
• Represent Seattle City Light at skilled-trade events, career fairs, apprenticeship outreach activities, and military or vocational transition events.
• Build and maintain partnerships with IBEW, regional training centers, and workforce organizations to support ongoing hiring needs.
• Ensure recruitment processes comply with public-sector hiring standards, employment laws, collective bargaining agreements, and internal policies.
• Facilitate written exams, working tests, and structured interviews, with a focus on consistent and equitable candidate evaluation.
• Promote a positive candidate experience through respectful communication, transparency, and effective onboarding coordination.
• Coordinate pre-employment requirements such as background checks and physical assessments for safety-sensitive roles.
• Track hiring activity in HRIS and applicant tracking systems; analyze recruitment metrics, and recommend process improvements.

In addition to the skills and experience mentioned below, a successful applicant will have experience that reflects a commitment to creating fair and equitable outcomes and has:

Required Qualifications:

A baccalaureate degree in social sciences, human resource management, business administration or related field and two years of responsible professional personnel administration experience in the public sector are required (or a combination of education and/or training and/or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class).

Desired Qualifications -

You will be successful if you have the following experience, skills, and abilities:

• Three or more years of full-cycle recruiting experience, ideally in technical, high-volume, or public-sector environments.
• Experience recruiting journey-level skilled trades or craft workers in utility, construction, energy, or transportation industries.
• Proficiency with NeoGov or similar applicant tracking system.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working in complex, unionized settings; familiarity with collective bargaining agreements.
• Knowledge of employment law, public-sector HR practices, and structured hiring methods.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong judgment, initiative, and ability to work independently with minimal direction.
• Experience developing sourcing strategies and pipelines for hard-to-fill, skilled trades, and apprenticeship roles.
• Ability to interpret recruitment data and apply insights to improve processes.

Please note this job advertisement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice

Emergency Response Commitment:

Seattle City Light is committed to reliable service during emergencies. Through our Emergency Response Program, each employee is assigned a role—usually aligned with their regular duties—to support emergency operations. Your participation is required and vital to helping the utility stay prepared and serve our community when it matters most.

The full salary range for this position is $47.39 to $55.19 per hour.

Who May Apply

This position is open to all candidates that meet the qualifications. Seattle City Light values diverse perspectives and life experiences. Applicants will be considered regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Seattle City Light encourages people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, veterans, and those with diverse life experiences.

Job offers are contingent on the verification of credentials and other information required by the employment process, including the completion of a background check. The background check will involve a criminal history check, which includes conviction and arrest records in compliance with Seattle’s Fair Chance Employment Ordinance, SMC 14.17and the City of Seattle Personnel Rule 10.3. A driving history review may be conducted in compliance with SMC 4.79.020. Applicants will be provided an opportunity to explain or correct background information.

The City of Seattle offers a comprehensive benefits package including vacation, holiday, and sick leave as well as medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employees and their dependents. More information about employee benefits is available on the City's website at: https://www.seattle.gov/human-resources/benefits.

Want to know more about Seattle City Light? Check out our web page: https://www.seattle.gov/city-light/about-us/careers.