[Hiring] Talent Acquisition Lead @Serco Plc

Role Description

As a Talent Acquisition Lead in our Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS) team, you'll lead the attraction, engagement and onboarding of clinical and non-clinical talent, helping to ensure we have the people in place to deliver vital health assessment services on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

This is a new and pivotal role, created to establish and lead Serco's dedicated direct recruitment function for HAAS. Working closely with Operations, Clinical Governance, Workforce Planning, Recruitment Marketing and Onboarding teams, you'll build sustainable talent pipelines, drive direct hiring, reduce agency dependency and ensure recruitment activity supports our growth ambitions.

Your work has purpose, helping us create impactful solutions that support colleagues, service users and communities across the UK.

What you'll do as a Talent Acquisition Lead

• Develop and deliver the direct hiring strategy for clinical and non-clinical vacancies across the HAAS contract.
• Lead workforce planning discussions with operational leaders, translating demand forecasts into effective recruitment delivery plans.
• Build, lead and develop a high-performing team of Recruitment Specialists and Coordinators, creating headroom for people to grow and succeed.
• Drive recruitment performance across the contract, ensuring hiring targets, workforce plans and onboarding requirements are achieved.
• Monitor recruitment pipelines, interview conversion rates, offer acceptance levels and onboarding performance to identify improvement opportunities.
• Act as a trusted recruitment partner to Operational Directors, Clinical Leaders and Assessment Centre Managers.
• Provide market intelligence, workforce insights and data-led recommendations to support informed decision making.
• Lead recruitment governance reviews, presenting performance, risks, opportunities and mitigation plans to senior stakeholders.
• Oversee attraction strategies, recruitment marketing activity, employer brand development and talent community initiatives within clinical talent markets.
• Champion direct sourcing approaches, employee referral activity and innovative attraction methods to maximise direct hiring outcomes.
• Own recruitment reporting, analytics, forecasting and performance dashboards, ensuring accurate and meaningful management information.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance recruiter capability, productivity, quality and candidate experience.
• Ensure an exceptional candidate journey from application through to onboarding, improving offer-to-start conversion and reducing attrition.
• Maintain oversight of recruitment governance, audit readiness, quality assurance and compliance with employment legislation and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements.
• Champion diversity, equity and inclusion, promoting fair and inclusive hiring practices that support social value commitments and equitable access to employment opportunities.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading healthcare, clinical or large-scale recruitment functions.
• A proven track record of delivering successful direct hiring strategies within complex, fast-paced environments.
• Experience managing both high-volume and specialist recruitment campaigns simultaneously.
• Strong workforce planning, resource forecasting and recruitment delivery capability.
• Experience leading, coaching and developing high-performing recruitment teams.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience working at senior leadership level.
• Strong commercial awareness and a clear understanding of recruitment performance metrics and return on investment.
• Advanced analytical skills with the ability to interpret, present and influence through recruitment data and insights.
• Experience driving recruitment transformation, continuous improvement and change initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of employment legislation, recruitment governance requirements and GDPR compliance.
• Experience recruiting registered healthcare professionals such as Nurses, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Paramedics or Pharmacists would be advantageous.
• Experience within health assessment, occupational health, outsourced healthcare services, insurance environments or public sector contracts would be beneficial.

Benefits

• Up to 6% contributory pension scheme
• Life insurance
• Competitive Salary
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays. Options for annual leave purchase
• A range of benefits to support the health and wellbeing of you and your family such as Employee Assistance Programme, Wisdom App, Simply Health cash plans, Bupa anytime helpline, free flu vaccines, eye tests and more.
• A fantastic culture and supportive team where you’ll get the chance to make a positive difference in a company passionate about diversity and inclusion.
• Company discounts which include cinema, merlin entertainment and online shopping and discounts on mobile phone plans and leisure centre memberships.
• Interesting and enjoyable work.
• Committed to professional and personal development with a wide range of training and coaching opportunities to expand your capabilities.

Our inclusive recruitment commitment

We prioritise your skills and potential. As a Disability Confident Leader, a top Great British Employer of Veterans, and a Gold Inclusive Employer Standard holder, we champion equal opportunities for all. We offer flexible and hybrid working where possible and make reasonable adjustments throughout recruitment and employment.

• Guaranteed Interview Scheme: Applicants with disabilities, veterans and people with convictions, who meet the minimum job criteria, are guaranteed an interview. Simply opt into the relevant scheme on the application form.
• Ban The Box: We also support fair access for those with unspent criminal convictions through our ‘Ban the Box’ pledge (some roles may have security exemptions).

For support with your application, please contact [email protected]