Principal Recruiter

Description

The Principal Recruiter is an expert-level individual contributor responsible for the hardest-to-fill, most complex, scarce, urgent, senior, stalled, or strategically critical searches within Emory Healthcare's enterprise Talent Acquisition model.

This role is deployed where traditional recruiting activity is insufficient and advanced sourcing, market intelligence, passive candidate conversion, data-backed search strategy, and senior stakeholder influence are required.

This role requires a modern search expert who can build search strategy from ambiguous business needs, use advanced recruiting technology, interpret labor market and funnel data, present clear recommendations to senior leaders, and convert highly competitive passive candidates.

The Principal Recruiter is not a standard volume requisition role. This role leads through expertise, search discipline, credibility, and measurable results in a complex, matrixed healthcare environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Expert Search Execution & Candidate Management

• Lead assigned critical, scarce, senior, stalled, failed, or strategically important searches requiring deep sourcing, market mapping, and search strategy expertise.
• Conduct advanced intake and calibration with senior hiring leaders to clarify business need, candidate profile, market realities, compensation considerations, selection process, decision criteria, and search risks.
• Personally identify, engage, assess, nurture, and convert highly competitive or passive candidates for priority searches, including candidates who are not actively applying.
• Manage high-value candidate relationships with discretion, credibility, responsiveness, confidentiality, and a strong candidate experience through offer support.

Advanced Sourcing, Market Intelligence & Technology

• Design advanced sourcing strategies using LinkedIn Recruiter or comparable platforms, Boolean search, talent mapping, competitor intelligence, CRM campaigns, candidate communities, referrals, associations, events, and non-traditional sourcing channels.
• Build market maps, target company lists, talent intelligence summaries, candidate pipelines, outreach cadences, search rescue plans, and executive-ready search updates for hard-to-fill roles.
• Create highly tailored passive candidate outreach that reflects role complexity, candidate motivations, market positioning, employment value proposition, and competitive barriers.
• Use ATS, CRM, LinkedIn projects, sourcing analytics, response rates, funnel metrics, talent availability, compensation feedback, reporting dashboards, and productivity tools to guide search strategy and maintain data integrity.

Executive Partnership, Data, Compliance & Team Influence

• Present executive-ready search strategy, market intelligence, candidate pipeline updates, risks, options, and recommendations to TA leadership, senior managers, directors, and hiring executives.
• Advise leaders on search feasibility, role requirements, compensation barriers, candidate supply, process risks, market competitiveness, and recommended adjustments to improve search outcomes.
• Interpret complex recruiting data, including talent supply, response rates, candidate conversion, compensation feedback, interview activity, offer outcomes, and stalled search indicators to diagnose root causes and recommend action.
• Maintain search documentation, candidate dispositioning, compliance standards, confidentiality, compensation escalation discipline, and fair selection practices for complex searches.
• Coach recruiters, senior recruiters, sourcers, and coordinators on advanced sourcing, market mapping, passive candidate engagement, search planning, candidate conversion, and stakeholder influence.

Additional Duties as Assigned.

Travel:

Travel between Emory operating units and affiliated sites

Work Type:

Hybrid employee. Three days a week in office is required Tuesday through Thursday for full working hours.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Sales, Marketing, Healthcare Administration, or related field required. Other education and experience may be considered in lieu of degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of eight years of progressive recruiting, sourcing, executive search, healthcare search, agency search, corporate recruiting, or specialized talent acquisition experience required.
• Experience must include demonstrated success filling hard-to-fill, scarce, senior, complex, or business-critical roles using advanced sourcing, market mapping, passive candidate conversion, stakeholder influence, technology-enabled workflow management, and data-backed search strategy.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities (required):

• Expert-level search execution for the most difficult, scarce, stalled, failed, senior, or strategically critical roles with high autonomy, urgency, discretion, and measurable outcomes.
• Expert sourcing capability, including ability to identify five or more advanced sourcing channels for a critical role, create advanced Boolean search strings, build market maps, use LinkedIn Recruiter or comparable tools, and write highly tailored passive candidate outreach.
• Advanced candidate management skill, including ability to engage passive candidates, assess motivation and fit, communicate complex value propositions, manage objections, maintain long-term relationships, and improve conversion.
• Executive stakeholder management skill, including ability to lead intake with senior leaders, challenge assumptions, present search tradeoffs, influence process discipline, and escalate barriers with clear recommendations.
• Advanced data literacy, including ability to interpret talent supply, funnel metrics, response rates, candidate conversion, compensation feedback, offer outcomes, stalled search indicators, and market intelligence to create data-backed search strategy.
• Expert recruiting technology proficiency, including ATS, CRM or candidate tracking tools, LinkedIn Recruiter or comparable sourcing tools, market mapping tools, sourcing analytics, reporting dashboards, Microsoft Office, Teams, and productivity tools.
• Working knowledge of recruitment marketing, compensation partnership, compliance documentation, EEO principles, candidate dispositioning, interview documentation, offer process requirements, confidentiality, and selection discipline.
• Ability to coach recruiters and sourcing partners, lead through expertise without direct authority, and build trust with candidates, hiring executives, TA leaders, HR partners, and cross-functional stakeholders in a matrixed environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in healthcare, academic medical center, hospital, executive search, agency search, high-volume, or complex matrixed recruiting environment.
• Experience rescuing failed searches, building talent maps, or supporting mission-critical clinical, non-clinical, professional, leadership, or specialized searches preferred.
• Experience using advanced CRM campaigns, LinkedIn Recruiter projects, recruitment marketing content, talent intelligence, competitive intelligence, hiring events, or long-term talent communities preferred.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS (Medium Max 25lbs): Up to 25 lbs., 0-33% of the work day (occasionally) Lifting 25 lbs. max; Carrying of objects up to 25 lbs.; Occasional to frequent standing & walking, Occasional sitting, close eye work (computers, typing, reading, writing). Physical demands may vary depending on assigned work area and work tasks. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: Factors affecting environmental conditions may vary depending on the assigned work area and tasks. Environmental exposures include but are not limited to blood-borne pathogen exposure, bio-hazardous waste, chemicals/gases/fumes/vapors, communicable diseases, electrical shock, floor surfaces, hot/cold temperatures, indoor/outdoor conditions, latex, lighting, patient care/handling injuries, radiation, shift work. Travel may be required. Use of personal protective equipment, including respirators, may vary depending on assigned work area and work tasks.

Additional Details

Emory is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by state or federal law.

Emory Healthcare is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Please contact Emory Healthcare’s Human Resources at [email protected]. Please note that one week's advance notice is preferred.