Field Recruiter Retail
Our fast-paced and highly collaborative Recruiting team is looking for an enthusiastic and proactive Recruiter with expertise in interviewing and hiring for retail stores. In this role, reporting to the HR Manager, you will be responsible for identifying top talent to staff our award-winning stores, promoting the Pet Food Express brand to candidates, and ensuring an exceptional candidate experience from the first interaction to onboarding. You’ll partner closely with store leaders to understand hiring needs, develop tailored staffing strategies, and build a pipeline of high-quality candidates who share our passion for pets and outstanding customer service.
Our ideal candidate has either hands-on experience recruiting for retail stores or a strong recruiting background combined with prior experience working in retail, such as a Store Manager or another leadership role with hiring responsibilities. They thrive on building connections and networking, excel at staying organized in a fast-paced environment, and communicate effectively with both candidates and hiring managers. We're seeking a Retail Recruiter who is enthusiastic, detail-oriented, open to feedback, and eager to refine processes while helping us identify exceptional talent for our stores. If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!
Please Note: This position is a hybrid role, involving on-site work each week at our corporate headquarters in Concord, CA. Candidates who are fully remote or outside of California will not be considered at this time.
Responsibilities:
- Full-cycle recruiting for store roles within assigned areas – this includes sourcing, screening, interviewing, selecting and onboarding candidates.
- Build relationships with hiring managers to identify hiring needs, create candidate profiles, identify and implement recruiting plans that ensure a clear and effective interview process.
- Manage the end-to-end candidate journey; create and maintain an effective, responsive and engaging candidate experience that highlights the brand and leaves candidates with a positive perspective of PFE, regardless of the outcome.
- Track store openings and communicate data with HR Manager.
- Work with HR Manager and Recruiters on sourcing strategies, documenting hiring forecasts, and identifying problem areas and opportunities for process improvement.
- Assist with job posting and maintaining our applicant tracking system (JazzHR) to ensure accurate and up-to-date information.
- Develop relationships with various talent sources, such as local colleges, trade schools, community organizations and other agencies to ensure a continuous pipeline of qualified talent.
- Share ideas, drive innovation and efficiencies in the process, and identify opportunities for reaching underrepresented populations.
- Conduct fair and effective interviews, designing an inclusive, bias-free candidate experience that improves hiring decisions.
- Collaborate with hiring managers and HR staff during the offer and onboarding process; identifying start dates, completing reference checks, preparing onboarding paperwork, and ensuring everything is ready for candidates to start their new roles with PFE.
- Attend and participate in job fairs, campus events, recruiting sessions and other networking opportunities as needed.
- As a member of the HR team, you will also work on HR related projects as assigned.
Qualifications:
- 2+ years of recruiting or hiring experience (agency or in-house), preferably in retail or similar industries.
- OR, 3+ years of experience in a retail setting, including at least one year (preferably) in a management or leadership role with hiring responsibilities.
- Experience hiring for roles such as Store Managers, Assistant Store Managers, Sales Associates, Keyholders, and Stock Associates is a plus.
- Must be willing to travel to retail markets as needed (infrequent travel may apply).
- Experience using LinkedIn Recruiter, job boards, and other networking tools to actively source candidates.
- Experience using Applicant Tracking Systems (such as JazzHR) is preferred.
- Clear and effective written and verbal communication skills; able to adapt to different audiences.
- Strong organization, attention to detail, and accuracy; able to manage and prioritize work with competing deadlines with follow-up.
- Effective relationship and teambuilding skills; able to establish and maintain cooperative, mutually respectful working relationships.
- Strong interpersonal skills and sound judgment; able to manage sensitive and confidential situations with tact and professionalism.
- Ability to remain calm and focused pressure situations, operate with a sense of urgency and escalate issues beyond your experience.
- Ability to effectively cope with change, shift gears and comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
- Ongoing commitment to continuous learning and development; Asks for and uses feedback to improve performance, seeks and acquires new skills to improve effectiveness – we are a small team that wears many hats!
- Demonstrated creativity and innovative thinking when solving problems; generates new ideas and approaches to efficiently and effectively get the job done.
- Proactive, able to work independently with minimal guidance and as part of a team in a remote work environment.
- Demonstrated high level of professionalism, confidentiality, and compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and company policies.
- Intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, email and business communication applications (Slack, Teams, Zoom) required.
PFE Perks:
- Grow with us: Many potential career paths and options for advancement within the company
- Pet Friendly Workplace - bring your well-behaved pup!
- Generous in-store employee discount that extends to your family
- Be Healthy: Health with FSA options, dental, vision, even Pet Insurance!
- Plan for the future: 401k with employer match
- Rest and Relax: Competitive Paid Time Off
About the Company
Pet Food Express is a leading California-based pet specialty retailer with a passion for improving the lives of pets and their owners. Our philosophy revolves around the belief that pets are part of the family, deserving of the best care possible. Since our inception, Pet Food Express has been committed to making a positive impact on the communities we serve by promoting responsible pet ownership, supporting various animal welfare initiatives, and ensuring pets are happy, healthy and homed. With over 60 locations across the state, Pet Food Express has become a trusted destination for pet parents seeking high-quality products and personalized advice from knowledgeable and dedicated staff.
If you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily meet every check box in this job description, we encourage you to still apply. We'd like to learn more about you and see if you could be a great fit for our team!
This job summary is intended to describe the general nature and level of work associates/leaders assigned to this job perform. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities.
Pet Food Express is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against employees or applicants based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law. This applies to all Pet Food Express activities, including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, compensation, assignment, training, promotion, performance evaluation, discipline and discharge. Pet Food Express also provides reasonable accommodation of religion and disability in accordance with applicable law. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Pet Food Express is a place where everyone can learn and grow. However you identify and whatever your background, please apply if this is a role that would make you excited to come to work every day.
For applicants in our San Francisco, or Los Angeles locations: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, as well as the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, we will consider for employment, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in a manner consistent with the law.