Director, Talent Acquisition

Sesame Workshop is seeking a Director, Talent Acquisition . The Director, Talent Acquisition is a member of the People & Culture team and reports to the Vice President, People & Culture. The Director, Talent Acquisition is responsible for both setting strategy and executing day-to-day recruiting activities across the organization.

Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition Leadership

• Lead full-cycle recruitment for leadership and staff roles, ensuring an equitable, engaging, and high-quality candidate experience.
• Manage recruitment processes across multiple job categories and disciplines, tailoring strategies to diverse functional and creative needs.
• Partner with P&C Business Partners, hiring managers, and senior leaders to build proactive sourcing strategies.
• Oversee and partner with an external RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) provider as needed to supplement internal recruiting capacity and ensure consistent quality and alignment with Sesame Workshop’s standards and values.
• Develop and implement efficient, scalable recruiting processes leveraging the organization’s ATS to ensure data integrity, compliance, and reporting accuracy.
• Create, maintain, and leverage recruiting dashboards and analytics to assess hiring effectiveness, time-to-fill, source performance, and DEI outcomes—driving insights and continuous improvement.
• Design tools, guides, and training for hiring managers to promote fair, equitable, and consistent hiring practices, ensuring alignment with Sesame Workshop’s values and best practices.
• Support internal mobility, succession, and career pathing efforts to strengthen talent retention and growth.
  
  

Employer Brand & Candidate Experience

• Collaborate with Marketing and Communications to develop and evolve Sesame Workshop’s employer brand and recruitment marketing strategy.
• Champion a best-in-class candidate experience across every touchpoint, from outreach through onboarding; collect data on candidate experience and improve as needed.
• Craft compelling recruitment content and campaigns that highlight Sesame Workshop’s purpose, culture, and global impact.
• Monitor hiring and pipeline diversity metrics; recommend interventions to improve equity at all stages of the hiring process.
• Manage external facing internet presence including LinkedIn and Glassdoor
• As needed, represent Sesame Workshop at external events where top talent may be engaged
  
  

Team & Process Excellence

• Serve as the functional owner of the ATS, ensuring optimal configuration, adoption, and continuous improvement to enhance efficiency, data quality, and user experience.
• Evaluate, select, and manage relationships with recruiting partners—including search firms, technology vendors, and RPO providers—to optimize resources and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Partner closely with other People & Culture teams (Employee Experience, Compensation, and Operations) to ensure alignment between recruiting, development, and retention efforts.
• Manage the Talent Acquisition budget, ensuring effective use of resources and measurable ROI from technology and partnerships.
• Qualifications
  
  

Must Have Include

• 8+ years of progressive experience in talent acquisition, including leadership of full-cycle recruiting and employer branding.
• Deep expertise with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): experience implementing, optimizing, and managing enterprise-level platforms
• Experience managing recruitment processes across multiple employee categories.
• Demonstrated ability to build and interpret dashboards and reports that drive data-informed decision-making.
• Proven success developing and executing recruiting strategies in dynamic, mission-driven or creative environments.
• Strong understanding of workforce planning, sourcing strategies, and assessment methodologies.
• Experience facilitating inclusive hiring workshops and calibration sessions for hiring teams to improve consistency and objectivity.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills; able to partner effectively across all organizational levels.
• Skilled at balancing strategic vision with hands-on operational execution.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
  
  

Nice To Have

• Experience managing a recruiting function within media, nonprofit, or creative industries.
• Familiarity with project management and recruitment marketing tools.
• Passion for Sesame Workshop’s mission and global impact.