Director Strategic Hiring

The Director of Strategic Hiring is responsible for leading Zachry's enterprise strategic hiring function, ensuring the organization has the talent required to execute current and future business objectives. This role partners closely with business leaders, workforce planning stakeholders, and talent leaders to identify future talent needs, assess workforce risks, and develop proactive hiring strategies for managerial, director-level, and other mission-critical positions across the organization.

Reporting to the Vice President of Workforce Planning & Staffing, the Director of Strategic Hiring will build and lead a high-performing team focused on talent pipeline development, labor market intelligence, and strategic hiring execution. Through workforce forecasting, business partnership, and talent market expertise, this role helps ensure Zachry maintains a sustainable competitive advantage by securing the talent necessary to support growth, operational excellence, and long-term business success.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of strategic hiring professionals responsible for recruiting managerial, director-level, and mission-critical positions across the enterprise.

• Partner with Engineering, Project Leadership, Services, Project Controls, Supply Chain, and other business leaders to identify current and future talent needs.

• Translate business forecasts, growth projections, and workforce plans into proactive hiring strategies and targeted recruiting initiatives.

• Develop and maintain robust talent pipelines for critical positions to ensure organizational readiness and reduce hiring risk.

• Serve as a strategic advisor to business leaders regarding talent availability, labor market conditions, competitive hiring trends, and workforce challenges.

• Collaborate with Workforce Planning and Succession Planning leaders to align external hiring strategies with broader talent management objectives.

• Monitor workforce demand trends and identify emerging talent gaps that could impact business performance or growth initiatives.

• Establish and oversee strategic sourcing initiatives focused on attracting highly skilled and difficult-to-find talent.

• Drive continuous improvement of hiring processes, candidate experience, and recruiting effectiveness.

• Monitor and report key performance metrics including talent pipeline health, fill rates, time-to-fill, quality of hire, labor market intelligence, and forecast-to-actual hiring outcomes.

• Develop innovative talent attraction strategies that strengthen Zachry's ability to compete for top talent in targeted labor markets.

• Ensure all hiring activities are conducted in compliance with company policies and applicable federal, state, and local employment laws.

• Support executive leadership in workforce planning discussions by providing data-driven insights and talent market recommendations.

Essential Skills, Knowledge, Abilities and Experience

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.

• 10+ years of experience leading teams, programs, projects, or strategic business initiatives.

• Experience within industrial construction, engineering, manufacturing, energy, oil and gas, or related industries.

• Demonstrated ability to influence and partner effectively with senior leaders and business stakeholders.

• Experience leading workforce-related initiatives, strategic planning efforts, talent acquisition programs, operational projects, or workforce forecasting activities.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Experience utilizing metrics, forecasts, and market intelligence to support decision-making.

• Exceptional communication and relationship management skills.

• Knowledge of employment practices and applicable employment laws.

• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading strategic recruiting, workforce planning, talent acquisition, or talent strategy functions.

• Experience supporting large-scale project-based organizations.

• PMP, Lean Six Sigma, SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, or PHR/SPHR certifications.

• Experience developing workforce forecasting models and strategic hiring plans.

• Experience using labor market intelligence and talent analytics to inform business strategy.

• Master's degree preferred.

Physical Requirements

• Employee will be required to sit, stand, walk, bend, and perform routine office-related activities.

• Will talk and hear to communicate effectively with employees, candidates, customers, and business leaders.

• May occasionally lift or move materials up to 25 lbs.

• Ability to travel occasionally to project sites, business locations, industry events, and recruiting activities as needed.

Work Environment

• Primarily office-based environment.

• Occasional travel to project sites, company offices, conferences, universities, or industry networking events.

• Work environment may include visits to active construction and industrial locations requiring appropriate PPE.

• Noise levels will vary based on work location and may range from moderate to high during site visits.