KS Search Partners · 1 day ago
Vice President Talent Acquisition and Leadership Development
Greater Savannah Area
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
15+ years expKS Search Partners is a company focused on operational excellence and innovation, seeking a Vice President of Talent Acquisition and Leadership Development. This role is responsible for architecting recruiting strategies and developing leadership capabilities to meet the company's growth objectives.
Staffing & Recruiting
Responsibilities
Architect and run an end-to-end recruiting strategy for corporate, commercial, R&D, and plant leadership roles
Move the company from reactive hiring to proactive pipeline building, particularly for hard-to-find operational and technical talent
Build a recruiting function that is data-driven, fast, and respected by the business—not a bottleneck
Establish clear hiring standards and decision rights; reduce “committee hiring” and bias without slowing execution
Partner tightly with operations and supply chain leaders to understand real workforce needs, not HR assumptions
Design and implement a leadership development architecture aligned to the company’s growth strategy and operating model
Identify high-potential talent early and create differentiated development paths—not generic programs
Own succession planning for critical roles, including plant leadership and functional heads
Ensure leaders are coached on people leadership, execution, and decision-making, not just values and competencies
Measure impact: bench strength, promotion rates, regretted attrition, and performance outcomes
Translate company strategy into clear leadership expectations at every level
Raise the bar on what “good leadership” actually means in a manufacturing environment
Hold leaders accountable for developing talent—not delegating it to HR
Influence senior executives with confidence and credibility; this role is a peer, not a service provider
Qualification
Required
15+ years in HR with deep, hands-on leadership in talent acquisition and leadership development
Proven experience in manufacturing or consumer goods—this is not optional
Track record of building talent systems that scale in complex, operational environments
Experience working directly with senior executives and influencing without formal authority
Architect and run an end-to-end recruiting strategy for corporate, commercial, R&D, and plant leadership roles
Move the company from reactive hiring to proactive pipeline building, particularly for hard-to-find operational and technical talent
Build a recruiting function that is data-driven, fast, and respected by the business—not a bottleneck
Establish clear hiring standards and decision rights; reduce 'committee hiring' and bias without slowing execution
Partner tightly with operations and supply chain leaders to understand real workforce needs, not HR assumptions
Design and implement a leadership development architecture aligned to the company's growth strategy and operating model
Identify high-potential talent early and create differentiated development paths—not generic programs
Own succession planning for critical roles, including plant leadership and functional heads
Ensure leaders are coached on people leadership, execution, and decision-making, not just values and competencies
Measure impact: bench strength, promotion rates, regretted attrition, and performance outcomes
Translate company strategy into clear leadership expectations at every level
Raise the bar on what 'good leadership' actually means in a manufacturing environment
Hold leaders accountable for developing talent—not delegating it to HR
Influence senior executives with confidence and credibility; this role is a peer, not a service provider
Commercially minded; understands how talent decisions impact margin, throughput, and growth
Comfortable challenging leaders when standards slip
Decisive, pragmatic, and allergic to bureaucracy
Uses data, but trusts judgment
Develops people rigorously—and expects the same from others
Company
KS Search Partners
KS Search Partners is a nationally recognized and client driven premiere executive search firm that has been in business for over 10 years helping clients achieve extraordinary performance through the identification, acquisition and integration of exceptional leadership talent.
2-10 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageLeadership Team
Jon Sarn
Partner
Kellie Sarn
Managing Partner
Company data provided by crunchbase