Lead Talent Acquisition Partner

The Lead Talent Acquisition Partner serves as a strategic hiring advisor to senior business leaders, owning recruitment delivery for the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) business area. The role combines hands-on recruiting, leading and implementation of the recruitment strategy and delivery of project driven recruitment campaigns, working closely with workforce planning, the Global TA Director, the UK People Director and UK CNI leads.

Key responsibilities

Strategic Talent Acquisition Partnership

• Act as a primary Talent Acquisition Partner to senior stakeholders within the CNI business area
• Influencing and leading on CNI TA initiatives to include diversity programs, EVP projects and campaign management
• Resolve escalations and hiring challenges raised by the business
• Provide compensation benchmarking and talent market insights on a quarterly basis to the TA Director and CNI Director
• Educate and Influence hiring managers on market realities, talent decisions and interview best practices
• Mentor and develop the recruiters and resourcers for the CNI business area enabling them to support volume recruitment and project related campaigns
• Mobilise the recruiters and resourcers to support volume and project campaigns
• Monitor and share construction industry trends (labour shortages, wage inflation, regional mobility) with CNI teams
• Encourage and support global mobility, ensuring internal applications are prioritised
• Manage external suppliers/agencies to ensure usage is kept to a minimum
• Develop local sourcing strategies and measure ROI for CNI

Growth and Retention

• Map competitor organisations and identify passive talent for lead roles
• Support succession strategies for critical roles, building bench strength
• Embed inclusive hiring practices to attract underrepresented talent.
• Lead intake sessions, define hiring strategies and advise on market trends
• Managing third party suppliers to mitigate cost
• Support global mobility by prioritising internal applications, ultimately supporting retention
• Lead and support strategic recruitment initiatives that enhance workforce diversity and broaden talent pipelines, including veteran and early career hiring, by partnering with specialist program leads and business stakeholders to achieve organisational workforce objectives.
• Develop proactive hiring plans for large scale projects
• Manage confidential executive and hard to fill search roles
• Partner with the People team and People Development team to improve hiring and retention

Technology and Innovation

• Monitor pipeline health and hiring metrics
• Manage accurate ATS documentation and reporting
• Improve hiring processes for speed and project alignment
• Use data to refine sourcing strategies and improve conversion rates

Who we’re looking for

Knowledge, skills and experience:

• A minimum of 7 years' experience in a senior talent acquisition leadership role, leading high-performing teams and partnering with executive stakeholders to deliver strategic workforce solutions aligned to business priorities.
• Over 7 years’ experience leading end to end talent acquisition strategies that align with organisational growth, workforce planning and business objectives
• Extensive experience recruiting within the construction industry, with a deep understanding of construction project lifecycles, organisational structures, workforce dynamics and industry specific talent challenges
• Proven success developing and executing sourcing strategies for critical, niche and business critical roles, delivering high quality talent in competitive markets
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted partnerships with senior leaders, influencing hiring decisions, workforce planning and broader talent strategies
• Strong expertise in market mapping, talent intelligence, and competitor analysis, using external insights to inform proactive hiring strategies and improve organisational capability
• Proven track record of leveraging recruitment metrics, market data and workforce analytics to drive evidence-based decision making, optimising hiring outcomes and continuously improve performance
• Commitment to delivering a best-in-class talent acquisition experience that strengthens employer brand, enhances candidate engagement and supports long term talent attraction
• Experience leading strategic recruitment initiatives, transformation projects or continuous improvement programs, while mentoring and developing high performing recruitment teams
• Demonstrated success delivering scalable talent acquisition solutions across multi-site, regional and geographically dispersed operations, ensuring consistency while adapting to local business needs
• Advanced proficiency in Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), recruitment technologies and talent analytics, using digital tools to enhance efficiency, reporting, and strategic workforce insights
• Extensive experience leading, coaching, and developing recruitment teams, fostering a high-performance culture focused on operational excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Gleeds is a global property and construction consultancy with over 150 years of expertise, operating in 28 countries worldwide. From iconic landmarks to critical infrastructure, we drive innovation, sustainability and value, delivering transformative projects that shape communities and redefine the built environment.

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