Talent Acquisition Manager

Lucky Lincoln Gaming, LLC; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 115,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Highland Holdings is seeking a Talent Acquisition Manager to own full‑cycle recruiting for manager and director‑level roles across Highland Holdings, Lucky Lincoln Gaming, Vast, and Highland Real Estate. You’ll lead contract recruiters and an offshore resource, partner with the Chief People Officer on VP+ searches, and build AI‑driven sourcing to scale the portfolio.

You’ll establish recruiting infrastructure, translate ambiguity into strategy, and ensure rigorous candidate screening and a

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of full‑cycle recruiting experience in a fast‑paced, high‑growth environment.
• Demonstrated success recruiting manager and director‑level roles; you know how to find and engage people who aren’t looking.
• Active listener and discovery partner, comfortable with ambiguity and using a candidate slate to sharpen a brief.
• Fluent with AI‑powered sourcing tools; hands‑on experience with Gem, Juicebox, SeekOut, HireEZ, Findem is a strong plus and AI outreach is a must.
• Experience leading or coordinating contract, offshore, or junior recruiting resources.
• Experience with psychometric/aptitude assessment tools; familiarity with Culture Index, Criteria, or similar platforms is a plus.
• Strong ATS discipline; data hygiene is a professional standard, not an afterthought.
• Executive presence and the confidence to push back and deliver a perspective, not just a slate.
• Fast and decisive; you don’t let perfect be the enemy of progress and keep a search moving.

Responsibilities

• Full‑cycle recruiting for manager and director‑level roles across Highland Holdings portfolio.
• Direct a team of contract recruiters and an offshore resource, ensuring pipelines are healthy and priorities are clear.
• Support VP+ searches in partnership with the CPO, including research and candidate prep.
• Translate ambiguity into a focused search strategy and candidate slate for leaders.
• Build passive candidate pipelines using AI sourcing, LinkedIn Recruiter, and direct outreach.
• Develop recruiting infrastructure: intake templates, interview guides, scorecards, and training for managers.
• Maintain ATS hygiene and accurate requisitions with governance for leadership reviews.
• Provide recruiting metrics and reporting to the CPO across the portfolio.
• Uphold a strong candidate experience with clear process and communication.
• Enhance Highland Holdings’ employer brand presence across boards with the CPO.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Stakeholder management

Ambiguity handling

AI-powered sourcing

Leading teams

Executive presence

Data-driven recruiting

Tools

Gem

Juicebox

SeekOut

HireEZ

Findem

Job description

Description

Highland Holdings is a founder‑led, family‑owned business operating across gaming, real estate, and technology, generating over $100 M in annual revenue. The firm serves as a holding company for multiple operating businesses, including Lucky Lincoln Gaming, Vast, and Highland Real Estate.

Job Type

Full‑time

About The Role

As Talent Acquisition Manager, you won’t be handed a clean brief and asked to execute. You’ll be expected to walk into ambiguous conversations, ask sharp questions, and come back with a point of view. The leaders you’ll partner with are direct, high‑performing, and have little patience for process for its own sake. You’ll need to earn their trust quickly and hold your own in the room.

This role reports directly to the Chief People Officer and operates as a key member of the People function’s leadership: not a back‑office support role, but a seat at the table where talent strategy gets built. You’ll own full‑cycle recruiting for manager and director‑level roles across our portfolio of four companies, lead a team of contract recruiters and an offshore resource, and partner with the CPO on VP+ searches.

You’ll build recruiting infrastructure that creates competence in our hiring managers, not dependency, and you leverage AI to scale that capacity across the portfolio.

What You’ll Own

• Full‑cycle recruiting for manager and director‑level roles across Highland Holdings, Lucky Lincoln Gaming, Vast, and Highland Real Estate, from intake through offer
• A team of contract recruiters and an offshore recruiting resource, directing their work, ensuring pipelines are healthy, priorities are clear, and quality is consistent across the portfolio
• VP+ search support in partnership with the CPO, including research, candidate identification, outreach coordination, and candidate prep
• Role discovery conversations with leaders who may not have a fully‑formed vision, translating ambiguity into a focused search strategy and a candidate slate that helps them see what they’re looking for
• Passive candidate pipelines built and maintained using AI‑powered sourcing tools, LinkedIn Recruiter, and direct outreach
• Recruiting infrastructure for hiring managers: intake templates, structured interview guides, scorecards, and training that enables them to run a consistent, high‑quality hiring process
• ATS hygiene: accurate requisitions, clean candidate records, and pipeline data you’d be comfortable presenting to leadership at any time
• Recruiting metrics and reporting to the CPO across the portfolio
• Candidate experience from first touch through offer: responsive communication, clear process, and a standard of care that reflects well on Highland Holdings regardless of outcome
• Highland Holdings’ employer brand presence across job boards, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor in partnership with the CPO

Requirements

• 5–8 years of full‑cycle recruiting experience in a fast‑paced, high‑growth environment
• Demonstrated success recruiting manager and director‑level roles; you know how to find and engage people who aren’t looking
• A genuine active listener and skilled discovery partner, comfortable sitting with ambiguity and using a candidate slate to sharpen a brief, not just fill one
• Fluent with AI‑powered sourcing tools; hands‑on experience with platforms such as Gem, Juicebox, SeekOut, HireEZ, or Findem is a strong plus and comfort with AI‑assisted outreach, matching, and pipeline management is a must
• A systems builder who creates process because they believe it makes everyone better, and can translate that into tools and training hiring managers will actually use
• Experience leading or coordinating contract, offshore, or junior recruiting resources
• Experience with psychometric and aptitude assessment tools; familiarity with Culture Index, Criteria, or similar platforms is a plus
• Strong ATS discipline; data hygiene is a professional standard, not an afterthought
• Executive presence and the confidence to push back; you’re comfortable challenging a hiring manager’s thinking, reframing a poorly scoped role, and delivering a perspective, not just a slate
• Fast and decisive; you don’t let perfect be the enemy of progress and you know how to keep a search moving without cutting corners on quality

Nice to Have

• Background in gaming, entertainment, or tech
• Agency recruiting experience that sharpened your sourcing instincts and client discovery skills
• Experience supporting recruiting across multiple business units or a portfolio of companies

Salary

$115,000–$145,000