Talent Acquisition Manager

Talent Acquisition Manager

London | Up to £70,000 + Travel Allowance | Full-Time 5 days a week in office

*Please note you will have to have sector experience within construction, engineering, rail, utilities, M&E contracting, civil engineering or a closely related environment to apply for this role*

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Talent Acquisition Manager to join a rapidly growing, ambitious organisation operating across the UK and Europe.

This is not a traditional TA role. You will be joining at a pivotal point in the organisation's growth, with the opportunity to build a Talent Acquisition function from the ground up , introduce structure and consistency, and fundamentally improve how the business attracts, selects and retains its people. 🚀

The organisation has grown significantly and continues to expand, with further major projects and workforce requirements ahead. Recruitment has historically been heavily agency-led and reactive, creating an opportunity for someone to take ownership, establish best practice and build a much more effective direct hiring model.

If you're someone who looks at a blank canvas and thinks "I can fix this" , this could be an excellent opportunity

The Opportunity

Reporting initially into the Finance Director, and ultimately into a newly appointed Head of HR, you will take ownership of the organisation's end-to-end recruitment activity across the UK.

The role combines hands-on recruitment with process improvement and TA transformation . You'll be expected to roll up your sleeves and recruit while simultaneously building the infrastructure, processes, talent pipelines and hiring capability needed to support future growth.

Key Responsibilities:

Build the Talent Acquisition Function

• Develop and implement a comprehensive recruitment strategy aligned to business growth and workforce requirements.
• Build the recruitment function and processes from the ground up.
• Establish consistent hiring processes, approval routes and selection criteria across the business.
• Develop proactive talent pipelines for critical and hard-to-fill positions.
• Introduce structured interview guides, scoring matrices and consistent assessment processes.
• Establish and develop a strong internal hiring manager community.

Drive Direct Recruitment

• Own the end-to-end recruitment lifecycle , from job definition and sourcing through to selection, offer and onboarding.
• Significantly increase direct recruitment through networks, LinkedIn, employee referrals and proactive talent mapping.
• Build a strong personal network of candidates across relevant industry sectors.
• Develop talent pools for recurring and specialist requirements.
• Manage and optimise relationships with recruitment agencies through the existing PSL, ensuring value and appropriate use of external suppliers.
• Reduce cost-per-hire and overall agency expenditure through a stronger direct sourcing model.

⭐ Improve Hiring Quality & Retention

• Ensure candidates have the appropriate qualifications, certifications and compliance requirements for their roles.
• Introduce greater rigour around candidate assessment and due diligence.
• Partner with hiring managers to improve interviewing and decision-making.
• Use recruitment data to understand the causes of unsuccessful hires and improve quality of hire.
• Help reduce early-stage attrition and failed probation rates by focusing on long-term cultural and role fit.

Transform Recruitment Systems & Processes

• Review, implement and optimise the organisation's Applicant Tracking System.
• Improve the use of recruitment technology and data across the hiring lifecycle.
• Establish meaningful recruitment reporting and dashboards.
• Track and report on key metrics including time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, source of hire and quality of hire .
• Provide recruitment insights and recommendations to senior leadership and the Board.

🤝 Stakeholder Management

• Become a trusted recruitment partner to senior leaders and operational teams.
• Coach hiring managers on recruitment best practice, interviewing and candidate evaluation.
• Influence stakeholders to follow agreed recruitment processes.
• Confidently challenge ineffective hiring practices and bring structure to a fast-moving environment.
• Advise senior stakeholders on market conditions, candidate availability and recruitment strategy.

UK & European Recruitment

• Support recruitment across multiple European jurisdictions. 🇬🇧🇪🇺
• Adapt recruitment processes to local market and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee contractor and self-employed recruitment activity, including relevant IR35 considerations.

The Candidate

We're looking for an experienced in-house Talent Acquisition / Recruitment professional who is comfortable operating in an environment where there is plenty to build and improve.

This is particularly suited to someone who enjoys creating rather than inheriting . You'll need to be equally comfortable discussing TA strategy with senior stakeholders and getting involved in sourcing candidates yourself.

✅ Essential experience

• Significant in-house recruitment experience – agency-only backgrounds will not be suitable.
• Strong recruitment experience within construction, engineering, rail, utilities, M&E contracting, civil engineering or a closely related environment.
• Proven experience delivering direct recruitment and reducing reliance on recruitment agencies.
• Experience building or significantly improving recruitment processes.
• Strong understanding and practical experience of ATS platforms and recruitment technology .
• Experience recruiting across high-volume and specialist white-collar positions.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence senior leaders and challenging hiring managers.
• A well-established industry network and ability to proactively source candidates.
• Demonstrable experience improving quality of hire and/or employee retention .
• CIPD Level 5/7 or an equivalent HR/recruitment qualification would be advantageous
• 5 days a week in office with 2 days a month working from home

Please note: The organisation is unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position.

Interested?

If you're an experienced in-house recruiter from a construction, engineering, infrastructure or related environment and you're looking for an opportunity where you can build, influence and make a measurable difference , we'd be keen to hear from you. 🚀