Position Summary

The Early Career & Program Manager is responsible for designing, managing, and executing the bank’s early talent strategy, including recruiting for internship, entry-level and leadership development programs. The Program Manager partners closely with senior leadership and hiring managers serving as the primary owner of the candidate and participant experience, ensuring programs align with workforce planning needs, diversity initiatives, talent pipelines and the bank’s long-term talent strategy. Throughout all interactions, this role will consistently deliver a high-touch, white glove experience aligned with Busey’s leadership standards, positioning Busey as an employer of choice at career fairs, on-campus interviews and networking events.

Duties & Responsibilities

Program Recruitment, Strategy and Management

• Manage full cycle recruiting process for Leadership Development Program(s) and internships including, candidate screening, interview process and working with leadership on equitable offers.
• Support workforce planning efforts by identifying future talent needs and collaborating with Talent Sourcing Partner to build sustainable talent pipelines.
• Develop and manage Busey’s internship program and process, maintaining the yearly intern budget; partner with hiring managers to create or update job descriptions for intern positions and engaging interns for future opportunities.
• Establish annual recruiting and program calendars, budgets, timelines, and key deliverables.

Campus and Community Engagement

• Build and maintain relationships with colleges, universities, student organizations, workforce development organizations, and community partners across Busey’s footprint.
• Coordinate and represent Busey at campus recruiting events including career fairs, information sessions, on-campus interviews, student organizations, community and networking events; serve as the primary relationship with career centers, student organizations, key faculty and/or alumni at identified colleges and universities.
• Maintain campus calendar and logistics including registration, participant coordination, event details, and shipping of event materials
• Manage vendor relationships as applicable.
• Develop employer branding initiatives to enhance awareness of the bank among students and early career professionals.

Participant Experience and Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate with HRBPs, business line leaders,Talent Sourcer and Recruiting team to support placement of interns and program participants and gain insight into staffing needs within other lines of business.
• Monitor participant engagement and provide guidance and support throughout program participation.
• Partner with leaders across business lines to align program objectives with organizational talent needs.
• Collaborate with Professional & Leadership Development to support program initiatives.
• Prepare program updates and presentations for senior leadership and key stakeholders.

Reporting and Compliance

• Track and analyze recruiting and program performance metrics, including applicant volume, retention, and program success measures.
• Develop reports, dashboards, and recommendations to support strategic decision-making.
• Manage the expenses for the Leadership Development Program such as corporate recruiting events, program expenses, and the merchandise/recruiting materials.

• Update and manage comprehensive metrics and reporting to provide leadership access and visibility into the program. Continuously improve hiring efficiency and effectiveness and develop recommendations for improvements.

• Other duties as assigned.

Education & Experience

Knowledge of:

• Building and maintaining strong relationships with internal/external stakeholders with the ability to influence hiring decisions.

• Delivering white glove service to candidates and hiring leaders ensuring seamless, high-touch experience is essential.

• Developing and executing recruitment strategies including building pipelines, sourcing candidates and filling positions timely

• Utilizing social media tools such as LinkedIn, for sourcing and recruitment.

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and team player skills.

• Strong problem-solving with the ability to identify hiring challenges and develop effective solutions.

• Self-starter, who can remain flexible and comfortable with ambiguity.

Ability to:

• Manage multiple priorities and prioritize a heavy workload in a fast-paced dynamic environment.
• Have the presence, confidence, and professionalism to build relationships and work successfully with stakeholders at all levels of Busey.

• Exhibit strong work ethic with time management and organizational skills.

• Take initiative and a proactive approach towards improving workflow and processes.

• Maintain confidentiality; adhere to Busey’s policies and procedures; comply with laws, regulations and industry best practice

• Travel during peak campus recruiting seasons

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree with exposure to Human Resources, Business, Communication or related courses or equivalent work experience.

• 3-5 years of corporate recruiting experience, preferably with a focus on college or early-career recruiting is required.

• Previous experience in a banking or financial institution preferred.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and using ATS platforms and various other recruiting platforms; Workday is a preferred.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary offered is based on factors, including but not limited to, the job duties, required qualifications and relevant experience, and local market trends. The role may be eligible for bonus or incentives based on company and individual performance.

 

(Base Pay Range: $60,000-$70,000/yr)

 

Busey provides a competitive Total Rewards package in return for your time, talents, efforts and ultimately, results. Your personal and professional well-being—now and in the years to come—are important to us. Busey’s Total Rewards include a competitive benefits package offering 401(k) match, profit sharing, employee stock purchase plan, paid time off, medical, dental, vision, company-paid life insurance and long-term disability, supplemental voluntary life insurance, short-term and long-term disability, wellness incentives and an employee assistance program. In addition, eligible associates may take advantage of pre-tax health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. Visit Busey Total Rewards for more information.

 

Equal Opportunity

Busey values a diverse and inclusive workplace and strives to recruit, develop and retain individuals with exceptional talent. A team with diverse talent, working together, is essential to Busey’s commitment of delivering service excellence. Busey is an Equal Opportunity Employer including Disability/Vets. Visit Busey.com/Careers to learn more about Busey’s Equal Opportunity Employment.

 

Unsolicited Resumes

Busey Bank, and its subsidiaries, does not accept any liability for fees for resumes from recruiters or employment agencies ("Agency"), without a binding, written recruitment agreement between Busey and Agency describing the services and specific job openings ("Agreement"). Busey may consider any candidate for whom an Agency has submitted an unsolicited resume and explicitly reserves the right to hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the Agency, unless an Agreement is in place. Any email or verbal contact with any Busey associate is inadequate to create a binding agreement. Agencies without an Agreement are requested not to contact any associates of Busey with recruiting inquiries or resumes. Busey respectfully requests no phone calls or emails.