Talent Acquisition Manager - College Recruiting

SUMMARY 

As the Talent Acquisition Manager – College Recruiting at Mortenson, you will serve as a key leader who drives business strategy and champions company growth by building equitable, diverse, and high‑performing early‑career talent pipelines. This role oversees the entire college recruiting function (including our internship programming), encompassing both internal and external execution of campus strategy. In addition, this role also oversees the national diversity partnerships and recruiting events that take place throughout the calendar year.

The Manager of Talent Acquisition (College Recruiting) develops best‑in‑class strategies, strengthens the employment brand, and ensures a unified, company‑wide approach to engaging, inspiring, and hiring the next generation of leaders.

This role provides leadership to early‑career leaders and specialists and is responsible for developing new strategies, programs, and processes to attract top emerging talent while ensuring exceptional candidate and hiring‑manager experiences. The leader in this role works closely with business groups, HR partners, and senior leadership to meet workforce planning needs and build strong, reliable early‑talent pipelines.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategic Leadership & Talent Alignment:
  • Partner with business leaders to understand team structures, strategy, workforce planning needs, and translate those needs into a unified early‑talent acquisition strategy.
  • Serve as a thought leader and brand ambassador, strengthening the employment brand through strategic partnerships, campus presence, and storytelling.
  • Lead the strategy, relationships, and year‑round engagement with national outreach and diversity‑focused partners to strengthen pipelines and maximize partnership impact.
  • Create and drive innovative sourcing, engagement, and pipelining strategies to ensure strong candidate pools that support business growth.
• College Recruiting Strategy & Execution: 
  • Lead the full lifecycle of the college recruiting function to hire interns and full‑time early‑career talent, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
  • Oversee all campus recruitment activities, including in‑person school strategies, campus champion teams, virtual career events, CRM/ATS management, screening, interviewing, offer delivery, candidate alignment, and campus event execution.
  • Design a superior candidate experience with innovative strategies that engage and inspire students pursuing internship and full‑time opportunities.
  • Collaborate cross‑functionally to ensure messaging, branding, and the candidate experience reflect the company’s culture, values, and opportunities.
• Supervision & Team Leadership:
  • Lead and supervise the full college recruiting team, providing coaching, mentorship, development, performance management, and training for employees involved in interviewing, campus visits, and student interactions.
  • Model inclusive leadership, support high‑performing team dynamics, ensure accountability for recruiting outcomes and hiring forecasts, and build an environment of continuous learning and improvement.
• Process Excellence, Data Integrity & Compliance
  • Establish and manage efficient, data‑driven recruiting processes across sourcing, engagement, screening, interviewing, selection, negotiation, and onboarding.
  • Maintain exceptional data integrity in all recruiting systems to ensure accuracy and compliance.
  • Develop and maintain KPIs to monitor candidate experience, hiring manager satisfaction, process efficiency, event/program performance, and conversion/acceptance rates.
  • Ensure compliance with OFCCP, EEO, Affirmative Action, and all regulatory requirements.
• Metrics, Reporting & Continuous Improvement:
  • Measure, track, and analyze key metrics related to campus recruiting, internship programming, student program performance, pipeline strength, and hiring forecasts.
  • Identify trends, gaps, and opportunities through data analysis and develop solutions that continuously improve recruiting outcomes.
  • Communicate results and insights regularly with business partners, HR, and senior leadership.
• Cross-Functional & External Partnerships:
  • Develop strong relationships with internal partners, including Operating Groups, Learning & Development, Talent Partners, and Corporate Recruiting, and partner with recruitment marketing to maintain relevant, inspiring, and accurate campus messaging.
  • Work closely with leaders to ensure alignment of students to appropriate project sites and business needs.
  • Build and nurture relationships with universities, faculty, student organizations, and career center partners to support hiring goals.
• Budget & Resource Management: 
  • Manage the college recruiting budget, prepare proposals, and monitor expenditures to ensure efficient use of resources.
  • Collaborate with the Early Talent Relations Lead, Early Talent Recruiting Lead, and Internship Specialist to ensure optimal resource allocation across the organization.
• Additional Responsibilities: 
  • Remain current on industry trends, best practices, legal developments, and technological advancements in early‑career recruiting.
  • Benchmark campus recruiting programs against competitors to ensure best‑in‑class practices.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree Human Resources, Business, or a related field.
• Minimum ten years of recruiting or HR experience, or an equivalent combination of higher education and experience.
• Previous experience leading teams of talent acquisition professionals.
• Strong understanding of talent acquisition processes, hiring best practices, and early‑career recruiting strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to make hiring recommendations to senior leadership and execute sound judgment in selection decisions.
• Strong leadership, coaching, mentoring, and team‑building skills.
• Exceptional communication and listening skills, with openness to diverse input and feedback.
• Detail‑orientation with the ability to analyze data and derive meaningful insights.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, ATS/CRM systems, HRIS platforms, and ability to learn new systems as needed.
• Knowledge of EEO, Affirmative Action, DEI principles, and inclusive behaviors.
• Ability to travel up to 25%.

A few benefits offered include: 

(for Non-Craft & Non-Union Craft working 25+ hours / week)

• Medical and prescription drug plans that includes no additional cost vision coverage 
• Dental plan 
• 401k retirement plan with a generous Mortenson match
• Paid time off, holidays, and other paid leaves 
• Employer paid Life, AD&D, and disability insurance 
• No-Cost mental health tool and concierge with extensive work-life resources
• Tuition reimbursement 
• Adoption Assistance  
• Gym Membership Discount Program  

The base pay range for this role is $110,300- $164,500. (Actual range is higher for the following office locations: Denver, CO and Chicago, IL – 5%, Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR – 10%, Washington, D.C. – 12.5%). This position is eligible for Mortenson’s incentive plan.

Base pay is positioned within the range based on several factors including an individual’s knowledge, skills, and experience, with consideration given to internal equity. 

#LI-PM1 #LI-hybrid

Please make note: 

• Visa sponsorship is not offered for this position.
• Our postings are typically open a minimum of 5 days and an average of 44 days. 

ABOUT MORTENSON

As a top builder, developer, and EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction), our expertise spans markets like sports, renewable energy, data centers, healthcare, and more. We are builders at heart, working to ensure the built environment has a lasting positive impact. 

Let’s Redefine Possible® 

Equal Employment Opportunity

Your uniqueness brings new and creative perspectives to the team. Mortenson is committed to providing equal opportunities of employment (EOE) to all individuals, regardless of your race, religion, gender, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, marital status or any other legally protected category.

Other Items to Note

• Mortenson reserves the right to hire any individual without legal or financial obligation on unwanted solicitations. No agency emails, calls, or solicitations are accepted without a valid agreement.
• Must be currently legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status, 0-1, TN, CPT, OPT, etc.). We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.