Talent Acquistion Manager

Overview

In this role you will own the Talent Acquisition strategy for early careers within a financial markets environment and partner with the Head of HR on broader talent development. You will shape a direct sourcing approach, strengthen employer branding, and ensure a best-in-class candidate experience across programmes for industry placements and graduates. You will collaborate with a small HR team to support around 120 UK-based employees and drive continuous improvement in recruitment and onboarding. This is a chance to impact early‑career talent and align hiring with business goals.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a direct sourcing strategy via LinkedIn, referrals, and the company site, while managing agency partnerships
• Lead end-to-end recruitment processes, including needs consulting, job descriptions, postings, offers, and candidate experience
• Manage recruitment budgets balancing direct hires and agency hires without compromising quality
• Oversee LinkedIn licences, employer branding, and communications on internal/external sites
• Maintain recruitment metrics and provide insights to improve performance
• Build relationships with specialist agencies and search firms for market visibility
• Ensure compliance with employment law, GDPR, and DEI; guide hiring managers on best practices
• Collaborate with HR and hiring managers to enhance recruitment processes, efficiency, cost control, and candidate experience
• Evolve and deliver Early Careers strategy; own Industry Placements and Graduate Programmes
• Partner with business to align capability needs with career pathways and development for graduates
• Use innovative sourcing methods and career fairs to attract high-potential candidates; enhance employer branding
• Oversee performance management, probation, and progression reviews for early careers cohorts
• Measure programme effectiveness with data and drive continuous improvement
• Act as SME and primary contact for Early Careers; manage programme administration
• Drive brand consistency across LinkedIn, agencies, and company website
• Conduct market research and talent mapping to build proactive pipelines
• Develop relationships with external partners and working groups to support recruitment
• Develop interviewing and assessment skills of hiring managers
• Oversee PSL review annually and support ATS (BambooHR) optimization
• Collaborate across HR on onboarding, offboarding, reporting, payroll, and HRIS
• Schedule talent review check-ins and maintain development plans
• Maintain succession plans and action logs for critical roles
• Coordinate leadership development activities; manage communications and enrollment
• Update talent maps and share pipeline updates with managers and HR
• Create and maintain IDP templates and trackers for progress tracking

Key requirements

• Minimum 3 years’ experience in Early Careers or Talent Acquisition
• Strong written and verbal communication; comfortable presenting to stakeholders
• High integrity, professionalism, and relationship-building ability
• Solid knowledge of recruitment legislation and compliance including GDPR and DEI
• Strong IT skills (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)
• Ability to manage and interpret data and produce reporting
• Experience using ATS/recruitment systems; preferably implementing a new system

• communication
• relationship-building
• stakeholder management
• LinkedIn direct sourcing
• GDPR compliance
• DEI in recruitment

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