Art and Wellness Enterprises (AWE) is a professional services organization supporting non-profits founded by Alice Walton, including the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, Art Bridges Foundation, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Momentary, and Heartland Whole Health Institute.
Job Description:
Job Title: Director of Talent Acquisition
Reports to: Chief People Officer
FLSA Classification: Exempt
Location: Bentonville, Arkansas (On-site)
Art and Wellness Enterprises (AWE) supports operating non-profits founded by Alice Walton, including the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, Art Bridges, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Momentary, and Heartland Whole Health Institute.
About The Position
The Director of Talent Acquisition leads the development and execution of a comprehensive talent acquisition strategy for Art and Wellness Enterprises (AWE) and the diverse, complex portfolio of supported organizations spanning healthcare, arts, education, and philanthropy. This role is responsible for all aspects of recruitment process, including workforce planning, sourcing, attracting, and selecting top talent, while ensuring a seamless, high-quality experience for candidates and hiring managers.
Partnering closely with senior leadership across multiple entities, the Director anticipates talent needs, builds robust pipelines, and drives best practices that position AWE as an employer of choice. The role also oversees the optimization of Workday Recruiting, develops actionable recruitment analytics and reporting, and ensures alignment with organizational goals and strategic priorities.
Success in this position requires exceptional leadership, strategic vision, and operational excellence in talent acquisition, along with the ability to foster collaboration across multiple teams and entities in a dynamic, evolving organizational environment.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Talent Strategy and Execution
- Develop and execute a strategic talent acquisition plan aligned with each organization’s goals, workforce planning, and organizational objectives.
- Collaborate with senior leadership to understand current and future hiring needs, proactively identifying talent gaps and building succession pipelines.
- Provide recruiting strategies and implement tactical plans that increase hiring effectiveness and strengthen the external talent pipeline.
- Implement innovative sourcing strategies and employer branding initiatives to attract top and diverse talent across multiple, diverse sectors (e.g., healthcare, arts, higher education, cultural institutions, and philanthropy).
- Manage high-level requisitions, including executive searches and hard-to-fill positions, ensuring an efficient and professional recruitment process.
- Establish and maintain an internal skills inventory and pipelines for critical roles to reinforce bench strength and support career progression.
Operations and Analytics
- Oversee the recruitment function within Workday Recruiting, ensuring efficient system utilization, process standardization, and user training.
- Drive process improvements to streamline the recruitment cycle, enhance candidate and manager experiences, and increase overall efficiency.
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws, as well as internal policies and practices.
- Develop and deliver high-level talent acquisition reports to senior leadership and stakeholders, incorporating key recruitment metrics (time-to-fill, quality of hire, diversity of pipeline, candidate experience scores).
- Use analytics to assess sourcing effectiveness, hiring trends, and workforce demographics, providing data-driven recommendations to inform strategic decisions.
- Monitor and analyze recruitment KPIs against industry benchmarks, using insights to continuously improve performance.
Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
- Build strong relationships with hiring managers, executives, and support partners to align on workforce needs and hiring priorities.
- Partner with People Services and Learning & Development to ensure competitive offers, effective onboarding, and alignment with career pathways.
- Partner with the Chief People Officer and senior leadership on organizational design, workforce planning, and succession management initiatives.
- Manage external vendors, search firms, and third-party recruitment partners, representing AWE with professionalism and integrity.
- Drive special projects to enhance AWE’s recruitment capabilities, including hiring initiatives, candidate experience improvements, and technology optimization.
- Represent AWE in external forums, professional associations, and talent networks to expand visibility and attract top-tier talent.
Team Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop a dynamic, high-performing team fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, and growth.
- Promote continuous improvement, professional development, and collaboration within your team to drive results and support organization priorities.
- Monitor performance, morale, and workload balance, addressing challenges proactively and professionally while encouraging engagement and recognition.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications and Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, management, or related field; Master’s degree preferred.
- Professional certifications such as SHRM-S/CP, S/PHR or equivalent certification preferred.
- 10+ years of progressive experience leading enterprise-level talent acquisition, including executive search, hard-to-fill roles, and high-volume hiring across complex organizations with a proven track record of delivering timely results.
- Demonstrated success designing and managing large-scale, multi-entity recruiting strategies across multiple organizations. Experience in startups, healthcare, higher education, museum/cultural institutions, philanthropy, or similarly complex environments is strongly preferred.
- Deep knowledge of sourcing strategies, talent pipelines, and selection methodologies, with a strong knowledge in federal and state employment law and compliance.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, with advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills for reporting and executive presentations.
- Strong familiarity with ATS and ERP systems; prior experience with Workday HCM and Workday Recruiting is strongly preferred.
- Exceptional analytical and quantitative skills with the ability to leverage talent acquisition metrics (e.g., time-to-fill, quality of hire, source effectiveness) to inform strategic decisions.
- Demonstrated ability to coach, mentor, and develop team members while fostering a collaborative, performance-driven culture.
- Outstanding communication (verbal, written, presentation) and interpersonal skills, with proven ability to influence senior leaders, hiring managers, and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Excellent decision-making and critical thinking skills with the agility to adapt in a fast-paced, innovative environment where change is constant.
- Proven ability to manage competing priorities in high-pressure environments, orchestrate multiple activities, and coordinate across diverse teams for optimal efficiency.
- Strong negotiation and conflict resolution skills, with sound judgment and the ability to navigate sensitive situations with professionalism.
- High level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential and organizational information.
Physical Demands and Work Environment
The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those required by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.
Physical Demands: In the work environment described, position requires utilizing a computer and a telephone for prolonged periods of time and good eye/hand coordination, bending and stretching, and physical stamina to lift and transport a minimum of 10 pounds. Visual acuity to review written materials is required for this job.
Work Environment: Work is performed full-time (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) in a professional, climate-controlled office environment with standard office equipment, including computers, printers, and telephones. This role requires working in an open setting near colleagues. The noise level is typically low to moderate. The role also requires regular interaction with both the public and internal team members in a professional and courteous manner. Some local travel will be required, and a flexible schedule may be necessary to accommodate business needs, including occasional evening and weekend work hours.
Art and Wellness Enterprises, LLC is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.
All offers of employment are contingent on your successful completion (where permitted by state law) of a confidentiality agreement and a background check. In addition, you will need to provide proper identification verifying your eligibility to work in the United States.