SIMONE HAYES
Talent Recruitment Manager
Montclair
Summary
Dynamic Talent Acquisition Leader with a strong record in full-cycle recruitment and strategic pipeline development within the K–12 education sector. Skilled in managing multi-site hiring operations and leveraging advanced systems to streamline staffing. Demonstrated success in enhancing employer branding, building strong talent partnerships, and providing data-driven insights to executive leadership. Committed to fostering diverse, inclusive environments that attract top-tier talent.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Talent Recruitment Manager
Great Oaks Legacy Charter School
08.2025 - Current
- Accelerate staffing timelines by filling five critical educator roles within the first 30 days of employment, reducing classroom vacancy risk.
- Lead recruitment strategy for three elementary schools and one high school, overseeing full-cycle hiring and securing high-quality educators in a highly competitive talent market.
- Collaborate with Director of Marketing to refine the organization’s Employee Value Proposition and deploy targeted employer-branding campaigns that elevated candidate engagement and outreach effectiveness.
- Build and manage robust talent pipelines by establishing strategic partnerships with universities, expanding access to a diverse pool of certified and non-traditional educator candidates.
- Utilized Greenhouse ATS to drive efficient sourcing, tracking, and pipeline management, ensuring process accuracy and data quality across all recruitment workflows.
- Provide executive-level reporting to the Chief of People, delivering strategic updates, market insights, and data-driven recommendations to inform organizational workforce planning.
- Enhance the candidate experience by optimizing the end-to-end recruitment process, improving communication touchpoints, and facilitating seamless onboarding and orientation for new hires.
Talent Acquisition Partner
Children’s Aid Society
09.2023 - 07.2025
- Spearheaded full-cycle recruitment for 30+ roles annually, encompassing job postings, targeted sourcing, screening, interviewing, and seamless onboarding, significantly reducing time-to-hire by 25%.
- Partnered with 20-25 hiring managers and stakeholders through the year to strategically revise job descriptions and develop data-driven recruitment plans, directly optimizing talent acquisition functions.
- Established robust long-term talent pipelines by cultivating relationships with local colleges, industry associations, and staffing agencies across the New York and New Jersey region.
- Enhanced the efficiency of the ATS (PeopleFluent) and onboarding procedures, leading to reduction in manual administrative work for the HR team.
- Championed diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives throughout the candidate selection and hiring processes, consistently exceeding internal diversity hiring goals.
- Managed all pre-employment processes, including background checks, license verification, and educational credentialing, ensuring 100% compliance with all employment laws and regulations.
- Reported on critical metrics to leadership, ensuring transparent application communication and informed process improvements.
- Pitched and successfully launched a new community-based recruitment strategy to the Chief of People, resulting in the initiation and lead execution of 3 free community job fairs within three months, significantly expanding our local talent pool and enhancing community outreach.
Talent Acquisition Specialist
Key Autism Services
02.2022 - 06.2023
- Managed full-cycle recruiting for multi-state operations, overseeing 30+ active requisitions within Efficient Apply ATS and optimizing job titles, descriptions, and postings to improve applicant quality and volume.
- Collaborated closely with regional directors, operations managers, and scheduling teams to forecast workforce needs and deliver hiring strategies aligned with organizational goals.
- Attended job fairs and coordinated recruitment events to strengthen employer branding across targeted markets and enhance pipelines.
- Developed and implemented talent-attraction initiatives across social media, job boards, and referral channels, increasing qualified applicant flow by 40% for key roles.
- Proactively sourced, engaged, and nurtured relationships with candidates through LinkedIn, Indeed, SchoolSpring, etc ensuring a steady pipeline for hard-to-fill positions.
- Streamlined new-hire onboarding by completing all administrative requirements in BambooHR, supporting compliance, document accuracy, and a positive first-day experience.
- Successfully hired 100+ employees within the first year, reducing vacancy rates and accelerating staffing for high-priority departments.
Recruiter/ Staffing Coordinator
Proud Moments ABA
01.2021 - 02.2022
- Utilized iCIMS to manage candidate records, review resumes, and update hiring stages throughout the interview process.
- Proactively sourced and engaged candidates through Indeed, converting 50% of sourced applicants into hires.
- Built strategic partnerships with local colleges, delivering on-campus presentations and attending career fairs that generated 50+ applicants and resulted in 20 new hires.
- Led the full recruitment lifecycle—including sourcing, interviewing, offer negotiation, onboarding coordination, and placement.
- Managed and maintained job openings and requisitions, ensuring all postings and details were accurate and aligned with staffing needs.
- Drove high-volume recruiting efforts, conducting 30 interviews per week (including final-round interviews) and making final hiring decisions for critical roles.
Care Coordinator
Proud Moments ABA
01.2021 - 03.2021
- Coordinated direct ABA services, and assisted new clients from initial intake calls through receiving ongoing services.
- Managed a caseload of 60 clients conducting weekly quality assurance calls and check-in emails to clients.
- Assisted families in receiving payment plans when insurance did not cover at 100%.
- Collaborated with the clinical director, staffing, and clinicians to ensure all needs of the client were being met.
- Collected and reviewed medical records following HIPAA guidelines.
Assistant Teacher/ ABA Paraprofessional
Montclair Public School District
02.2016 - 01.2021
- Carry out therapeutic regimens such as behavior modification and personal development programs, under the supervision of special education instructors, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists. Teach students personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, or self-advocacy.
- Encourage socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Provide extra assistance to students with special needs, such as non-English-speaking students or those with physical and mental disabilities.
- Collaborate with lead teacher on creating lesson materials and presentations.
- Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
School Age Childcare Director and Staff
YMCA
04.2010 - 11.2017
- Performed in various roles such as camp director, front desk supervisor, mentor, site coordinator, coach, and recreation facilities supervisor.
- Organize, lead, and promote interest in recreational activities such as arts & crafts, sports & games, outdoor living, field trips and team building.
- Customer service and quality assurance for members as well as guests.
- Provide training and development for new staff or volunteers.
- Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.
- Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology, Minor in Social Work
Montclair State University
Montclair, NJ12-2015
Skills
- Employee Training
- Proficient in Microsoft Suite
- Effective Interpersonal Communication
- Data analysis
- Crisis Intervention
- Team Management
- Sourcing
- Child Development
- Project Management
- Event Coordination
- Social Media and Content Creating
- HRIS & ATS Systems
Timeline
Talent Recruitment Manager
Great Oaks Legacy Charter School
08.2025 - Current
Talent Acquisition Partner
Children’s Aid Society
09.2023 - 07.2025
Talent Acquisition Specialist
Key Autism Services
02.2022 - 06.2023
Recruiter/ Staffing Coordinator
Proud Moments ABA
01.2021 - 02.2022
Care Coordinator
Proud Moments ABA
01.2021 - 03.2021
Assistant Teacher/ ABA Paraprofessional
Montclair Public School District
02.2016 - 01.2021
School Age Childcare Director and Staff
YMCA
04.2010 - 11.2017
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology, Minor in Social Work
Montclair State University