Hiring Staffing Manager in Louisville & Lexington, Kentucky

LGC Hospitality is a Kentucky-based staffing and recruitment specialist with 20 years of proven experience connecting top talent with establishments across the hôtellerie, restauration, événementiel and tourism sectors in the Louisville and Lexington metropolitan areas. Unlike generic recruitment agencies, we have built long-term partnerships with over 50 local businesses, from boutique hotels in downtown Louisville to large event venues in Lexington, and we pride ourselves on understanding the unique needs of the hospitality industry to deliver reliable, qualified candidates who fit seamlessly into our clients’ teams.

We are currently expanding our recruitment operations and are looking for an experienced Staffing Manager to join our team based in Louisville, with regular travel to our Lexington client sites. This is not a generic desk role: you will be the primary point of contact for both our hospitality clients and candidate pool, responsible for managing the full recruitment lifecycle and ensuring our clients’ staffing needs are met with minimal disruption to their operations.

Your core responsibilities will include:
1. Managing end-to-end recruitment for all open hospitality positions across our client portfolio, with a target of filling 95% of roles within 14 calendar days of a request, reducing last-minute staffing gaps for our clients.
2. Building and maintaining an active candidate pool of at least 500 qualified hospitality professionals (servers, cooks, housekeeping staff, event coordinators, front desk agents) by hosting 2 recruitment drives per month in local community centers, culinary schools, and job fairs across the Louisville and Lexington areas.
3. Conducting structured pre-qualification interviews to assess both technical skills (e.g. point-of-sale system operation, food safety certification, multilingual capabilities) and soft skills (punctuality, teamwork, customer service orientation) for all candidates, with a target of 70% of submitted candidates meeting client requirements.
4. Managing scheduling for both temporary and permanent hospitality staff across our 50+ client sites, using scheduling tools When I Work and Deputy, to achieve a 98% shift coverage rate and avoid operational disruptions for our clients during peak periods (Louisville festival season, Lexington holiday travel periods, local sporting events).
5. Conducting 30-day check-ins with all placed candidates and their client supervisors to resolve any compatibility or performance issues, with a target 85% 6-month retention rate for placed staff.
6. Identifying and onboarding 10 new hospitality client partners per quarter, by conducting outreach to local hotels, restaurants, and event venues, and tailoring staffing solutions to their specific needs.
7. Training 2 new junior recruitment staff members per quarter on hospitality-specific recruitment processes, compliance requirements, and internal tools, to support team growth and consistency across our operations.
8. Ensuring 100% compliance with federal and Kentucky state labor regulations, including minor employment laws, food safety requirements for kitchen staff, and background check mandates, during all recruitment and onboarding processes.

Our work environment is collaborative and low-pressure, with a strong focus on work-life balance and employee recognition. As a 20-year-old family-owned business, we do not operate with the high turnover and unrealistic targets common to large corporate recruitment firms. Our team of 15 recruitment and operations staff in Louisville work closely together, with regular team lunches, quarterly team-building outings, and an open-door policy for all employees to share process improvement ideas. You will have a dedicated company vehicle for client site visits, with all travel expenses covered, and the flexibility to work remotely 1 day per week for administrative tasks when not traveling to client locations.

To be successful in this role, you will need a minimum of 3 years of professional recruitment experience, preferably within the hospitality, restaurant, or temporary staffing sectors. You must hold a valid driver’s license for travel to client sites across the Louisville and Lexington areas, and have proficiency in recruitment tools including LinkedIn Recruiter, Indeed Hiring Platform, and scheduling software When I Work and Deputy. Familiarity with Kentucky state labor laws, background check platforms such as Checkr or Sterling, and candidate management systems like BambooHR is strongly preferred. You will need excellent interpersonal skills to build trust with both clients and candidates, strong organizational skills to manage a high volume of open roles and candidate communications, and the ability to adapt to changing priorities during peak hospitality seasons.

In terms of compensation and benefits, we offer a highly competitive salary range of $48,000 to $62,000 per year, adjusted based on your years of relevant experience and performance history. You will also be eligible for a performance bonus equal to 10% of your annual salary if you meet or exceed your recruitment, retention, and client acquisition targets each quarter. We cover 80% of premiums for comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents, and offer 15 days of paid time off per year in addition to 10 paid company holidays. You will also receive access to paid professional development opportunities, including reimbursement for SHRM-CP certification exam fees and attendance at the annual Kentucky Hospitality Association conference.

Career growth opportunities at LGC Hospitality are strong: 60% of our current regional management and director roles are filled by internal promotions from our recruitment team. After 2 years of strong performance, you will be eligible to apply for Regional Recruitment Manager roles overseeing operations across both Louisville and Lexington, or Operations Director roles focused on client partnership management. We also provide quarterly performance reviews and personalized development plans to help you build the skills needed for advancement.

The hiring process for this role is straightforward and transparent, with no unnecessary assessments:
1. Submit your resume and a brief note outlining your relevant recruitment experience to [email protected] by [date to be confirmed based on application volume].
2. You will be contacted within 3 business days to schedule a 30-minute initial phone screen with Jennifer Sukup, our lead recruitment specialist. For any questions about the role prior to applying, you can reach Jennifer directly at 314-259-1870 during standard business hours (9am-5pm ET, Monday-Friday).
3. Successful candidates will be invited to a 1-hour in-person interview at our Louisville office with our Director of Operations, including a short practical exercise where you will be asked to outline a recruitment plan for a fictional urgent server opening at a local restaurant.
4. Final candidates will be contacted within 10 business days of their final interview with an offer or detailed feedback on their application.
5. The start date for the successful candidate will be agreed upon during the offer stage, with a typical onboarding timeline of 2 weeks, including training on our internal processes and client portfolios.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, including those with non-traditional recruitment experience or career changers with a proven track record in the hospitality industry.