6 free templates for small businesses that want a wider applicant pool and a posting that holds up: in-house recruiter, first hire, sourcer, early careers, coordinator, and a plain-titled outreach version. Download as DOCX.
Most of the diversity recruiter job descriptions circulating online still read like they were written before March 2025. You can tell, because they ask for diverse slates, representation targets, and hiring goals tied to protected characteristics, published on a careers page with a company name attached. That document is now the first thing a plaintiff's lawyer reads.
The function did not become unlawful. Widening the pool of qualified people who see your openings is recruiting, and recruiting is legal. What changed is that the wording has to distinguish clearly between reaching more people and deciding among them, and almost no template on the internet does.
At FirstHR we write hiring templates for companies without a dedicated HR person, where the founder writes the posting between two other jobs. The six below cover an in-house recruiter, a first recruiting hire, a sourcing specialist, an early careers and community outreach role, a coordinator, and a plain-titled outreach version, each with the classification and goal-setting language written in.
TL;DR
A diversity recruiter widens the applicant pool through outreach, partnerships, and sourcing, and usually carries full-cycle recruiting too. Write every goal as an input the recruiter controls: outreach volume, partnerships, qualified applicants, conversion. Never as a required share of hires. Recruiters sit inside BLS occupation 13-1071 at a $75,940 median. Six templates below, downloadable as DOCX.
What This Role Actually Does
A diversity recruiter grows the number of qualified people who see and apply for your openings, using channels you are not already using. The job is outreach, partnership building, and sourcing, plus, in most well-scoped versions, full-cycle recruiting for a set of assigned roles.
That second half matters more than it looks. A pure outreach role at a small company produces relationships and no hires for two quarters, and then it gets cut. Attaching real requisitions gives the person something to point at, and gives you something to measure. Our general recruiter job description templates cover the full-cycle half in more depth.
Small business, no HR person
A slice of a job, not a job
The outreach work is real but it is not a headcount yet. Write it into the recruiter or office manager job description as a named responsibility with a time allocation, so it survives a busy quarter instead of disappearing into whatever is on fire.
A company with a recruiting team
Outreach plus full-cycle
The standalone version: partnerships and sourcing channels on one side, full-cycle recruiting for hard-to-fill roles on the other. The second half is what keeps the role credible with hiring managers and funded through a budget cut.
Federal contractor or regulated employer
Statutory duties remain
The affirmative action rules for race and sex under Executive Order 11246 were revoked, but Section 503 for individuals with disabilities and VEVRAA for protected veterans are statutes and still apply. Those outreach duties belong in the posting.
Agency or outsourced recruiting
Sourcing only, paid on pipeline
An external partner delivers candidates and never makes the hiring decision, which keeps the scope simple. Write the statement of work around outreach volume and qualified handoffs, not around the composition of who gets hired.
Scope the Function Before You Argue About the Title
The title has become a political question and the function has not. Whether you call it a diversity recruiter, a talent outreach recruiter, or a slice of your existing recruiter job description, the work is the same: find qualified people who do not already know you exist, tell them what the job is, and make sure everyone who applies is measured the same way. Pick the template that matches the actual scope, then put whatever title fits your company on top of it. Template 6 is the plain-titled version if you want the function without the label.
What Belongs in the Posting
A job description for this role does four jobs: it explains the scope, it filters people who talk about hiring from people who have built pipelines, it protects you legally, and it closes the candidate. Most versions do only the first, and the legal part is where they actively hurt you.
The parts candidates read first
What the role owns: outreach, sourcing, full-cycle, or all three
Who it reports to and who it partners with
Hiring volume and the functions it covers
The markets and communities it covers
The parts that filter applicants
Evidence of pipelines built from nothing, not opinions about hiring
Applicant tracking system and reporting literacy
Partnership building outside an existing network
Working knowledge of equal employment opportunity basics
The parts that protect you
FLSA classification stated on the posting
Goals written as outreach inputs, never as selection quotas
Essential functions written plainly
An equal opportunity statement and an accommodation line
The parts that win the hire
A real pay range, published where the law requires it
A budget for partnerships, events, and sourcing tools
Decision authority: what they can change without asking
A named person to apply to and a real deadline
The most common omission is decision authority. A recruiter who cannot change a posting, cut a dead channel, or set an interview standard without three approvals will not stay, and strong candidates ask about it in the first call. State what they own. Our guide to writing a job description covers the general structure, and job posting requirements covers what several states now require you to publish.
6 Diversity Recruiter Job Description Templates to Download
Download all six as one file or copy them individually. Each follows the same structure: company overview, position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, a classification and compliance note, an equal opportunity statement, and how to apply. The bracketed fields are the only parts you change.
Download All 6 Diversity Recruiter Job Description Templates
In-house recruiter, first recruiting hire, sourcing specialist, early careers and community outreach, coordinator, and plain-titled outreach. All in one download.
Diversity Recruiter, In-House
Outreach plus full-cycle
The standard corporate version: partnerships, sourcing, full-cycle recruiting for assigned roles, and posting audits, with the classification note written in.
First Inclusive-Hiring Recruiter
Build it, do not inherit it
For a company whose hiring runs on the founder’s network. This person builds the channels, the postings, and the interview kit while filling roles.
Diversity Sourcing Specialist
Top of funnel only
Pure pipeline work with no hiring authority, which is the cleanest version legally. Includes the honest warning that most sourcing roles are non-exempt.
Early Careers and Community Outreach
Partnerships and events
Schools, trade programs, apprenticeships, workforce boards, and the internship program, with the unpaid intern warning and the seasonal calendar.
Diversity Recruiting Coordinator
Non-exempt, hourly
Scheduling, records, accommodation routing, and the weekly pipeline report, classified as non-exempt with the overtime expectation stated up front.
Talent Outreach and Employer Brand
Same function, plain title
For employers who want the outreach function without a program label on the job. The scope is identical and the legal analysis is unchanged.
Template 1: Diversity Recruiter, In-House
The standard corporate version: outreach partnerships, sourcing, full-cycle recruiting for assigned roles, posting audits, and structured interview support, with the classification note written in.
Diversity Recruiter Job Description (In-House)
DIVERSITY RECRUITER JOB DESCRIPTION (IN-HOUSE)
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Head of People / Head of Talent / Founder]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt, if the duties and salary tests are met (see note)
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year
ABOUT [COMPANY NAME]
[Company Name] is a [industry] company in [City, State] hiring for [number] open
roles across [functions]. We are adding a recruiter whose focus is widening the
candidate pool we draw from, so that more qualified people see our openings and
every one of them is evaluated against the same job-related criteria.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Diversity Recruiter builds and runs outreach programs that expand the reach
of our job postings, sources candidates from channels we do not currently use,
runs full-cycle recruiting for assigned roles, and works with hiring managers to
keep evaluation consistent, documented, and based on the requirements of the job.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Build outreach partnerships with professional associations, community
organizations, training providers, veterans groups, and disability employment
networks in [markets]
•Source candidates through channels beyond our current pipeline and maintain an
active talent community
•Run full-cycle recruiting for assigned openings: screen, schedule, interview,
coordinate debriefs, and support offers
•Audit job postings for unnecessary requirements, unclear essential functions,
and language that narrows the applicant pool without a job-related reason
•Help hiring managers run structured interviews with a consistent scorecard and
the same questions for every candidate for a given role
•Track and report pipeline and process metrics: source of applicants,
stage-to-stage conversion, time to fill, offer acceptance
•Coordinate reasonable accommodation requests in the application process with
[HR / legal counsel]
•Keep recruiting records complete and retained per our record retention policy
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years of full-cycle recruiting or sourcing experience
•Demonstrated ability to build candidate pipelines through outreach and
relationship building, with examples
•Working knowledge of federal and state equal employment opportunity
requirements as they apply to sourcing, screening, and interviewing
•Comfort with an applicant tracking system and with basic pipeline reporting
•Clear written communication with candidates, hiring managers, and partners
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE (read before posting)
An in-house recruiter is commonly classified as exempt under the FLSA
administrative exemption when the primary duty is office work directly related
to the employer's general business operations and includes the exercise of
discretion and independent judgment on significant matters, and when the salary
tests are met. Confirm the current federal salary threshold and any higher state
threshold before you classify. Classification follows duties, not job titles.
On the substance of the role: outreach that widens the pool is lawful.
Employment decisions, including who is interviewed, advanced, or hired, must not
be motivated in whole or in part by race, sex, or any other protected
characteristic. Do not write quotas, set-asides, or required diverse slate
percentages into this job description or into the recruiter's goals. Set targets
on inputs the recruiter controls, such as outreach volume, partnerships built,
and total qualified applicants, and evaluate every candidate against the same
job-related criteria. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made
without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status,
or any other characteristic protected by law. We provide reasonable
accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year, [bonus structure], [benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume and two examples of
pipelines you built from scratch.
Template 2: First Inclusive-Hiring Recruiter, Small Business
For a company whose hiring runs entirely on the founder's network. This person builds the channels, rewrites the postings, and sets up the interview kit while filling roles at the same time.
First Inclusive-Hiring Recruiter Job Description (Small Business)
FIRST INCLUSIVE-HIRING RECRUITER JOB DESCRIPTION (SMALL BUSINESS)
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Founder / COO / Head of Operations]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt, if the duties and salary tests are met (see note)
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] has no recruiting function today. Hiring happens through the
founder's network, which is fast and cheap and produces a pool that looks like
the people already here. This is our first recruiting hire. You will build the
process, not inherit one, and you will fill roles while you build it.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Recruiter owns hiring end to end for [number] openings per [quarter], builds
our sourcing channels from zero, writes the job descriptions, sets up structured
interviews, and makes sure every applicant is evaluated on the requirements of
the job rather than on how familiar they feel.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Own full-cycle recruiting for every open role: intake, posting, sourcing,
screening, interviewing, offer
•Rewrite our job descriptions around essential functions and genuine
requirements, removing degree and experience filters we cannot justify
•Open sourcing channels we have never used: trade schools, community colleges,
apprenticeship programs, veterans employment services, local workforce boards,
professional associations, referral programs beyond the current team
•Build a simple structured interview kit per role: the same questions, a written
scorecard, and a documented decision
•Set up and run our applicant tracking system, from posting through offer
•Report monthly on applicants by source, stage conversion, time to fill, and
cost per hire
•Hand off cleanly to onboarding: offer letter, background check where used,
first-day paperwork, and the new hire's first week plan
•Keep candidate records and interview notes organized and retained
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years of recruiting experience, including at least one role where you
built a process rather than ran an existing one
•Sourcing skill you can demonstrate: show us a pipeline you created
•Familiarity with equal employment opportunity basics and with writing postings
around essential functions
•Comfort working without a template library, a brand, or a big budget
•Willingness to do the scheduling and the coordination yourself at first
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
A first recruiter at a small company usually meets the FLSA administrative
exemption because the role sets the process rather than executing someone else's,
but exemption still requires meeting the salary tests, and several states set a
higher salary floor than the federal one. Check both. If the role is scoped as
scheduling and coordination rather than program ownership, classify it as
non-exempt and track hours.
Write the goals as inputs, not outcomes tied to protected characteristics.
Widening reach is lawful and is the point of the role. Selecting on a protected
characteristic is not, no matter how the goal is worded internally. This is
general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made
without regard to any characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law,
and we provide reasonable accommodations in the application process on request.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year, [equity], [benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume and a short note on the
hardest role you ever filled and how you found the person.
Still Using Spreadsheets for Onboarding?
Automate documents, training assignments, task management, and track onboarding progress in real time.
Top-of-funnel work with no hiring authority, which is the cleanest scope legally because no employment decision passes through it. Pair it with talent sourcing if you are building the channel plan from scratch.
FLSA status: Often non-exempt; confirm against actual duties (see note)
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] fills [number] roles a year and keeps hitting the same wall: the
same applicants from the same two channels. This role exists to find candidates
our current sourcing never reaches, hand them to recruiters warm, and keep the
top of the funnel full.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Sourcing Specialist identifies, contacts, and engages passive candidates
across channels we do not currently use, builds and maintains talent communities,
and delivers qualified, interested candidates to recruiters for screening.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Build and run sourcing campaigns for [functions] across professional networks,
associations, alumni groups, training programs, and community organizations
•Write outreach messages that get replies and keep a consistent, respectful tone
•Maintain talent pools in the applicant tracking system and re-engage past
applicants who were qualified but not selected
•Attend or coordinate [career fairs, community events, association meetings] in
[markets]
•Report weekly on outreach volume, response rate, qualified handoffs, and
channel performance
•Partner with recruiters on intake so sourcing targets match the real
requirements of the role
•Keep every candidate record accurate, complete, and retained per policy
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years of sourcing, recruiting, or outbound research experience
•Strong search skills across professional networks and public candidate sources
•Writing that people answer, tested by response rate rather than by opinion
•Organized enough to run [number] active searches at once
•Understanding that sourcing widens the pool and does not decide who is hired
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
Many sourcing roles are non-exempt. The FLSA administrative exemption requires
the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance,
and a sourcer executing search campaigns designed by someone else may not meet
it. When in doubt, classify as non-exempt, track hours, and pay overtime past
forty hours in a week. Getting this wrong is expensive and easy to avoid.
Sourcing is the part of hiring where widening the pool is clearly lawful, because
no employment decision is being made. Keep it that way: do not filter outreach
lists by protected characteristics, do not build a requisition rule that reserves
interview slots, and let selection happen against job-related criteria after the
candidates arrive. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour], [bonus tied to qualified handoffs]
To apply, email __ with your resume and three outreach
messages you have actually sent.
Template 4: Early Careers and Community Outreach Recruiter
Schools, trade programs, apprenticeship sponsors, workforce boards, and the internship program, with the unpaid intern warning included. The campus recruiter templates cover the university side in more detail.
Early Careers and Community Outreach Recruiter Job Description
EARLY CAREERS AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH RECRUITER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Head of Talent / Head of People]
Employment type: Full-time [seasonal peaks in fall and spring]
FLSA status: Exempt, if the duties and salary tests are met (see note)
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] hires [number] entry-level people a year and wants those hires to
come from more than the two schools our founders attended. This role builds the
relationships that make that happen: schools, training programs, community
organizations, and workforce partners across [markets].
POSITION SUMMARY
The Early Careers and Community Outreach Recruiter owns our entry-level pipeline
from partnership to signed offer, running the school and community relationships,
the event calendar, the internship program, and the hiring process for junior
roles.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Select and manage partnerships with [colleges, community colleges, trade
schools, apprenticeship sponsors, workforce development boards, veterans
services, disability employment networks]
•Run the event calendar: career fairs, information sessions, classroom visits,
employer panels, and site visits
•Own the internship program end to end: role design, hiring, onboarding,
mid-point check-ins, conversion decisions
•Run full-cycle hiring for entry-level roles with a consistent, structured
process and a written scorecard
•Recruit and prepare the employee volunteers who represent us at events
•Track cost per partnership, applicants per event, offer acceptance, and intern
conversion rate, and cut partnerships that do not produce
•Keep candidate communication fast, because early-careers candidates hold
multiple processes at once
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years of recruiting experience, ideally including campus, early
careers, or community outreach hiring
•Comfort presenting to a room and building relationships with career centers,
program directors, and community partners
•Willingness to travel [percentage] during peak seasons
•Organized enough to run a season calendar months ahead of the hiring need
•Working knowledge of wage-and-hour rules for interns and student workers
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
Program owners who select partnerships, set the calendar, and control the budget
generally meet the FLSA administrative exemption when the salary tests are also
met. A role scoped as executing an event schedule someone else set is closer to
non-exempt. Classify on duties.
Two additional points. First, unpaid internships at a for-profit company are
tested under the Department of Labor's primary beneficiary test, and most
for-profit internships that deliver real work should be paid. Second, partnering
with a school or community organization to reach more candidates is outreach, not
selection, and stays lawful as long as the openings remain open to all applicants
and the hiring decision rests on job-related criteria. This is general
information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer. All openings sourced through our
partnerships are open to all qualified applicants.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year, [travel policy], [benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume and the list of school
or community partnerships you have personally built.
Template 5: Diversity Recruiting Coordinator
Scheduling, records, accommodation routing, and the weekly pipeline report, classified as non-exempt with the overtime expectation stated up front. See also the recruiting coordinator templates.
[Company Name] runs [number] active searches at a time, and the scheduling,
follow-up, and record keeping are the part that slips. This role keeps the
process running on time so candidates are never left waiting and interviewers are
never unprepared.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Recruiting Coordinator schedules interviews, keeps the applicant tracking
system accurate, handles candidate communication, coordinates accommodation
requests in the application process, supports outreach events, and produces the
weekly pipeline report.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Schedule screens, interviews, and debriefs across time zones and calendars
•Send confirmations, directions, interviewer names, and what to expect
•Keep every candidate record and stage accurate in the applicant tracking system
•Intake and route reasonable accommodation requests in the application process
to [HR / the recruiter] the same day
•Prepare interviewers with the scorecard and the assigned questions before the
interview, not after
•Support outreach and career events: registration, logistics, materials, and
follow-up with the people we met
•Produce the weekly pipeline report: applicants by source, stage counts,
time in stage, aging requisitions
•File and retain interview notes and hiring records per our retention policy
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years in a coordination, scheduling, or administrative role
•Calendar and inbox discipline under real volume
•Clear, warm written communication with candidates
•Comfort with an applicant tracking system and a spreadsheet
•Discretion with confidential candidate information
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
Recruiting coordinators are non-exempt in almost every case. The work is
scheduling and administration rather than the exercise of discretion and
independent judgment on matters of significance, so the FLSA administrative
exemption does not apply. Pay hourly, track hours, and pay overtime past forty
hours in a week. Interview seasons run long, and the overtime is real. Do not
reclassify the role as exempt to avoid it.
The coordinator sees accommodation requests and candidate demographic responses
before anyone else. Route accommodation requests to a named owner immediately,
and keep any voluntary demographic data separate from the hiring file so it never
reaches the people making the decision. This is general information, not legal
advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per hour, [overtime policy], [benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume and the tools you have
used to manage an interview calendar.
Template 6: Talent Outreach and Employer Brand Recruiter
The same function under a plain title, for employers who want the outreach work without a program label on the job. Scope is identical and the legal analysis does not change either way.
Talent Outreach and Employer Brand Recruiter Job Description
TALENT OUTREACH AND EMPLOYER BRAND RECRUITER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Head of People / Head of Talent / Founder]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt, if the duties and salary tests are met (see note)
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] wants a bigger and better-informed applicant pool without
attaching a program label to the job. This role is the outreach and employer
brand function under a plain name: find the people who have never heard of us,
tell them what the work is actually like, and keep the pipeline warm.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Talent Outreach Recruiter grows the number and quality of qualified people
who apply, by building partnerships and channels, running our careers content and
employer brand, and recruiting full-cycle for assigned roles.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Build and maintain outreach channels: associations, community organizations,
training providers, alumni networks, veterans services, and disability
employment networks in [markets]
•Own the careers page, job posting quality, and the employee story content that
tells candidates what the job is really like
•Run full-cycle recruiting for [functions]
•Rewrite postings to state essential functions plainly and remove requirements
that screen people out without a job-related reason
•Publish pay ranges where required, and keep posted ranges consistent with the
approved range in the requisition
•Maintain talent communities and re-engage strong past applicants
•Report on applicants by source, cost per qualified applicant, offer acceptance,
and first-year retention of hires by source
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years of recruiting, sourcing, or recruitment marketing experience
•Writing skill: postings, outreach, and careers content that people respond to
•Partnership building with organizations outside your existing network
•Comfort with reporting and with defending a channel by its numbers
•Working knowledge of job posting requirements in the states where we hire
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
Exempt status turns on duties and salary, not on the title. A role that owns
channel strategy, budget, and posting standards generally meets the FLSA
administrative exemption when the salary tests are met. Confirm the current
federal threshold and any higher state threshold.
Naming the role without a program label does not change the legal analysis in
either direction. Outreach that widens the pool is lawful. Employment decisions
motivated in whole or in part by a protected characteristic are not, whatever the
role is called. Job posting content is separately regulated: several states and
cities require a good-faith pay range in the posting, and some require benefits
information. Check every state you post in. This is general information, not
legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer. All openings are open to all
qualified applicants, and we provide reasonable accommodations in the application
process on request.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year, [outreach budget], [benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume and one job posting you
rewrote, before and after.
Outreach Versus Selection: Where the Line Sits
Recruiting more widely is lawful. Making an employment decision that turns on a protected characteristic is not. Every legal question about this role resolves to which side of that line a given activity falls on, and the job description is where you commit to an answer in writing.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice issued technical assistance on March 19, 2025 addressing discrimination related to diversity, equity, and inclusion at work. The core position is that Title VII protections apply to all workers, that an employment action motivated in whole or in part by a protected characteristic can be unlawful, and that a business interest in diversity does not provide a defense. Technical assistance is not a statute, but it does tell you how the agency intends to read the law.
Widening the pool is lawful. Selecting on the pool is not.
This is the line the whole role sits on, and it is not subtle. Advertising an opening more widely, building relationships with organizations whose members do not already know you, attending events at schools you have never visited, and rewriting a posting so fewer qualified people screen themselves out are all recruitment activities. No employment decision is made in any of them, and the openings stay open to everyone. What creates exposure is the decision layer: reserving interview slots, requiring a slate to contain a set number of people with a protected characteristic, or letting a protected characteristic move a candidate forward. The federal guidance issued in March 2025 is direct on this point: an employment action motivated in whole or in part by a protected characteristic can violate Title VII, and there is no diversity interest defense that saves it. Write the job description so the recruiter owns the first half and never the second. This is general information, not legal advice.
Title VII protects every worker on the same terms
In Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, decided June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court held unanimously that a plaintiff from a majority group does not have to clear an extra evidentiary hurdle to bring a Title VII claim. Several circuits had required such plaintiffs to show background circumstances suggesting the employer was the unusual one that discriminates against the majority. That requirement is gone. The practical effect for a small employer is simple: the same claim, brought by any employee, now starts from the same place, and a hiring practice that treats a protected characteristic as a plus factor is exposed from every direction at once. Combined with the March 2025 federal guidance, it means the safe design is a process where every candidate is measured against the same written, job-related criteria and the file shows it. This is general information, not legal advice.
The federal contractor rules changed, but not all of them
Executive Order 14173, signed January 21, 2025, revoked Executive Order 11246, the order that had required federal contractors to maintain written affirmative action programs covering race and sex. The Department of Labor directed contractors to wind down compliance with that regulatory scheme by April 21, 2025, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs stopped enforcement activity under it. Two obligations survive because they come from statutes rather than an executive order: Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, covering individuals with disabilities, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act, covering protected veterans. Both still carry outreach and recordkeeping duties for covered contractors. If you hold federal contracts, write those specific duties into the recruiter’s job description by name, and drop any language that references the revoked order. This is general information, not legal advice.
Measure the funnel, not the outcome you want
The metric you put in the job description becomes the behavior you get, so choose inputs the recruiter genuinely controls. Total qualified applicants, applicants per channel, cost per qualified applicant, response rate to outreach, partnerships built and retained, stage-to-stage conversion, time to fill, offer acceptance, and first-year retention by source are all input and process metrics, and all of them are defensible in writing. A target expressed as a required share of hires with a given characteristic is a different animal and does not belong in a job description, a bonus plan, or a manager’s goals. If you collect voluntary demographic information from applicants, keep it separate from the hiring file so it never reaches the people evaluating candidates, and use it only in aggregate to review the process. This is general information, not legal advice.
The other half of the picture is procedural. In Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, decided June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously removed the extra evidentiary showing that several circuits had required of majority-group plaintiffs. Practically, that means every discrimination claim now starts from the same place regardless of who brings it, which is a strong argument for one written standard applied to everyone. A structured interview process with the same questions and the same scorecard for every candidate is the cheapest protection a small employer can buy.
Federal contractors have a second layer to get right. Executive Order 11246 was revoked in January 2025, so its written affirmative action requirements covering race and sex no longer apply, but the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs continues to enforce Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act, because both rest on statutes rather than an executive order. Name those two duties in the job description and delete any reference to the revoked order.
Quotas and Slates Are Where Postings Go Wrong
The single most common defect in a published diversity recruiter job description is a responsibility line requiring diverse candidate slates, a set percentage of interviews, or a representation target in the bonus plan. Those lines describe selection, not outreach, and they sit on your careers page in your own words. Replace every one of them with an input metric: qualified applicants generated, partnerships built and retained, response rate, cost per qualified applicant, conversion by stage. The recruiter does the same work. The document stops arguing against you.
Exempt or Non-Exempt
Classification turns on duties and salary, never on the title. A recruiter who owns channel strategy, selects partnerships, controls a budget, and exercises discretion and independent judgment on significant matters generally meets the FLSA administrative exemption, provided the salary tests are met as well.
The federal white-collar salary threshold is $684 per week, which is $35,568 per year, with the highly compensated employee threshold at $107,432. The Department of Labor rule that would have raised those figures was vacated by a federal court in November 2024 and formally rescinded on May 15, 2026, so the earlier levels stand. Several states set a higher floor, so check both before you classify. Our breakdown of exempt versus non-exempt classification works through the duties tests in detail.
Scope of the role
Usual classification
Why
Owns channel strategy, partnerships, and budget
Exempt if the salary tests are met
Discretion and independent judgment on significant matters
Outreach plus full-cycle recruiting for assigned roles
Exempt if the salary tests are met
Runs a process and makes recommendations that carry weight
Sourcing campaigns designed by someone else
Usually non-exempt
Execution rather than judgment on matters of significance
Scheduling, records, reporting, event logistics
Non-exempt
Administrative support work; overtime is real in peak season
Contract or agency sourcing partner
Not your employee, if the relationship is genuine
Test control over method, schedule, and integration before you decide
The mistake I see most often at small companies is calling a coordinator a recruiter to justify a salary and skip overtime. Interview season runs long, the hours are documented in the calendar, and the exposure is back pay plus liquidated damages. Classify on what the person actually does, and if the answer is scheduling, pay hourly.
What to Pay a Diversity Recruiter
There is no federal occupation for diversity recruiters, so benchmark against human resources specialists, the classification that contains recruiters. Use the percentile ladder rather than the median alone, because the scope of this role ranges from sourcing execution to program ownership.
The Federal Benchmark for Recruiters (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), human resources specialists (SOC 13-1071), the classification that contains recruiters, earned a national median annual wage of $75,940, or $36.51 per hour, across 944,300 workers. The percentile ladder runs $47,180 at the 10th, $58,610 at the 25th, $99,380 at the 75th, and $128,720 at the 90th. Employment is projected to grow faster than average through 2034, with about 81,800 openings a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS national estimates).
Role level
Benchmark occupation
National median (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
Note for a small employer
Recruiting coordinator
Human resources assistants (43-4161)
$50,610 per year
Non-exempt; budget for overtime in peak season
Sourcing specialist
Human resources specialists (13-1071)
$58,610 (25th percentile)
Entry to mid scope, often non-exempt
Diversity recruiter, outreach plus full-cycle
Human resources specialists (13-1071)
$75,940 (median)
The national median for the whole occupation
First recruiting hire at a small business
Human resources specialists (13-1071)
$75,940 and up
Pay above median: building a function is harder than running one
Program owner with direct reports
Human resources specialists (13-1071)
$99,380 (75th percentile)
Where scope includes budget and headcount
Head of talent
Human resources managers (11-3121)
$149,280 per year
The level this function reports into at a larger company
Read those as national anchors, not targets. Recruiter pay moves sharply with metro and hiring volume, and a first recruiting hire at a small company should be paid above what their years of experience suggest, because building the channels is harder than working them. Publish a good-faith range where pay transparency laws apply, and tie any bonus to something the recruiter controls.
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Use input and process metrics the recruiter genuinely controls, and keep outcome targets tied to protected characteristics out of the document entirely. The metric you publish becomes the behavior you get and the intent you are later asked to explain.
Every measure in the table below is defensible in writing, because each one describes how many qualified people entered the funnel and how consistently they moved through it. None of them describes who was selected. Our guide to recruitment KPIs covers definitions and formulas.
Posting element
Phrasing that creates risk
Phrasing that does the same job safely
Pipeline goal
Deliver diverse slates for every requisition
Grow total qualified applicants per requisition by [X] percent
Sourcing goal
Source candidates from underrepresented groups
Open and maintain [N] new sourcing channels and partnerships
Interview goal
Ensure a set share of interviews go to diverse candidates
Ensure every candidate is interviewed with the same questions and scorecard
Hiring goal
Hit representation targets in hiring
Improve offer acceptance and first-year retention by source
Posting audit
Rewrite postings to appeal to diverse candidates
Rewrite postings around essential functions and remove unjustified filters
Reporting
Report hires by demographic to hiring managers
Report applicants by source, stage conversion, time to fill, cost per hire
Two record-keeping notes. Keep any voluntary demographic information applicants provide separate from the hiring file, so it never reaches the people evaluating candidates. And if you are large enough to file the EEO-1 Component 1 report with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, confirm the current status of that requirement before you build reporting around it, because the agency proposed rescinding it in May 2026 and the outcome was not settled. Most small businesses sit below the filing threshold either way.
Hiring This Role Without an HR Department
Small-company hiring for this role fails in three predictable places: the pipeline problem gets diagnosed as a philosophy problem, the templates available are legally stale, and the records the role generates have no owner. Each one has a concrete fix.
Your pipeline is your founder’s contact list, and it is running out
Almost every small company hires the same way at the start: someone you worked with before, someone they know, a referral from the third employee. It is fast, it costs nothing, and it works until the network is exhausted or the role is one nobody in that network does. The fix is not a philosophy, it is channel work. Someone has to build relationships with trade programs, community colleges, professional associations, veterans employment services, and local workforce boards, and then keep them alive between hires. That is what this job description is buying. The reason to scope it as outreach plus full-cycle recruiting is that a pure outreach role at a small company has no way to prove its value, and the first budget review kills it.
Every template you find reads like a lawsuit waiting to be filed
The generic versions of this job description were written before the March 2025 federal guidance and before the Supreme Court decided Ames, and it shows. They ask for diverse slates, representation targets, and hiring goals tied to protected characteristics, all inside a document you publish on the internet with your company name on it. Those postings are now discoverable evidence of intent. The templates below keep the same function, which is a wider and better-informed applicant pool, and move every goal to the input side of the funnel: outreach volume, partnerships, qualified applicants, conversion, retention. The role does not shrink. What changes is where the numbers are pointed, and the posting stops arguing against you.
The role generates records and reporting that nobody owns
Outreach recruiting produces paperwork immediately: interview notes for every candidate, scorecards that have to be consistent to be worth anything, accommodation requests that need a named owner and a same-day response, partnership agreements, event budgets, retention documents, and offer packets. At a small company that all lands on one person who is also doing the interviewing. FirstHR was built for that reader. Employee profiles and document management hold the signed records with renewal dates attached, e-signature handles offer letters and policy acknowledgments, and onboarding runs the same sequence for every hire so the handoff from recruiting is a checklist instead of a memory. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Once the offer is signed, the work moves to a repeatable onboarding checklist, and the channels this hire builds feed directly into your wider recruitment marketing work. If you are still deciding whether this is a headcount or a set of responsibilities on an existing job, start with the hiring templates library and scope it from there.
Key Takeaways
A diversity recruiter widens the pool of qualified applicants through outreach, partnerships, and sourcing, and the well-scoped versions also carry full-cycle recruiting so the role produces hires and not only relationships.
Widening the pool is lawful; making an employment decision motivated in whole or in part by a protected characteristic is not, per the EEOC and DOJ technical assistance issued March 19, 2025.
Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services (June 5, 2025) removed the extra evidentiary burden on majority-group Title VII plaintiffs, so one written standard applied consistently to every candidate is the safest design.
Write every goal in the job description as an input the recruiter controls: outreach volume, partnerships, qualified applicants, conversion, retention by source. Never as a required share of hires or a diverse slate percentage.
Classification follows duties: program owners generally meet the FLSA administrative exemption above $684 per week, while sourcers and coordinators are usually non-exempt and owed overtime.
Recruiters sit inside BLS occupation 13-1071 at a $75,940 median (OEWS, May 2025), with a ladder from $47,180 to $128,720 and a $149,280 median for human resources managers.
Outreach recruiting produces records long before it produces hires. FirstHR keeps offer letters and policy acknowledgments under e-signature, stores clearances and partnership documents against each employee profile with renewal dates attached, and runs the same onboarding sequence for every hire so nothing depends on remembering. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a diversity recruiter do?
A diversity recruiter widens the pool of qualified people who see and apply for your openings. The work is outreach and sourcing: building relationships with professional associations, community organizations, trade programs, community colleges, apprenticeship sponsors, veterans employment services, and disability employment networks, then running sourcing campaigns through channels the company does not already use. Most versions of the role also carry full-cycle recruiting for assigned openings, which is what keeps it credible with hiring managers and funded through a budget review. A well-scoped version also audits job postings, removing requirements the company cannot justify against the actual job, and helps hiring managers run structured interviews with the same questions and the same written scorecard for every candidate. What the role does not do is decide who gets hired on the basis of a protected characteristic.
Is it legal to hire a diversity recruiter?
Yes. Recruiting more widely is lawful, and hiring someone whose job is to do it is lawful. The legal risk is not in the role, it is in how the goals are written. Federal guidance issued in March 2025 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice states that an employment action motivated in whole or in part by race, sex, or another protected characteristic can violate Title VII, and that there is no diversity interest that excuses it. So outreach, advertising, partnerships, sourcing, and posting audits are on safe ground because no employment decision is made in any of them. Reserved interview slots, required slate composition, and any goal expressed as a share of hires with a given characteristic are a different matter and should not appear in a job description, a bonus plan, or a manager’s objectives. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a diversity recruiter exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the duties and the salary, not on the title. A recruiter who owns channel strategy, selects partnerships, controls a budget, and exercises discretion and independent judgment on significant matters generally meets the FLSA administrative exemption, provided the salary tests are also met. The federal salary threshold for the white-collar exemptions is $684 per week, which is $35,568 a year, and the highly compensated employee threshold is $107,432. The Department of Labor rule that would have raised those figures was vacated by a federal court in November 2024 and formally rescinded on May 15, 2026, so the earlier levels stand. Several states set a higher floor than the federal one, so check both. Sourcing specialists who execute campaigns designed by someone else, and recruiting coordinators who schedule and administer, are usually non-exempt: pay hourly, track hours, and pay overtime past forty hours in a week.
How much does a diversity recruiter make?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a separate occupation for diversity recruiters. Recruiters are counted inside human resources specialists, SOC 13-1071, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025) that occupation had a national median annual wage of $75,940, or $36.51 per hour, across 944,300 workers. The percentile ladder runs $47,180 at the 10th, $58,610 at the 25th, $99,380 at the 75th, and $128,720 at the 90th. Human resources managers, the closest match for a program owner with direct reports, had a median of $149,280, and human resources assistants, the closest match for a recruiting coordinator, had a median of $50,610. Benchmark a sourcing-only role near the 25th percentile, an outreach plus full-cycle recruiter around the median, and a program owner toward the 75th percentile, then adjust for your metro.
What should not go in a diversity recruiter job description?
Leave out anything that turns a protected characteristic into a selection criterion. That means no required diverse slate percentages, no reserved interview slots, no representation targets in the responsibilities or the bonus structure, and no language suggesting that certain candidates will be advanced because of who they are. A published job description is a discoverable document that states your intent in your own words, which is exactly why generic templates written before the March 2025 federal guidance are a problem. Also leave out requirements you cannot tie to the job: a degree the work does not need, years of experience picked because the number sounded senior, or tool familiarity that takes a week to learn. Replace all of it with input metrics the recruiter controls, essential functions written plainly, an equal opportunity statement, and an accommodation line. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do we still need affirmative action language if we hold federal contracts?
Not the parts that came from Executive Order 11246. That order was revoked by Executive Order 14173 on January 21, 2025, the Department of Labor directed contractors to wind down compliance with its regulatory scheme by April 21, 2025, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs stopped enforcement activity under it. Written affirmative action programs covering race and sex are no longer required by that order. Two obligations survive because they rest on statutes rather than an executive order: Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, covering individuals with disabilities, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act, covering protected veterans. Covered contractors still carry outreach, recordkeeping, and self-identification duties under both. Write those duties into the recruiter’s job description by name and remove any reference to the revoked order. This is general information, not legal advice.
How do I hire for this role without an HR department?
Scope it honestly first. At a company without a dedicated HR person, the outreach work is usually a named slice of a recruiter or operations role rather than a standalone headcount, and pretending otherwise produces a job nobody can justify at the next budget review. When it is standalone, pair outreach with full-cycle recruiting so the person delivers hires and not just relationships. Then run a short, structured process: post a specific description with a real range, ask every candidate for a pipeline they built from nothing, use the same questions and the same written scorecard, and check references with people who saw the pipeline produce. Move fast, because strong recruiters are usually in several processes at once. After the offer, run onboarding as a checklist rather than a pile: signed offer, policy acknowledgments, system access, and the first-week plan. FirstHR handles that sequence with e-signature, document management, and onboarding workflows. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
