Retail Talent Acquisition Specialist

About Our Company

Lids is the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, selling fan and fashion-oriented headwear and apparel across the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia. Operating out of Indianapolis, IN, our retail stores offer officially licensed headwear and apparel from collegiate and professional sports teams, plus top brands like Nike, New Era, Adidas, and Mitchell & Ness. We currently operate 1,200+ locations domestically and 50+ internationally, including specialty concept stores for the NBA, NHL, Paris Saint-Germain, and numerous MLB teams. In recent years, Lids has built partnerships with iconic global brands including Marvel, Playboy, and the Harlem Globetrotters, and gained ambassadors like Justin Jefferson, Quavo, and Josephine Skriver – creating a community for both sports fans and fashion lovers.

The company is currently expanding with the goal of becoming the largest licensed brick-and-mortar sports retailer across the globe.

General Position Summary

The Retail Talent Acquisition Specialist plays an instrumental role on the Lids Talent Acquisition team. Based out of the Lids Corporate Office in Indianapolis, the primary responsibility of this role is to facilitate high-volume, quality recruitment efforts for Lids’ retail store positions across the different regions throughout the country. This position will collaborate closely with various Districts throughout the country, providing partnership and support in hiring/onboarding activities.

We are seeking a motivated and results-driven individual that possesses strong recruiting skills, exceptional communication abilities, and a passion for connecting top talent with exciting career opportunities. This role offers an excellent opportunity for a self-starter to learn and grow in the field of Talent Acquisition while contributing to Lids' growth and success.

Principle Duties and Responsibilities

• Execute the full-cycle Talent Acquisition process for retail store openings. Handle the full process from initial job postings through to offer acceptances, ensuring a smooth and efficient process for both candidates and hiring managers.
• Conduct passive candidate sourcing, cold calling/screening candidates, scheduling interviews, and placing highly qualified talent in various store positions. Provide onboarding assistance as needed.
• Interview applicants and gather information regarding prior work experience, education, training, job skills, pay requirements, availability, and interest level.
• Ensuring a best-in-class experience for candidates and hiring managers.
• Maintain active talent pipeline in the applicant tracking system (ATS), and a passive pipeline in our sourcing technologies (LinkedIn, Indeed) with high-potential candidates for future job openings. Ensure data integrity and accuracy across all platforms.
• Keep detailed records of hiring metrics and past candidates’ information.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with hiring managers to obtain in-depth knowledge of applicable jobs, the business, and recruitment needs.
• Build and maintain relationships with candidates, providing guidance and support throughout the recruitment process.

Additional Principle Duties and Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement within the stores’ recruitment space, including trends affecting retail recruitment and local candidate engagement.
• Coach retail store employees on interviewing best practices and ensure adherence to all legal compliance requirements in all recruiting and hiring processes.
• Maximize opportunities with social media and LinkedIn.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition Manager to provide HR and business leaders with relevant recruitment metrics and analytics.
• Stay informed of industry trends and best practices in recruitment to continuously improve our processes and procedures.

Job Required Knowledge and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or a related field or minimum of 0-2+ years of high volume, retail/recruiting experience.
• Strong customer-service orientation, ability to prioritize multiple initiatives, and desire to deliver end to end solutions.
• Prior experience within Retail hiring/high volume hiring.
• Excellent technical skills; in-depth knowledge of general Microsoft applications; familiarity with best practices in social networking; ability to leverage technology to attract candidates and drive effective and efficient operations.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

Additional Job Required Knowledge and Skills

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail; ability to prioritize multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Must be able to handle highly sensitive information with absolute confidentiality and professionalism.
• Ability to work independently and feel comfortable initiating interaction with hiring managers of all levels.
• Must have a strong customer focus and be able to effectively and quickly build relationships and establish trust and respect at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to influence others and gain consensus.
• Willingness to travel as needed to support recruitment efforts in different regions.

Preferred Job Required Knowledge and Skills

• Experience utilizing an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), specifically SAP.
• Demonstrated experience with online recruiting resources (LinkedIn, Indeed, Handshake).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
• Prior experience working in-store in a retail environment.

Reports To

Manager of Talent Acquisition

#LI-TC2