Role Summary
ICF is seeking a Lead Talent Acquisition Partner to support hiring across our Climate, Energy & Transportation (CET) division, with a strong emphasis on engineering talent (electrical, civil, environmental, transportation, energy, and related disciplines).
This is a hands-on, delivery-first role (approximately 80% recruiting / 20% team leadership) designed for a senior talent acquisition partner who excels at complex engineering searches and can also provide day-to-day guidance, prioritization, and coaching to recruiters aligned to CET. The Lead Talent Acquisition Partner operates as a player/coach, owning critical requisitions while elevating overall team execution and quality.
The role partners closely with CET business leaders, HR, and TA leadership to deliver high-quality, compliant, and timely hiring outcomes in a highly competitive technical talent market—particularly for client-facing and federally funded work.
Key Responsibilities include:
Recruiting Delivery (~80% of role)
Own and manage a substantial personal requisition load focused on mid- to senior-level engineering roles, including: Electrical, Substation, Civil, transportation, and environmental engineers; Energy, climate, infrastructure, and utility-focused roles; technical experts supporting federal, state, and commercial clients
Lead intake conversations with CET hiring managers to clarify technical requirements, project-driven demand, billability considerations, and hiring urgency.
Execute targeted sourcing strategies for hard-to-fill engineering roles, leveraging market knowledge, referrals, and direct outreach.
Guide hiring managers through structured, fair, and comprehensive assessment practices aligned with ICF hiring standards.
Deliver a strong candidate experience from initial engagement through offer acceptance.
Serve as a trusted recruiting partner to CET leaders, building credibility through strong execution and engineering domain knowledge.
Collaborate with HR, compensation, and TA leadership on offers, internal equity considerations, and hiring strategy decisions.
Team Leadership (secondary focus ~20%)
Serve as a first point of escalation for hiring manager alignment challenges, candidate quality, risk, or assessment concerns, and shifting priorities or recruiter capacity constraints
Coach recruiters on consultative partnership with engineering leaders, Engineering labor market dynamics and role differentiation, Assessment quality, decision discipline, and candidate rigor
Model strong recruiting behaviors and reinforce ICF TA Leadership principles and expectations through hands-on delivery.
Operational Coordination & Governance
Support requisition prioritization and workload balancing to ensure the CET team is focused on the most critical, time-sensitive engineering hiring needs.
Ensure recruiting activity, candidate dispositioning, and documentation are accurately captured in ICF systems.
Reinforce adherence to ICF’s hiring governance, compensation practices, and compliance requirements—particularly important for client-facing and federally funded work.
Partner with the Talent Acquisition Manager to identify delivery risks, process gaps, or improvement opportunities.
Required Experience & Qualifications
10+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience
At least 5 years experience mentoring, leading, or acting as a team lead for recruiters
Bachelor’s degree
Preferred Qualifications
Demonstrated success identifying and securing hard-to-find talent in niche markets, spanning highly specialized and complex roles within project-based delivery environments, supported by strong process discipline and rigor
Strong understanding of engineering role differentiation, credentialing, and market dynamics
Proven experience serving as a player/coach or informal people leader, providing daily guidance, prioritization, and coaching to recruiters while maintaining a personal requisition load
Ability to influence hiring managers through consultative partnership—not just process enforcement
High attention to quality, equity, and compliance in hiring decisions
Strong understanding of engineering and technical skill differentiation, including ability to partner credibly with hiring managers on role calibration, candidate assessment, and trade-off decisions in competitive markets
Working at ICF
ICF is a global advisory and technology services provider, but we’re not your typical consultants. We combine unmatched expertise with cutting-edge technology to help clients solve their most complex challenges, navigate change, and shape the future.We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building a workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO policy.
We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation, please email Candidateaccommodation@icf.com and we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.
Read more about workplace discrimination rights or our benefit offerings which are included in the Transparency in (Benefits) Coverage Act.
Candidate AI Usage Policy
At ICF, we are committed to ensuring a fair interview process for all candidates based on their own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate or assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is not permitted. This policy is in place to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the interview process.
However, we understand that some candidates may require accommodation that involves the use of AI. If such an accommodation is needed, candidates are instructed to contact us in advance at candidateaccommodation@icf.com. We are dedicated to providing the necessary support to ensure that all candidates have an equal opportunity to succeed.
Pay Range - There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location, education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.
The pay range for this position based on full-time employment is:
$131,256.00 - $223,134.00Nationwide Remote Office (US99)