Recruiter/Talent Acquisition Specialist

The Opportunity

Essie Justice Group (Essie) is building grassroots power to dismantle the US incarceration system, the most egregious creator of racial and gender injustice of our time. We are a loving and powerful community of women with incarcerated loved ones. Our community includes cisgender women, transgender women, formerly incarcerated women, gender nonconforming (GNC) people, elders, and young people.

After eight years of building an active membership across California and beyond, Essie is deepening its base-building and leadership development strategies with the 1 in 4 women with incarcerated loved ones to propel bold decarceration agendas across the nation. We seek to transform the criminal legal system and create a Black feminist future rooted in care, equity, community safety, and liberation. In the midst of significant organizational growth, we are seeking an experienced and innovative Recruiter to join our team.

The Recruiter will co-develop and drive Essie’s talent recruitment strategy, implementing its day-to-day execution while ensuring a candidate experience that reflects our Black feminist values. As an expert relationship builder, the Recruiter will partner closely with hiring managers to support their hiring goals and play a critical role in the expansion of Essie’s unique constituency building model through their passion for connecting people to purposeful work. The ideal candidate is someone who strongly identifies with Essie’s vision for a Black feminist, abolitionist future and communicates this in a way that motivates and engages the top talent in the movement to join the Essie team.

Start date: July 24, 2023

Application due date: March 12, 2023

Core Responsibilities

Recruitment Process Management - Develop and implement a thoughtful, full-cycle recruitment process for hiring people with exceptional skill sets and political alignment who will grow and thrive with Essie.

• Thoughtfully and strategically assess, refine, and improve Essie’s recruitment processes to successfully recruit and engage top talent.
• Develop & deploy a consistent networking and outreach strategy, including drafting materials, communications, and graphics and sharing them with staff, Board, members, and partners to involve them as partners in the recruitment process and increase opportunities for meeting and engaging with potential candidates for Essie roles.
• Draft job descriptions, interview questions, hiring exercises, evaluation tools and other materials to allow thoughtful and knowledgeable consideration of each candidate’s skills and culture fit for Essie’s needs.
• Conduct initial interviews, evaluate exercises, make candidate recommendations, and prepare candidate profiles and other supporting materials for staff and member interviewers.
• Develop and lead training for members of the staff team and the Essie member hiring committee, enabling meaningful participation in the hiring process.
• Maintain in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of top talent, organizations in our field, recruitment best practices and tools, and nonprofit trends.
• Act as an ambassador for Essie at public-facing events, embodying our values and building a network of connections between Essie and other advocacy organizations that attract top leaders and talent.

Onboarding & Pipeline Development - Steward the onboarding of new staff and the development and cultivation of a talent pipeline of candidates who share Essie values and vision for a Black feminist, abolitionist future.

• Manage vendor relationships with temporary staffing companies; vet and secure temporary staff as needed.
• Conduct informational interviews with volunteers to assess interest and fit with the evolving needs of the organization.
• Lead hiring, placement, on-boarding, and offboarding processes for internships at Essie.
• Coordinate onboarding program for all positions at Essie.
• Contribute to internal professional development strategy to support staff in being successful in their roles.

Who We’re Looking For

Ideal Qualifications

• 3+ years experience in recruitment with proven success in recruiting candidates for non-profit roles from Entry to Director-level.
• Razor-sharp instincts and deeply skilled at measuring talent through professional qualitative and quantitative metrics.
• Impeccable attention to detail and polished writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.
• Track record as a collaborative team member who excels in coordinating multiple projects, and is comfortable working in a fast-paced and non-traditional work environment.
• Experience with Mac operating systems, Google Suite, and MS Office Suite (especially Excel and Word).
• Commitment to the beliefs and values of Essie with a demonstrated passion for progressive politics, specifically in gender justice, race justice and ending mass incarceration.

Qualities

• An empathetic people-person & skilled communicator. You naturally connect with people and then connect them with other people if you see a potential opportunity or relationship that could be mutually beneficial. You use your highly developed sense of empathy to tap into what motivates others and to inspire them to act. You are a deep listener and are most persuasive and helpful to others when you understand who they are and where they are coming from.
• Immaculately organized in approach. You understand that coordinating multiple projects with complex data necessitates an efficient process. You feel comfortable creating and utilizing project management systems that ensure deadlines and details aren’t missed.
• Discernment and honesty we can trust. You are a thoughtful team member who acts in alignment with your integrity and are unfailingly trustworthy.
• Committed to evolution. You are committed to continuously deepening and evolving your own understanding of systems of oppression through study, openness, and humility. And you easily recognize your own relationship to privilege and power, examining and shifting your behaviors as appropriate.
• Uplifting and additive. You see mistakes as opportunities for growth; problems as catalysts for solutions, and inspire others along the journey. You carry a positive approach, can-do attitude, a sense of humor, and authentic kindness wherever you go.

The Position

The Recruiter is a full time salaried, exempt position. This position is supervised by the Senior Manager of Human Relations. The salary for this position is between $70,000-$85,000 depending on experience with full medical, dental, and vision benefits, optional 401(k), a substantial vacation package, and a monthly personal wellness stipend. The position is based in one of Essie’s offices in Oakland or Los Angeles, California. All Essie staff are required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, with limited exceptions for medical or religious reasons.

To Apply

Please address a thoughtful cover letter to the “Essie Hiring Committee” and submit along with a resume through our hiring portal (https://essiejusticegroup.bamboohr.com/jobs).

Essie Justice Group provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all staff members. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and skills. Essie does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, ancestry, age, size, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, prior conviction, arrest history, traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Essie values and specifically seeks applicants who are people with incarcerated loved ones; formerly incarcerated people; people of color; women; queer, transgender, gender non-conforming (GNC), and gender fluid people.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, performance assessment, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

About Essie Justice Group

Essie Justice Group is a non profit organization of women with incarcerated loved ones taking on the rampant injustices created by mass incarceration. Our award-winning Healing to Advocacy Model brings women together to heal, build collective power, and drive social change. Essie is Great Place to Work-Certified™ and a recognized leader in Black feminist institution building.

Learn more at www.essiejusticegroup.org.