Senior Recruiting Manager

Job Description

At Dewberry, we are seeking an experienced Senior Recruiting Manager to lead and execute the strategic direction of our talent acquisition efforts.  This role will be responsible for developing and driving innovative recruiting strategies, enhancing employer branding, and ensuring the organization attracts top talent to meet current and future business needs.  This is a great opportunity to be a critical member of a high-performing team and can be located at our headquarters in Fairfax, VA or in any of our regional offices.

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in AEC industry hiring, a strong grasp of workforce planning, and the ability to partner closely with executives, hiring managers, and HR teams. This role requires a visionary leader who can align recruitment efforts with business objectives while fostering a culture of diversity, innovation, and operational excellence.  In addition to leading the Recruiting Service Line for Dewberry, the ideal candidate will be responsible for full life cycle recruiting for assigned geography/population as well as executive level hiring.

 Dewberry prides itself on a culture of collaboration where in-person interaction with our clients and each other is essential for full exchanging of ideas, successful project delivery, developing meaningful professional relationships, gaining mentorship, and developing our workforce. While we offer flexible schedules, we prioritize in-person presence in the office. This is a hybrid role where the selected candidate will need to be in the office at least three times a week.

Dewberry is a leading, market-facing professional services firm with more than 50 locations and 2,000 professionals nationwide. What sets us apart from our competitors are our people. At Dewberry, we seek out exceptional talent and strive to deliver the highest quality of services to our clients. Whether you’re an experienced professional or a new graduate, you’ll have the chance to collaborate with the best and brightest and work on innovative and complex projects at the forefront of the industry. Our commitment to excellence stems from our personal integrity and from other defining attributes, which we call “Dewberry at Work,” that have inspired our employees to be successful for more than a half-century.

Responsibilities

Responsiblities: 

• Strategic Leadership & Workforce Planning.
• Develop strong relationships with the company’s operational leaders, external professional organizations, and industry contacts to identify qualified leaders and professionals.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive recruitment strategy that aligns with business objectives and growth goals.
• Partner with senior leadership and hiring managers to understand talent needs, workforce trends, and succession planning.
• Provide an exceptional high-touch experience for executive candidates, ensuring seamless engagement from sourcing to onboarding.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, offering market insights, hiring recommendations, and competitive intelligence.
• Partner with the Market Intelligence team to understand economic factors that will impact workforce trends and hiring.
• Manage confidential and complex executive searches with discretion and professionalism.
• Identify and leverage emerging hiring trends, technology, and best practices to optimize recruiting efforts.
• Enhance the company’s employer brand and Employee Value Proposition to attract top AEC talent.
• Develop innovative sourcing strategies, including industry associations and talent communities.
• Analyze recruiting sources, including referrals, passive candidates, headhunters and other recruiting sites to maximize effectiveness of our brand and talent attraction strategy.
• Develop and implement targeted executive search strategies to attract high-caliber leaders in architecture, engineering, and construction.
• Partner closely with C-suite, senior executives, and hiring managers to define leadership needs and align recruitment efforts with business objectives.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of executive talent, proactively identifying and engaging with industry leaders.
• Conduct market mapping and competitor analysis to stay ahead of AEC industry hiring trends.
• Build upon a culture of excellence, developing clear objectives and accountabilities for the divisional recruiting function.
• Manage and perform full cycle recruiting including sourcing, screening, interviewing and closing top talent while complying with EEO and OFCCP federal regulations.
• Strategize on driving recruitment actions to support culture of inclusion and diversity.
• Periodic travel to operational team meetings is required. The candidate is expected to visit each geographic location to which they are assigned at least once annually, but also when necessary due to any specific situation requiring recruiting support.

Leadership Competencies:

Achieving results

• Makes clear decisions on a path forward after risks have been assessed.
• Demonstrates a willingness to advance an initiative forward without total certainty as to an outcome.
• Works with managers on creative solutions and problem solving.
• Responsive to requests and deliverables in a timely manner.
• Ability to successfully bring assigned projects to a successful close and experience helping to management change in large organizations.

Communication

• Knows when to talk and when to listen.
• Adapts their personal communication style to reflect and support the styles of others.
• Chooses the most effective medium for communication based on the subject matter and audience.
• Ability to present and communicate information and policies to a diverse population.

Critical Thinking

• Examines the root cause behind issues prior to acting.
• Models the ability to facilitate idea generation and remain open to new and untested ideas.
• Ability to analyze situations and assist in bringing issues to successful resolution using sound HR problem solving skills.
• Ability to proactivity engage in difficult conversations guide towards a positive outcome.

Relationship Building

• Build relationships with teammates, managers and employees based on trust. 
• Demonstrates emotional intelligence by managing emotions during stressful situations or in times of conflict, recognize how the emotions of team members may impact others’ reactions and counsel others to employ critical thinking skills to resolve emotionally charged problems and interactions.

Resilience

• Support managers and team members through challenging and unprecedented times and help them navigate change and the unknown productively. 

Required Skills & Required Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field is required.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive recruiting experience and sourcing.
• Proven success in headhunting, executive search, and leadership hiring within technical and project-driven environments.
• Proficiency in iCIMS applicant tracking system preferred.
• Deep knowledge of AEC market dynamics, industry talent trends, and competitor landscapes.
• Strong executive presence, stakeholder management, and negotiation skills.
• Experience with confidential searches, C-level hiring, and succession planning.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.

*At this time, Dewberry will not sponsor a new applicant for work authorization.

*Dewberry is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.

*Only recipients of an offer of employment from Dewberry, will be required to submit to a background screening which may include, but is not limited to, employment verification, educational and other credential verification, driving record check, criminal background check, and an investigative consumer report. These screenings will be conducted by Dewberry’s background vendor of choice and will be conducted in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local law.