Chima Ihekaire
Washington ,DC
Summary
Talent Acquisition leader with a proven track record of designing and scaling high-impact recruiting strategies across tech, financial services, and nonprofit sectors. Experienced in leading teams, managing full-cycle recruitment, and building data-driven talent pipelines that drive organizational growth. Skilled in strategic workforce planning, campus and early talent programs, and stakeholder partnership. Holds a Master of Public Health from Boston University and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and Sociology from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, with a minor in French.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
Work History
Recruiting Manager
Teach For America
Remote
07.2024 - Current
- Manage and develop a multi-market recruiting operation across Washington, DC, New York City, and Richmond, VA, leading a team of three full-cycle recruiters and 2 campus ambassadors with a focus on performance, coaching, and leadership development in mission-driven environments.
- Manage a $40k annual recruiting budget across regional recruiting operations, and affinity-based engagement initiatives, directing investments across campus partnerships, events, and leadership programming to strengthen diverse talent pipelines.
- Design and lead regional top-of-funnel recruitment strategy across nine priority universities, strengthening pipeline generation, and candidate engagement through targeted outreach, partnerships, and data-informed decision making.
- Develop and implement a data-driven sourcing strategy that increased FY25 offers by 45%, improving applicant volume, conversion, and overall funnel health across priority campuses.
- Drive year-over-year application growth across key partner universities, including 203% growth at George Washington University and 200% growth at Georgetown University, strengthening regional pipeline sustainability.
- Leverage data and regional performance insights to inform strategic decision making, improve candidate experience and strengthen overall hiring effectiveness.
- Set vision and executed strategy to recruit and confirm 130+ corps members for FY25, achieving 104% of FY24's total.
- Partner with executive and cross functional leaders to translate organizational strategy into scalable recruitment systems, processes, and outcomes.
- Lead and scale Brothers United as President and Lead Facilitator, overseeing strategy, programming, and stakeholder engagement for a national affinity group focused on advancing Black male talent; influence organizational DEI efforts through cross-functional partnership and community-driven initiatives
- Proficient in iCIMs, HIRE, Peoplesoft, Salesforce, ADP, PowerBI, Workable, LinkedIn Recruiter, Taleo, and Workday.
Senior Campus Recruiter
Morgan Stanley
10.2022 - 07.2024
- Managed full-cycle recruitment processes for Campus Programs for both full time and intern analyst roles.
- Implemented end-to-end recruitment strategies for the firm resulting in a 20% reduction in time-to-fill analyst positions and 30% increase in recruitment efficiency.
- Developed and executed comprehensive sourcing and recruiting plans and programs at 12 universities in the Northeast, and 5 hybrid schools in Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia.
- Piloted the Classroom to Conference Room Leadership Program at 4 local HBCUs to develop 54 diverse students.
- DEI Diversity Champion for Baltimore and New York Recruiting Team.
- Lead the Morgan Stanley Mentorship Program for 75 students from Delaware State University.
- Conducted thorough candidate assessments including resume screenings, phone interviews, to ensure high-touch candidate experience for over 1,500 applicants.
- Partnered with hiring managers and global stakeholders, using data, to plan, create and develop tailored job descriptions for roles in Operations, Finance, and Compliance.
- Established and maintained strong relationships with external vendors including universities and student program partners.
- Developed and delivered global training programs for hiring managers, senior mentors, and business partners to enhance their interviewing and selection skills resulting in 10% reduction in spring 2023 interview days.
- Proficient in ATS; Taleo, iCIMs, HIRE, Peoplesoft and Workday.
Campus Recruiter (Full Cycle)
Amazon
05.2021 - 10.2022
- Built on-campus strategy for 105 HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) across the US to support URM (Underrepresented Minority) and Diversity recruiting initiatives.
- Owned full-cycle recruiting for NACF, software engineering, IT support, and data center roles, partnering with hiring managers and talent acquisition strategists to drive inclusive hiring strategies.
- Created scalable recruiting frameworks, including interview pods, candidate prep sessions, and sourcing strategies tailored to niche pipelines.
- Delivered actionable recruiting insights through reporting and funnel analysis to influence business decisions on headcount, requisition allocation, and conversion rates.
- Created the Amazon Freshman Class Rising Leader Development Program to prepare freshman students at 4 universities in the Southeast for their professional career.
- Managed relations with 50+ Universities in the southeast region to support facilitation of 126+ on-campus events per recruiting season.
- Sourced, prepped, and interviewed 8,450 candidates across 85+ interview events in the Fall and Spring recruiting seasons.
Project Manager
Amazon
06.2020 - 05.2021
- Coordinated with Regional Directors and General Managers to lead Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina fulfillment centers in executing onsite COVID testing resulting in over 20,000 tests.
- Partnered with regional senior management teams to recognize, establish, and maintain operational safety, quality, and performance metrics through state-wide audits and regional health programs.
- Strategically staffed and created labor plans to be in line with site-level financial goals.
- Utilized deep diving skills to analyze qualitative and quantitative data to identify root causes and areas for opportunity as a basis to drive performance feedback.
- Facilitated the launch of the Southeast Chapter of Glamazon, Amazon's LGBTQIA+ affinity group and recruited 1000+ members to the organization.
Education
Master of Science -
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Boston, MA05-2028
Bachelors of Arts - Communication Studies, French, Sociology
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
Greensboro, NC05-2020
CIREFE Program - Intensive French courses
UNIVERSITE DE RENNES 2
01-2020
Skills
- LinkedIn recruiting
- Recruitment analytics
- Recruitment advertising
- Global talent acquisition
Timeline
Recruiting Manager
Teach For America
07.2024 - Current
Senior Campus Recruiter
Morgan Stanley
10.2022 - 07.2024
Campus Recruiter (Full Cycle)
Amazon
05.2021 - 10.2022
Project Manager
Amazon
06.2020 - 05.2021
Bachelors of Arts - Communication Studies, French, Sociology
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
CIREFE Program - Intensive French courses
UNIVERSITE DE RENNES 2
Master of Science -
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Awards
Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout Award, 2015-06-01