Talent Acquisition Partner

The founder and sponsor of the Harris Federation, Lord Harris of Peckham, opened our first school in 1990. We have, over the past thirty years, implemented ideas and that have transformed the opportunities of pupils from working class and disadvantaged backgrounds. Harris academies are widely recognised as a force for social mobility. We are immensely proud of the role that our alumni are now beginning to play in the world and of what we believe our current generation of pupils will go on to achieve.

We now have 54 schools educating more than 40,000 young people across London and Essex, and employ over 5,000 staff across our academies and head office. With the majority of our academies located in areas of high socioeconomic disadvantage, a high-quality education is key to the futures of the pupils we serve.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.

Our work will impact many generations to come, and our staff come from all backgrounds and walks of life, coming together to inspire young minds. We promote an inclusive culture that embraces the valuable and enriching contribution that all of our community make. We continue to be proactive in uplifting and supporting all voices at Harris.

To discover more about our culture, ethos and what it is like to work here, visit the Why Work For Us page.

As a Talent Acquisition Partner, your responsibility will be to deliver a best-in-class recruitment experience for both candidates and the stakeholders across our network of 54 primary and secondary academies, and in our central team. You will help embed a culture of best practice planning, sourcing, screening, interviewing and onboarding, as well as continually reviewing and improving processes to ensure we secure the best talent.  Reporting to the Head of TA, you will line manage, coach and develop a Talent Acquisition Coordinator.

Reporting to the Head of Talent Acquisition, your responsibilities will include:

• Working with academy and head office senior leaders on delivering effective and diverse resourcing strategies for mid to long term recruitment needs.
• Meeting with hiring managers to qualify posts, to support in role creation, salary benchmarking and job/skills evaluation, and to plan a campaign and recruitment schedule for each position.
• Providing support, guidance and training to hiring managers on best practice, screening, reviewing applications, and supporting with panel interviews and/or preparation where needed.
• Supporting our in-house executive search function for senior appointments.
• Managing a high-touch recruitment process with both external and internal candidates to ensure the best possible candidate experience.
• Managing a robust full-cycle recruiting process for entry-level hires through to senior-level positions across the academy network and head office team.
• Developing new and existing sourcing strategies for talent pipelines, candidate pools and nurturing talent in line with workforce planning, from entry level to senior leadership.
• Helping develop and implement the use of testing and assessments to evolve our approach to skills/competency based hiring.
• Helping increase diversity and working with the wider People Services directorate on diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• Working with local HR teams and head office recruiters to oversee a the onboarding process and pre-employment screening.
• Developing communities and talent pools through advertising, headhunting/direct approaches, networks, university events, social media and employee referrals.
• Supporting with Employer Value Proposition, Recruitment Marketing, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Staff Referral and Engagement projects initiatives.

Please download the Job Pack from for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification.

We are interested in hearing from experienced recruiters and would be particularly keen to speak with people who have gained experience working within a Multi Academy Trust HR or recruitment team, or in-house TA/recruitment team within public sector or not for profit environment.

You should be experienced in working closely with hiring managers to form close partnerships in order to deliver against recruitment objectives.

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• A passion for recruitment and ensuring outstanding candidate experience
• The ability to problem solve and create innovative solutions to difficult hiring challenges
• Previous experience in building and developing relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Significant recruitment experience gained in an in-house function, RPO or consultancy
• Experience of implementing and developing recruitment processes
• A track record of recruiting across all level roles, from entry level through to senior leadership
• The skills to be resourceful, meticulous, and organised with the ability to multitask
• Experience of using ATS/HRIS
• Experience across several sourcing channels and techniques
• Knowledge of market trends and insights
• Qualifications to degree level or equivalent

If you would like to discuss the opportunity further, or if you have any questions, please contact Harry Bond, Head of Talent Acquisition, via email:

Before applying please ensure you download the job pack from our careers website, this will help with completing your application. Please note that we only accept applications submitted online before the closing date.

When applying, you will have the option to import your CV or use a LinkedIn profile which will auto populate the online application.

A reminder to check your junk mail for our email communications and add us to your safe senders list to ensure all future email communication is received.

The next stage will be a Teams interview, followed by a face-to-face interview for successful candidates.