University Relations / Early Career Programs Recruiting Lead

About Us

We are a global climate technologies company engineered for sustainability. We create sustainable and efficient residential, commercial and industrial spaces through HVACR technologies. We protect temperature-sensitive goods throughout the cold chain. And we bring comfort to people globally. Best-in-class engineering, design and manufacturing combined with category-leading brands in compression, controls, software and monitoring solutions result in next-generation climate technology that is built for the needs of the world ahead.  

Whether you are a professional looking for a career change, an undergraduate student exploring your first opportunity, or recent graduate with an advanced degree, we have opportunities that will allow you to innovate, be challenged and make an impact. Join our team and start your journey today! 

Copeland, a standalone company with 100+ years in the HVACR industry, is seeking an experienced professional to join our global Talent Acquisition team as the Early Careers Recruiting Lead. In this role, you will own the and strategy and execution of university relations and oversee the recruiting work for our early career programs: Accelerate – Copeland’s Early Career Rotational Development Program, and the internship and apprenticeship programs. You will be responsible for cultivating relationships with key universities, technical institutions, and professional organizations, while elevating Copeland’s employer brand and attracting top emerging talent. Your work will include recruiting top talent, as well as managing all aspects of the campus recruiting process including event planning, budget management, and follow-up activities. You will also deliver updates and insights to hiring managers and senior leadership on recruitment activities, progress, and challenges. Additionally, you will track and analyze recruitment metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of campus recruitment strategies and make data-driven recommendations for improvement.

In this role you will leverage your deep experience in University Relations and Early Career recruiting, strong knowledge of creative sourcing strategies and the best practices to lead, manage and shape Copeland’s early talent pipeline. You will partner closely with the Early Career Programs Recruiter, the Sr. Manager of Talent Development – Early Career Programs and regional TA Specialists. This position will be hybrid and based at one of our US locations and will report to the Global Director of Talent Acquisition.

Key responsibilities for the University Relations / Early Career Programs Recruiting Lead:

University Relations:

• Identify, develop, and manage strategic relationships with universities, technical institutions, and professional organizations.

• Partner with university faculty, career services and student organizations at key institutions to drive increased engagement, outreach, brand awareness and candidate experience.

• Plan, execute, and participate in campus recruiting activities such as campus presentations, career fairs, coffee chats, networking events, job platforms, and social media campaigns to improve key university partnerships and brand presence.

• Measure and evaluate process effectiveness; generate reports and create data driven insights that represent the growth of the campus recruiting program.

• Create campus interview training content, administer training with stakeholders, and improve career fair presence and representation.

• Establish and maintain a directory of partners and calendar of events.

Program Strategy and Execution:

• Manage full-cycle recruitment process for the Accelerate Program, which includes filling both the direct hire positions and intern roles that feed this pipeline of talent.

• Design a strategy to prioritize the most critical business needs for Engineering, Operations and Commercial talent.

• Manage program timelines, hiring targets and deliverables to ensure we meet program goals.

• Partner with business leaders and HR to define early talent needs and align recruiting strategies to workforce plans.

Candidate Experience and Employer Branding:

• Deliver a high-touch, personalized candidate experience throughout candidate journey.

• Partner with internal communications, marketing, and branding teams to enhance Copeland’s early talent value proposition and digital presence.

• Support Sr. Manager of Talent Development – Early Career