Talent Sourcing & Onboarding Manager in England

The Talent Sourcing & Onboarding team performs the vital tasks of identifying, attracting, recruiting, and retaining the best people in the industry to ensure we remain an innovative market leader in our field. Your role will be to lead the Talent Sourcing and Onboarding team to implement and execute the Talent Acquisition strategy that supports CMS's ambitious growth objectives. You will work in collaboration with various stakeholders at CMS to support our mission of "Finding, Growing, and Keeping Great People." You will lead the team to build both internal and external talent pools, ensuring the best possible culture fit for the role and the business.

This role will oversee talent attraction and intakes for our Graduate and Apprenticeship programmes and will work closely with Hiring Managers to scope out the deployment of entry level talent into key vacancies within the business. The Talent Sourcing and Onboarding Manager will be responsible for developing and executing effective recruitment strategies, managing the end‑to‑end hiring process, and leading a team of recruiters. This role requires a strategic leader who can build relationships with hiring managers, implement best practices, and drive continuous improvement in our recruitment processes. The ideal candidate has a strong background in recruitment and team leadership, with a passion for creating a positive candidate experience and promoting diversity in hiring.

Role Responsibilities

• Recruitment Strategy Development: Develop and implement a comprehensive talent acquisition strategy that aligns with company goals and attracts top talent across all departments.
• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and develop a team of recruiters, providing guidance and support to achieve hiring targets and maintain high standards of recruitment excellence.
• End-to-End Recruitment Management: Oversee the full recruitment lifecycle, ensuring a seamless, positive experience for both candidates and hiring managers.
• Employer Branding & Candidate Experience: Collaborate with marketing and communications teams to enhance employer branding efforts, creating a compelling value proposition. Drive initiatives to provide an exceptional candidate experience at every touchpoint.
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI): Champion DEI in all recruitment practices, implementing sourcing strategies and hiring practices that promote a diverse and inclusive workforce.
• Talent Pipeline & Workforce Planning: Build and maintain talent pipelines for current and future hiring needs. Collaborate with department heads to align recruitment with workforce planning and anticipate upcoming needs.
• Recruitment Metrics & Analytics: Track and analyse key recruitment metrics, including time-to-fill, source effectiveness, and candidate satisfaction. Use data to make informed decisions and improve recruitment efficiency.
• Vendor & Tool Management: Evaluate and manage external recruitment agencies, job boards, and tools. Leverage our ATS and other technologies to streamline processes and enhance the recruitment function.
• Training & Hiring Manager Support: Provide training and support to hiring managers on best practices in interviewing, hiring, and candidate assessment, ensuring a consistent and unbiased hiring process.
• Continuous Improvement: Stay current on industry best practices, trends, and technologies. Continuously refine recruitment processes to enhance quality, efficiency, and candidate engagement.

Onboarding: Oversee the creation of induction plans for all new starters across the business, setting new joiners up to feel welcomed and hit the ground running.

Additional Responsibilities: Notify Hiring Managers of new SLAs for interview feedback and emphasise the importance of a positive candidate journey. Liaise with People Relations to ensure New Starters and Internal Progressions are logged, monitored and finalised effectively.

Leadership: Full leadership responsibilities for the Talent Sourcing and Onboarding team. Coaching and mentoring to boost performance. Quarterly performance reviews as part of our Exceeding Expectations framework. Objective setting and monitoring using key measures such as time to hire, cost per hire, quality of hire, etc. Regular one‑to‑one meetings, team meetings, decision support. Supporting the growth and career progression of the team, so Talent Sourcing and Onboarding can scale in alignment with business growth.

Skills & Personal Attributes:

• Qualifications & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field; HR or recruitment certification (e.g., PHR, AIRS) is desirable. 5+ years of experience in talent acquisition, with at least 2 years in a management or team leadership role is required. Proven success in developing and implementing recruitment strategies across various roles and functions. Strong understanding of talent acquisition best practices, sourcing techniques, and employer branding strategies. Proficiency with ATS, CRM, and recruitment platforms (e.g., Indeed, LinkedIn Recruiter). Analytical mindset with the ability to use data and metrics to inform recruitment decisions and strategy. Experience with R&O Module of SuccessFactors highly desirable. Experience working with a servicedesk such as Zendesk highly desirable.
• Skills: Excellent communication, relationship‑building, and leadership skills. Can influence and gain buy‑in at a senior level, including proposing new ideas. The ability to multi‑task and deliver against expectations and deadlines.
• Attributes: Passionate about all aspects of people leadership, coaching and mentoring. Motivated to support upskill and training across the business to improve standards. Ambition, drive and a results focus to close specialised roles. Willing to travel to our different business locations. Passionate about networking – always acting as an ambassador for our brand, culture and values. A Growth Mindset – sees the value in learning, drive to keep developing their skills.

CMS believes that a diverse and inclusive workforce enriches and is integral to the success of our company. We value diverse opinions and perspectives, and therefore welcome candidates from all backgrounds including but not limited to ethnicity, gender, age, nationality, culture, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and neuro‑diversity.