Talent Acquisition Partner - Midlands & South

At Arriva, our buses are at the heart of the communities we serve. Whether it's getting children to school or commuters to work, they connect our customers to what matters to them.

The Talent Acquisition Partner will be responsible for developing and implementing attraction solutions, leveraging market insights, and building strong partnerships to ensure a robust candidate pipeline for the volume hiring of Bus Drivers. Your role will focus on strategic sourcing initiatives, looking at innovative ways to attract candidates, ensuring a steady flow of high-quality candidates to meet business hiring needs. You will partner with the business and the Talent Acquisition Manager to understand the hiring requirements and ensure this is reflected in the workforce plans. As part of the Extended Talent Acquisition Management Team, you will lead and support projects to improve hiring processes, attraction, employer brand, and candidate experience. This role is a hybrid position that will require at least 1-2 days in Thurmaston (Leicester) and regular travel across the Midlands & South business area.

Responsibilities

• Manage relationships with key stakeholders within the designated recruitment activity area at a local level (Hiring managers and HR teams where appropriate).
• Build and manage relationships with external partners, industry networks, and community partnerships.
• Proactively identify and engage potential candidates to ensure a steady talent pipeline for both experienced and Trainee Bus Drivers.
• Advise and upskill stakeholders on best practices, recruitment trends, and creative solutions to attract top talent.
• Develop innovative attraction solutions, analyse market trends, and provide data-driven insights to optimise recruitment efforts.
• Analyse retention data and new starter feedback to support the improvement of candidate quality.
• Manage operational non-frontline vacancies.
• Lead and support recruitment-related projects to improve hiring processes and candidate experience.
• Create local attraction campaigns, working closely with Operational Management to execute targeted advertising.
• Review hiring processes to improve candidate experience continually.
• Understand the effectiveness of attraction sources and optimise to deliver maximum results, including the management of Indeed campaigns and sponsorship.
• Ensure that all campaigns are delivered within agreed timescales to meet the required number of candidates for operational roles.
• Attend candidate interview/assessment days and analyse results.
• Liaise with the Training School to agree on induction dates and capacity in line with the workforce plans.
• Support the ongoing development of appropriate selection and assessment tools to improve candidate conversion and retention.
• Coach other members of the Talent Acquisition Team.
• Deputise for the Talent Acquisition Manager when required.
• Contribute through own and team performance to the achievement of Recruitment KPI targets and SLAs.

What we're looking for

• Proven experience in an internal recruitment role within a high-volume, fast-paced hiring environment.
• Ability to analyse market trends, competitors, and recruitment metrics to drive decision-making.
• Experience in developing partnerships with external organisations and industry networks.
• Confident with online and offline candidate search methodologies including CV databases, job boards, and social media.
• Ability to lead or support projects that enhance recruitment strategies, processes, and employer branding.
• Creativity in developing and executing attraction campaigns and initiatives.
• Strong influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Attention to detail and professional written and verbal communication skills.
• Knowledge of employment legislation in relation to recruitment.
• Experience working with recruitment systems and standard computer packages.
• Full UK driving license as travel to depots and careers events would be required.