Retail Talent Acquisition Lead

Overview

High Tide is seeking a Retail Talent Acquisition Lead to oversee recruitment strategy, workforce planning, and talent pipeline development across assigned regions within Canada. Reporting to the Retail Talent Acquisition Manager, this role serves as a strategic business partner to Regional Managers and Store Leadership teams, ensuring the organization attracts, hires, and retains top talent to support operational growth and workforce sustainability.

The Regional Talent Acquisition Lead is responsible for all hiring and onboarding activities, supports training, and internal stakeholder relations. Retail Talent Acquisition Lead is responsible for supporting the Retail Talent Acquisition Manager in the management of the recruitment process end to end for the retail recruitment team, managing full-cycle recruitment, building community partnerships, attending hiring events, strengthening employer branding initiatives, and fostering strong relationships with retail leadership through regular store visits. This role combines strategic workforce planning with hands‑on recruitment execution and requires a proactive, relationship‑driven approach to talent acquisition.

Responsibilities

• Lead the full‑cycle recruitment process, including workforce planning support, job postings, sourcing, candidate screening, interviewing, reference checks, offer management, negotiations, onboarding coordination, and ATS administration while ensuring an exceptional candidate experience.
• Partner with Hiring Managers to identify workforce needs, provide strategic recruitment guidance, and deliver timely hiring solutions while strengthening their talent acquisition capabilities.
• Lead regional recruitment calls and operational meetings as needed with or without the Retail TA Manager and follow up on any action items required.
• Coach, lead and develop the Recruitment team to build engagement, capabilities, and maximize efficiencies in recruitment and onboarding processes as well as other processes that overlap with recruitment functions with the Retail TA Manager.
• Review and present recruiter capacity to Retail TA Manager as needed to further assign and delegate roles amongst recruitment team to level load and pivot team members.
• Provide workforce analytics, recruitment reporting, recruiter capacity planning, and hiring insights to support operational and strategic decision‑making by running reports on an ad hoc, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.
• Manage candidate contact database via ATS/Indeed.
• Accountable for supporting tracking of new hires, job requisitions and regulatory compliance by the province.
• Great teamwork skills to coordinate the smooth workflow in the HR department.
• Work with the Retail TA Manager to support new store openings and deliverables assigned to those projects weekly.
• Lead employer branding initiatives by representing High Tide at job fairs, career events, educational institutions, community organizations, and networking opportunities while developing local talent attraction strategies and strengthening community partnerships to position High Tide as an employer of choice.
• Provide recommendations and solutions to address difficult‑to‑fill positions and labor shortages.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance recruitment processes, operational efficiencies, candidate experience, and hiring manager effectiveness.
• Stay fully up to date on employment laws and regulations, Human Rights and Privacy legislations of all provinces of Canada.
• Any other projects as required by the organization.

Qualifications

• Degree or diploma or certificate in human resources management, or a related field is an asset.
• 3 – 5 years full cycle retail and distribution recruiting experience in a high‑volume capacity.
• 1–2 years management experience in managing a recruiting team in a growing industry/company or sector.
• RPR designation or willingness to obtain designation is considered an asset.
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel as required.
• Experience supporting recruitment across multiple locations and geographic regions.
• Strong knowledge of talent sourcing, workforce planning, and candidate pipeline development.
• Knowledge about retail cannabis industry and mandatory requirements for hiring in all provinces of Canada.
• Experience organizing and participating in job fairs, hiring events, and community outreach initiatives.
• Strong relationship‑building and stakeholder management skills.
• Knowledge of Canadian employment legislation and recruitment best practices across all provinces of Canada.
• Understanding of hiring of skilled, semi‑skilled and unskilled workforce.
• Able to make sound business decisions and evidence‑based recommendations to senior management.
• Effective communication skills with individuals at all levels of the organization.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills as well as presentation skills.
• Proficiency with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), Smartsheet, Microsoft Office Suite, and recruitment technologies.

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