About XPRIZE

XPRIZE competitions change the world for the better by accelerating innovation life cycles, catalyzing markets, and energizing stakeholders.  

The XPRIZE Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and incentivizing breakthroughs to the most critical challenges facing humanity. Since its beginning in 1994, the Foundation has been building and continues to build a vision of hope and abundance for humanity’s future by harnessing the power of innovators, technology, and resources.  

Through incentive prize competitions, XPRIZE enables people to create bold and transformative solutions that are scalable and drive real impact. XPRIZE competitions positively impact both the marketplace and humanity by addressing the market failures that have prevented significant breakthroughs across multiple sectors.  

An XPRIZE… 

sets an audacious but achievable goal that aims to overcome challenges deemed impossible. It tackles some of humanity's most pressing issues by redefining what is achievable and pushing the boundaries of human potential.  

defines and addresses a clear problem through extensive research, a design sprint, and a competition that catalyzes the development of the next breakthroughs to put humanity on the path toward a preferred future state for all. The desired outcome from an XPRIZE is clear and measurable, and the rules of the competition are transparent and easily understood.  

democratizes innovation by encouraging expert and nonexpert participation and multidisciplinary collaboration.  

catalyzes markets and revitalizes stagnant industries by increasing awareness of market failures and accelerating innovations to address them.  

is highly leveraged, with competing teams attracting and mobilizing investment capital, partner support, and new members in pursuit of the prize. Philanthropic dollars are thus magnified in support of a solution.  

Our first XPRIZE, the $10 million Ansari XPRIZE for private spaceflight, spurred an industry and created exponential breakthroughs. Since then we have provided over $140 million in incentives through these competitions. Each prize has created an industry-changing technology that brings us closer to a better, safer, more sustainable world.  

The use of incentive competitions, or prizes, to accelerate innovation goes back over 300 years, to when the British Admiralty launched the Longitude Prize in 1714 to find a better way to navigate our seas. In the years since, several well-known innovations have resulted from incentive competitions, including canning as a form of food preservation (a competition launched by Napoleon in 1795), modern plastics (the Billiard Ball Prize, 1863) and commercial aviation (the Orteig Prize, 1919).  

This is more than a job to us. When you work at XPRIZE, you’re making a positive impact on some of the biggest challenges facing our world. Whether you’re working in prize design or development, marketing and communications, stakeholder relations, business operations or any other department, you’re playing a critical role in turning the impossible into the possible.

Role Description 

We’re looking for an experienced Talent Acquisition Specialist, who will report to the Director of Talent Acquisition. The ideal candidate will have prior experience in recruitment, with knowledge of screening, interviewing, and hiring practices, as well as significant experience managing talent acquisition processes. If you have a passion for finding untapped talent, driving company growth, helping individuals find promising careers, and changing the world, we want to hear from you. 

Primary responsibilities will fall into four categories: 

Candidate Evaluation 

• Work with Director to conduct initial resume evaluation and phone interviews and provide feedback to hiring managers  
• Serve as part of the site interview panel as appropriate  
• Work with the Office Coordinator on the scheduling of site interviews for staff, and track progress 
• Work with staff, including executive assistants when appropriate, on the scheduling of phone interviews, and track progress 
• Manage the process of obtaining feedback from interviewers through Greenhouse and compile results  

Talent Acquisition Process Management 

• Serve as the main point of contact for staff on TA process, including Greenhouse, and serve as primary Greenhouse administrator 
• Post jobs via Greenhouse and to other designated job boards 
• Own process flow diagram and TA documents including offer letters 
• Manage background check process 
• Manage development and execution of vendor contracts  
• Administer and track responses to new hire surveys 
• Occasional front desk backup support for our Office Coordinator 
• Generate periodic updated statistics related to Talent Acquisition key performance indicators

New Hires 

• Create onboarding schedules for new hires and co-facilitate with our People and Culture Business Partner 
• Obtain new hire documents and deliver to the People and Culture Business Partner and assist with related file maintenance 
• Send workstation notifications to IT and update the organizational chart 
• Organize welcome bags for new hires, keep inventory, and work with marketing to order new items  

The Xternship Program 

• Develop and maintain college and university relationships for 2020 program 
• Manage application and selection process 
• Main point of contact for hiring managers, interns, and internship applicants 
• Plan events for interns and staff 
• Coordinate a small number of non-summer internships in 2020 
• Create and conduct survey for hiring managers and interns to improve program  

Requirements 

• 4+ years total work experience  

• 2+ years’ experience in a talent acquisition role 
• Exceptional written and verbal communication 
• Exceptional critical thinking and judgment 
• Strong ability to create and nurture interpersonal relationships 
• Advanced knowledge of MS Office and internet search tools 

• Familiarity with job boards, and ATS database systems – ideally Greenhouse 
• Proven experience conducting various types of interviews (i.e., phone, video, site, etc.) 
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience 
• Experience working in a non-profit and/or technology environment preferred 
• Business development or sales experience a plus 

Come change the world with us. 

XPRIZE Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to having a truly inclusive workforce. We do not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or on the basis of actual or perceived gender as expressed through dress, appearance, or behavior.