TA Partner

The Talent Acquisition Partner is responsible for attracting, assessing and hiring high-quality talent across the organisation. This position has been created as part of a strategic initiative to strengthen the organisation's in-house talent acquisition capability, improve workforce planning and support the development of future talent across the UK and Northern Europe.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the full recruitment lifecycle from vacancy approval through to offer acceptance and onboarding.
• Develop and implement recruitment strategies that reduce agency dependency and attract high-calibre candidates.
• Partner with hiring managers to understand workforce requirements, define role profiles and develop recruitment plans.
• Create compelling job descriptions, adverts and candidate attraction campaigns.
• Source candidates through multiple channels including direct sourcing, social media, networking, referrals and job boards.
• Screen applications, conduct interviews and coordinate assessment activities.
• Build and maintain talent pipelines for critical and hard-to-fill roles.
• Ensure vacancies are filled within agreed timescales while maintaining quality and compliance standards.
• Deliver an exceptional candidate experience throughout the recruitment process.
• Manage relationships with recruitment agencies where additional support is required, negotiating favourable commercial terms and ensuring value for money.
• Support the identification and development of talent across the UK and Northern Europe.
• Promote internal career opportunities and encourage managers to consider existing employees when filling vacancies.
• Partner with the People Team to improve visibility of employee skills, aspirations and development potential.
• Support the development of internal mobility processes across the UK and, in time, the wider Northern Europe region.
• Help connect employees with suitable career progression and development opportunities.
• Develop and implement proactive retention strategies for critical roles and high-potential employees.
• Introduce and support stay interview practices to identify engagement drivers and retention risks.
• Partner with business leaders and People Partners to create development and retention plans for key talent.
• Support the design and implementation of career pathways across operational, specialist and leadership functions.
• Facilitate access to mentoring, coaching, job shadowing, secondments and development opportunities.
• Maintain talent and succession planning data, including performance, potential, mobility preferences and readiness for progression.
• Coordinate talent and succession reviews with leadership teams.
• Support the development of future leaders through structured development programmes, stretch assignments and cross-functional opportunities.
• Provide talent insights and recommendations to the People Director and leadership team through data and reporting.
• Build strong and effective relationships with managers and leaders across the business.
• Provide expert advice on recruitment best practice, market trends and talent acquisition strategies.
• Coach hiring managers on interviewing, selection and candidate assessment techniques.
• Influence and challenge hiring decisions where appropriate to ensure fair, objective and inclusive recruitment practices.
• Lead talent acquisition and recruitment improvement projects.
• Research market trends and competitor activity to identify innovative attraction and retention strategies.
• Drive the continuous improvement and digitalisation of recruitment processes and record keeping.
• Lead the implementation and ongoing management of an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
• Produce and analyse recruitment metrics including time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, quality-of-hire and diversity measures.
• Support wider People Team projects and organisational initiatives.
• Provide support to the People Partner team when required, including assisting with employee relations matters and case management.
• Supporting organisational change and transformation initiatives.
• Partnering with managers on employee development and retention activities.
• Providing HR support during periods of People Partner absence to ensure continuity of service.
• Ensuring a fair, consistent and legally compliant approach to people management.

Person Specification

Essential Experience

• Proven experience in an in-house recruitment or talent acquisition role.
• Experience managing end-to-end recruitment processes across multiple disciplines.
• Demonstrable success in direct sourcing and talent attraction strategies.
• Experience working with HRIS systems and Applicant Tracking Systems.
• Experience partnering with senior managers and business leaders.
• Sound knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Understanding of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion principles.
• Knowledge of GDPR and data protection requirements.
• Experience in workforce planning, talent management and succession planning.
• Experience leading and implementing people-related projects.

Essential Skills & Competencies

• Ability to operate strategically while remaining hands-on and delivery focused.
• Passion for recruitment, talent development and employee retention.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong interviewing, assessment and candidate evaluation capability.
• Data-driven approach with the ability to analyse and interpret people metrics.
• Strong organisational, planning and project management skills.
• Self-motivated with the ability to take ownership and drive change.
• Flexible and adaptable approach suited to a growing organisation.

Desirable Qualifications & Experience

• CIPD Level 5 or Level 7 qualification.
• Experience within manufacturing, construction, engineering, industrial or similar sectors.
• Experience supporting organisational change programmes.
• Experience implementing talent management and succession planning frameworks.
• Knowledge of employer branding and recruitment marketing strategies.