Talent Acquisition Manager - Power & Utilities

Location: Somerset, NJJob Type: Full-timeSchedule: Monday through Friday; hybrid, with three days per week on-site in SomersetExperience Level: 8+ yearsTravel: Occasional travel for recruiting events, company events, industry events, and other business needsAbout UsCARIAN is a purpose-driven, woman-owned consulting and advisory firm dedicated exclusively to the power sector.

We partner with leading electric and gas utilities to provide strategic advisory and disciplined execution across program management, business intelligence, and field execution oversight. Guided by integrity, trust, excellence, and accountability, our team helps deliver complex capital programs and build the resilient energy infrastructure that communities depend on.Position OverviewCARIAN is seeking a highly hands-on Talent Acquisition Manager to lead and strengthen the company's recruiting team while personally recruiting for priority and hard-to-fill positions.This is a player-coach role. Approximately 75% of the role will remain directly focused on recruiting and sourcing, including personally owning CARIAN's most difficult technical, professional, and leadership searches.The remaining focus will be on directly managing and developing the Talent Acquisition team, reviewing pipelines, improving sourcing and candidate quality, strengthening hiring-manager partnership, maintaining recruiting discipline and accountability, and ensuring recruiting activity translates into hires.This is not a role for someone looking to move away from recruiting. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable sourcing a difficult candidate personally, reviewing a recruiter's pipeline, challenging an unrealistic requirement, advising leadership on compensation and market conditions, and closing a high-value candidate.Key ResponsibilitiesHands-On RecruitingPersonally own priority, difficult, technical, leadership, and confidential searches from intake through accepted offerProactively source passive candidates through LinkedIn Recruiter, industry networks, referrals, databases, direct outreach, and other channelsDevelop targeted sourcing strategies for specialized power, utility, engineering, construction, project management, project controls, field services, consulting, digital, and business-development positionsConduct recruiter screens and independently assess candidate qualifications, relevance, motivation, compensation expectations, and fitPresent qualified candidates to hiring leaders with clear recommendations and relevant market contextBuild and maintain pipelines for recurring and strategically important positionsManage candidate engagement, interviews, compensation discussions, offers, counteroffer risk, and closingPersonally intervene when difficult or stalled searches require additional sourcing or recruiting supportTeam Leadership & PerformanceDirectly manage, coach, and develop Talent Acquisition team membersConduct regular pipeline and requisition reviewsEstablish clear expectations for candidate quality, sourcing activity, responsiveness, ownership, and follow-throughReview candidate submissions and help calibrate recruiter judgment when neededImprove recruiter sourcing strategies, screening quality, hiring-manager communication, and candidate closingIdentify searches that are not progressing and require corrective actionHold the recruiting team accountable for maintaining active pipelines and moving searches forwardMaintain ATS discipline and recruiting data quality across the teamOwn and regularly review recruiting metrics, including pipeline health, requisition aging, time to fill, and offer acceptance, and report results to leadershipHiring Manager PartnershipLead effective intake discussions with hiring leadersClarify required qualifications, candidate profiles, compensation parameters, geography, and sourcing strategy before searches beginChallenge unclear, unrealistic, or unnecessarily restrictive requirements when market evidence supports a different approachAdvise leadership regarding candidate availability, compensation, competitive market conditions, and sourcing strategyEstablish clear expectations and accountability between Talent Acquisition and hiring managersEscalate stalled decisions, compensation issues, and other hiring risks when appropriateQualifications8+ years of progressive experience in talent acquisition, corporate recruiting, technical recruiting, executive search, staffing, or a related fieldDemonstrated success personally sourcing and closing difficult professional and technical positionsExperience recruiting professional and technical talent within AEC, engineering, utilities, energy, infrastructure, construction, management consulting, technical professional services, or a specialized staffing/search firm serving these markets requiredDemonstrated experience directly managing or formally leading recruiters, including responsibility for pipeline review, coaching, performance, and accountabilityStrong passive-candidate sourcing capability and demonstrated proficiency with LinkedIn Recruiter or similar platformsDemonstrated success recruiting engineering, project/program management, project controls, construction and field services, technical consulting, business development, or comparable specialized talentStrong candidate-assessment and interviewing judgmentDemonstrated ability to advise and constructively challenge hiring managersStrong understanding of compensation discussions, candidate motivation, offer management, counteroffers, and closingExperience using applicant tracking and recruiting systemsStrong analytical, organizational, communication, judgment, and follow-through skillsAbility and willingness to remain personally involved in day-to-day sourcing and recruitingBachelor's degree preferred; equivalent relevant experience will be consideredAbility to work on-site at CARIAN's Somerset, NJ office three days per weekPreferred ExperienceDirect recruiting experience within electric or gas utilities, power delivery, transmission and distribution, energy, or infrastructureExperience recruiting within an engineering, AEC, technical consulting, management consulting, or specialized search environmentExperience recruiting both specialized individual contributors and senior leadership positionsExperience with Ashby or another modern applicant tracking systemExperience using AI-enabled sourcing, research, recruiting, and productivity tools effectivelyExperience improving recruiter performance through direct coaching, pipeline review, sourcing calibration, and accountabilityWhy CARIANPurpose-driven work – Help deliver infrastructure that powers communitiesIndustry reputation – Trusted by leading utilities for our reliability and resultsCareer growth – Lead and strengthen a critical function with significant opportunity to grow as CARIAN continues to expandCollaborative culture – Join a team that values delivery excellence and long-term relationshipsCompetitive total rewards – Strong compensation, full benefits, 401(k) match, and meaningful workEqual Employment OpportunityCARIAN is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We hire and develop talent based on qualifications, performance, and business needs. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. As a woman-owned firm dedicated to the power sector, we are committed to building a team that reflects professionalism, expertise, and integrity at every level.CompensationThe base salary range for this role is $85,000 - $115,000 annually. This range represents a good-faith estimate at the time of posting; actual compensation will depend on experience, qualifications, technical recruiting background, sourcing capability, leadership experience, demonstrated recruiting results, and business needs. CARIAN offers a competitive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, holidays, and 401(k) participation with company match. This position may also be eligible for discretionary bonus incentives or other compensation programs based on company and individual performance.