Job Title – Head of Talent

Contract Type – Fixed Term Contract

Duration – 6-12 months with strong potential for permanent role

Location – Coventry

Reward – Circa £60k per annum + Bonus

In the next 1-2 years, our technology client plans to make a shift in the composition and performance of its workforce, in response to its shifting business focus. It is an exciting time for a business that had a very compelling story to tell!

The role is squarely focused on the acquisition (and potentially development) of talent to bring that about.  Key responsibilities are to both lead and be operationally involved as an expert in recruitment.

What will be keeping you busy?

The role-holder will be the company’s recruitment expert, providing professional leadership to recruitment activity and being the primary operational resource for recruitment work, in conjunction with business leaders. 

You will be responsible for the quality of the recruitment process and candidate attraction activity. The goal is world-class recruitment: sourcing the best candidates the company can afford fast and cost-effectively. 

Successful onboarding will also be a key aspect of the role, helping recruits to navigate and master their transition into the business.

As the priority is to find the right person to make excellent progress in the next 12 months, it is envisaged the successful candidate could be employed on a variety of bases: permanent or fixed term (probably 12 months, extendable), full-time or part-time (min 60% time). The client is very open-minded with this appointment.

While the initial focus in the first 12 months will be on talent acquisition, this role will also focus on talent development and performance management in the longer term so if you have experience of this, it would be a bonus but is not essential. You will get an opportunity to develop in these areas during the course of this role whether it is contract or permanent. 

Key responsibilities:

Drive recruitment to achieve high quality outcomes rapidly, project managing the process

Ensure job descriptions and job ads are complete and current, and that maintenance of these is organised and efficient. 

Upgrade recruitment processes to test more rigorously for priority target attributes

Identify and agree optimal recruitment strategy/tactics for each position.

Carry out recruitment processes (jobs posting, screening where appropriate), some interviewing

Coach other in-house recruiters in e.g. interviewing

Lead development of all relevant systems / tools / processes as appropriate: e.g. applicant tracking system, systematised recruitment tests, search methods, career sites, alumnus networking, guerrilla search via social media etc.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for an experienced, skilled and enthusiastic talent acquisition professional suited to a role in an ambitious technology SME environment. We would like to see some strong experience of technology recruitment, agency and inhouse recruitment and ideally experience of working with SMEs.

You will be a great recruiter with experience of working in a technology business, fluent and resourceful, with the know-how to think through recruitment to a high standard, and the hands-on skills and motivation to make a high-quality contribution to internal recruitment activity, rather than simply outsource all the work to third parties.

You will be highly motivated by the prospect of:

• driving the expansion of a team where the target is world class company performance to help make a difference to education outcomes worldwide
• working in an SME entrepreneurial environment, with the risks, rewards and drivers that come with it
• a role with a significant hands-on element, rather than simply managerial activity

We are looking for excellent knowhow on recruitment industry and selection methods, resourceful in developing appropriate search and assessment approaches for each position to meet the simultaneous goals of high-quality outcomes, together with efficient use of money and short recruitment cycles.