Leeann Griego

Led a high-performing Talent Acquisition (TA) team comprising 5 full-time employees and 21 contract recruiters and coordinators, supporting global hiring initiatives across Manufacturing and Front-End Operations - including Global Construction, Quality, IT/SMAI Smart Manufacturing, and Procurement. Championed professional development, set performance goals, and delivered ongoing training to drive recruitment success. Partnered with Global Immigration to streamline and enhance immigration practices, aligning them with broader TA strategies to improve compliance, efficiency, and candidate experience.

Key Accomplishments

FAB Technician Hiring Transformation

Faced with an 80-technician headcount deficit and monthly attrition rates of 10–14% at the Virginia site, led a strategic overhaul of technician hiring across North American FABs. Centralized recruitment processes, identified operational gaps, and implemented scalable solutions - resulting in:

• 30+ percent reduction in time-to-hire for Equipment Technicians at ID/VA FABs
• Full closure of the 80-person headcount gap within 5 months while sustaining monthly backfills, and met headcount targets for the first time in 2 years

Vendor Management & Cost Optimization

• Led the management of all Talent Acquisition (TA) vendor contracts, successfully negotiating favorable terms with recruitment agencies.
• Partnered with procurement to streamline invoicing and resource allocation, resulting in significantly improved budget alignment and reporting. Identified and resolved duplicate invoicing errors, delivering over $30K in cost savings between FY22 and FY23.
• Collaborated closely with finance, procurement, and TA leadership to drive additional savings and operational efficiency through strategic vendor consolidation and budget optimization.

Immigration Strategy Enhancement

• Designed and implemented a pre-offer immigration assessment and pre-hire communication strategy for both internal and external candidates. This initiative significantly improved hiring decision quality and enhanced onboarding experiences for candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters.

Manufacturing Expansion Project Leadership
Co-managed TA pre-ramp activities for major manufacturing expansion projects in Boise and New York. Delivered:

• A comprehensive greenfield hiring roadmap
  Market intelligence reports and visual analytics to inform leadership decisions
• An RFP for new TA technology to automate administrative tasks, including pre-hire assessments and video screening
• A targeted marketing strategy to attract and engage talent for high-volume hiring ramps

Managed full-cycle recruitment for all departments - including R&D, IT, Operations, and Union roles - within a 540-employee organization. Oversaw hiring strategies, candidate sourcing, and onboarding processes to ensure alignment with business goals and compliance standards. Played a pivotal role in shaping the Talent Acquisition (TA) function during a post-merger transition.

Key Accomplishments

Talent Acquisition Program Development

• Built the TA function from the ground up for a newly merged company. Initiatives included:
  Establishing recruitment and onboarding policies and procedures
• Standardizing job descriptions across departments
  Selecting and implementing a background check vendor and process
• Designing and launching a comprehensive onboarding and orientation program

iCIMS Implementation Leadership

Served as Project Manager for the successful implementation of iCIMS applicant tracking system—from RFP through Go Live on 12/16/20—delivered on time and within budget. Led change management efforts, including:

• Developing training materials
• Conducting adoption workshops for leadership and hiring managers

E-Verify & Background Check Vendor Integration Spearheaded the implementation and integration of E-Verify, and new Background Check vendor including:

• Vendor selection and onboarding negotiations
• Creation of end-user training programs to ensure seamless adoption

Led strategic recruitment for Atria Client Services, a subsidiary of Altria Group - one of the world’s largest producers of tobacco-related products. Managed the full talent acquisition life cycle for experienced hire programs supporting both corporate and operating company functions. Key areas of responsibility included Government Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, R&D, Quality, Compliance, Corporate Operations, Innovative Products, and Human Resources. Successfully balanced 20+ active requisitions while driving high-impact TA projects.

Key Achievements

iCIMS Implementation Leadership

• Served as Experienced Hire TA function lead for the full implementation of iCIMS - from RFP and sandbox testing through configuration, Go Live, and stabilization.
• Delivered post-launch recommendations for enhanced functionality and conducted adoption training for the experienced hire TA team.
• Achieved full implementation and stabilization within six months.

Recruitment Strategy Training

• Designed and delivered comprehensive training on recruitment and sourcing strategies for both new and tenured recruiters, strengthening team capabilities and standardizing best practices.

Process Optimization & Interview Guide Development

• Reformed recruiting processes and procedures to align with new technologies, improving efficiency and effectiveness.
• Developed standardized interview guide templates incorporating behavior-based interviewing techniques.
• Conducted training sessions with hiring managers to ensure consistent, compliant, and effective hiring practices across all roles.

Led strategic talent acquisition for a $650M National Security Research Directorate, which comprised 1,200 employees and averaged 100+ highly technical FTEs annually, with roles requiring Department of Energy Q Sensitive, Q Non-sensitive, and L clearances. Directed full-cycle recruiting operations for 11 Technical Group Managers and 2 Division Directors across the Signature Science & Technology and Operational Systems Technology divisions. Provided secondary support to the Cyber Security and Computational Analytics division.

Key Accomplishments

Project Leadership

• Served as Business Project Lead for the Fluid Candidate Gateway implementation.
• Assumed project management of the delayed PeopleSoft 9.2 upgrade, successfully resolving roadblocks and delivering the project on time.

Manager Training Development

• Partnered with Learning & Development to design and pilot Manager Readiness Training for recruitment and interviewing.
• Created reusable toolkits and received strong positive feedback from senior leadership.

Targeted Recruitment Campaigns

• Collaborated cross-functionally to launch specialized recruitment marketing for niche Bio-safety roles, securing top-tier talent for a high-security BSL-4 lab initiative.

Team Development

• Mentored junior recruiters in industry best practices, resulting in enhanced team performance, efficiency, and candidate experience

Spearheaded and executed full-cycle recruitment for all exempt-level positions across multiple locations at the world’s largest single-site producer of natural American-style cheese, whey, and lactose products. Oversaw talent acquisition operations supporting a workforce of 1,500 full-time employees across three facilities processing over 12.5 million gallons of milk daily. Managed sourcing, interviewing, selection, and onboarding strategies to ensure timely and high-quality hires aligned with organizational goals.

Key Accomplishments

Immigration Program Leadership

• Took ownership of the immigration visa and green card sponsorship process for foreign workers.
• Collaborated with legal counsel to develop a comprehensive program and policy, significantly enhancing the experience and outcomes for employees and managers.

Interview Process Optimization

• Designed and implemented structured interview guides tailored to the specific competencies and requirements of each role, improving consistency and decision-making in candidate evaluations.

Manager Training & Enablement

• Developed and facilitated training sessions for hiring managers focused on behavioral and competency-based interviewing techniques, as well as bias awareness, resulting in more equitable and effective hiring practices