About W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families, and communities as they strengthen and create conditions so all children can achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Upon establishing the foundation in 1930, breakfast cereal innovator W.K. Kellogg instructed future trustees and staff to “Use the money as you please so long as it promotes the health, happiness and well-being of children.” To this day, the foundation envisions, and works toward, a nation that marshals its resource to assure that all children have an equitable and promising future – a nation in which all children thrive.
To advance this mission, the foundation implements an array of change-making tools – grantmaking, impact investing, communications, contracting, networking, and convenings – and uses an innovative networked organizational design to prioritize investment decisions and maximize effectiveness toward achieving the desired ends and improvements for children and their families. A commitment to racial equity, community engagement and leadership development is woven into each endeavor as essential to the creation of a social context in which all children can thrive. Their grant-making focuses on education and learning; food, health, and well-being; and family economic security.
The overall work of the foundation is guided by the following values:
- We believe in helping people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.
- We believe all people have the inherent capacity to effect change in their lives, in their organization, and in their communities. We respect individuals and value their collective interests, strengths, and cultures.
- We believe stewardship requires fidelity to the spirit and to the intent of the founder and the wide use of resources. We believe in being responsible, prudent, selfless, and exercising good judgment.
- We believe innovation of thought and action leads to enduring and positive change in both formal and informal systems.
- We value integrity of purpose and action, and believe it is essential to all of our affairs.
This is a powerful time to be on the front lines of innovative philanthropy and we hope you’ll consider joining us! To learn more about the foundation, please visit www.wkkf.org and everychildthrives.com.
The Opportunity
The Talent Acquisition Officer is responsible for managing the full lifecycle recruitment process—designing, coordinating, and executing strategic hiring initiatives that attract and retain exceptional talent aligned with the foundation’s mission and values. This role ensures a consistent, equitable, and high-quality experience for candidates, hiring managers, and external partners by integrating best practices, data insights, and operational excellence across all recruitment activities.
The officer serves as a strategic partner to people leaders, a liaison to external search partners, and a key contributor to organizational workforce planning and talent reporting. They must bring a strategic mindset, strong judgement, a relationship-centered approach, and a deep commitment to equity, inclusion and mitigating bias in all talent practices.
Specifically, the Talent Acquisition Officer is responsible for the following:
- Lead the end-to-end recruitment process from the onset to onboarding handoff, ensuring efficiency, consistency, and compliance with organizational standards.
- Partner with hiring managers and leaders to define position requirements, timelines, and interview strategies that align with workforce plans and WKKF’s DNA, values and priorities.
- Manage search firm and contingency workforce staffing firm relationships, including partner selection, contracts, kickoffs, deliverables, cadence of progress updates, and ongoing vendor performance evaluation to ensure accountability and quality.
- Manage recruiting for executive and specialized searches that require strong vendor oversight, tact and professionalism.
- Oversee job descriptions, job postings, advertising strategies, and recruitment campaigns to attract a diverse and qualified talent pool.
- Collaborate with the Human Resources Team and to ensure job descriptions, competencies, and success profiles are accurate and aligned with organizational frameworks, career pathways, and succession planning.
- When applicable, execute sourcing, screening, and interview coordination, guide candidates through the process with professionalism and care.
- Coordinate interview panels and training on interviewing practices for panelists, providing briefings on competencies, structured interviewing, and rubrics; manage post-interview survey administration and reporting (e.g., Microsoft Forms). Ensure interview and screening processes are fair, consistent, and equitable. Continuously strengthen processes to reduce bias and increase transparency.
- Contribute to developing and maintaining talent marketing content and materials that reflect WKKF’s employer brand and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
- Research, design, and implement innovative talent acquisition and retention strategies, including relocation benefits, community resources, and cultural integration.
- Manage and coordinate immigration-related processes, in partnership with legal counsel. Monitor immigration policy changes, coordinate visa sponsorship and renewal processes, communicate with candidates and staff navigating immigration processes, and manage relationships with immigration attorneys and agencies.
- Establish and oversee secure and compliant records management processes and coordinate with THR operations to transition candidate files into personnel files upon hiring/onboarding/changeboarding of staff.
Stakeholder Communication and Partnership
- Serve as the primary liaison between hiring managers, THR, and search firms to ensure alignment of candidate profiles, expectations, and selection processes. Build strong partnerships and act as a trusted advisor with sound, values-based judgement.
- Lead recruitment-related communications, notifications, and updates across the organization.
- Prepare Talent Board Write-Ups and coordinate related documentation with hiring managers and other THR sub-teams (e.g., Compensation, Employee Experience, and Talent Management and Leadership Development).
- Collaborate with THR, Payroll, IT, and Facilities to ensure a seamless onboarding handoff for new hires.
- Support cross-functional projects where recruitment intersects with talent frameworks, job architecture, and organizational development initiatives.
Data, Compliance, and Reporting
- Leverage Applicant Tracking System and other HRIS to maintain accurate candidate and employee records. Support data migration and integration between recruitment platforms and HRIS. Adhere to data retention and destruction policies and ensure compliance with privacy and cybersecurity standards.
- Experience with HRIS and recruitment data reporting and software.
- Track and report key recruitment metrics, including time-to-fill, candidate satisfaction, and diversity representation data, to inform continuous improvement, equitable hiring practices and compliance with WKKF monitoring reports.
- Use data insights to drive decision-making, identify process gaps, and improve recruiting strategies that advance inclusion and transparency.
- Ensure compliance with employment laws, internal controls, and data reporting standards for U.S. and international hiring.
- Manage contracts and vendor documentation related to recruiting within Fluxx; oversee contingent workforce (contractors, temps, consultants, etc.) intake, renewals, and compliance.
- Support the preparation of monitoring reports and related data submissions.
Budgeting and Process Improvement
- Lead the annual talent acquisition budget planning process and track in-year spending.
- Partner with Total Rewards and Finance on cost reporting, search firm payments, and relocation reimbursements.
- Develop and implement process enhancements that strengthen candidate experience, promote equity, and increase operational efficiency.
- Continuously improve systems by proactively identifying opportunities to streamline workflows and enhance data-driven decision-making.
- Apply a continuous improvement mindset by assessing data trends, feedback, and vendor outcomes to refine recruiting systems, tools, and partnerships.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:
Experience/Education
- Minimum five years of progressive experience in talent acquisition, including experience managing end-to-end recruitment and relationships with external search firms and contingent workforce vendors. Demonstrated ability to cultivate diverse talent networks, optimize hiring practices and systems, and implement continuous improvement strategies to advance equity, efficiency, and candidate experience
- SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) or Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and certified compensation professional credentials preferred.
- Experience with international hiring processes (e.g., Mexico) and relocation program administration is preferred.
- Fluency in English required, Spanish proficiency also highly desirable.
- Foundation or nonprofit experience preferred.
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field required, Master’s degree preferred.
Core Capabilities
- Understanding and deep commitment to our WKKF’s values. Strong relationship building and communication skills with the ability to have authentic dialogue around sensitive issues; highly developed emotional intelligence and active listening skills, and the ability to use interpersonal and political skills in collaborative, diplomatic ways.
- Strong intuition and judgement in assessing candidates’ alignment with values, culture and role expectations.
- Skilled in managing confidential information with discretion and integrity.
- Holistic thinker who understands how to build and cultivate strategic relationships both within and outside of the organization to accomplish strategic talent planning and acquisition.
- Analytical and data-driven approach to decision-making; experience using dashboards and KPIs to evaluate recruiting effectiveness. Strong project and change management skills in support of system upgrades or digital transformation.
- Proactive, service-oriented mindset with commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement.
- Comfort with emerging technologies, AI-enabled tools and use of real-time data to inform decisions.
Desired Qualities and Characteristics
- Maintains Integrity: Acts in accordance with stated values. Deals with others honestly and ethically. Tells the truth regardless of the circumstances.
- Professional Rigor: Works diligently to find the right answers or solutions independently or with limited supervision. Arrives at conclusions after thorough research and pressure-testing.
- Strong Judgment: Can accurately assess exposure and risk in grants, contracts, and WKKF policies and recommend practical solutions and advice. Exercises strong, values aligned judgment in recruiting decisions and candidates’ assessments.
- Results-Oriented: Highly motivated to succeed. Produces high quality and timely results.
- Teaming Skills: Goes beyond technical competence to skillful interpersonal performance on teams
- Collaborative: Goes beyond working independently to with interdependently with others on the team. Builds trust across the organization and contributes to cross-team initiatives.
- Intercultural Competence: Able to shift cultural perspective and adjust behaviors in culturally appropriate and authentic ways.
- Intellectual Curiosity: Interested in developing and mastering new areas of law, policy, and other topics impacting the Foundation.
- Flexible: Can adapt quickly and efficiently to changing priorities, deadlines, and projects. Humble, grounded and able to navigate client facing interactions with tact and diplomacy.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $133,000 - $166,000 with a generous benefits package. The exact salary that will be offered to the Talent Acquisition Officer will be determined based on a consideration of the successful candidate’s skills, experience, and aligned with the foundation’s compensation policies.
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Erin Reedy. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile. All inquiries are strictly confidential.