Talent Acquisition Specialist (Fixed Term Contract)

As a Talent Acquisition Specialist, you'll be at the heart of this mission, owning recruitment across our Central Office functions and partnering closely with internal stakeholders to attract high-quality talent from Entry to Senior Manager level.

This is a hands-on, consultative role for an experienced in-house recruiter who thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment. You'll combine strong delivery with commercial insight, excellent stakeholder management and a proactive, inclusive approach to talent attraction, all while ensuring an engaging and professional candidate experience.

"There's nothing more rewarding than building a central team that directly supports 43 nursery locations and the children who attend them. The work we do here has real, visible, life-changing impact every single day."- Senior Recruitment Manager

What you'll be doing

Partnering for high-quality hiring

Own the full end-to-end recruitment lifecycle for Central Office vacancies, from role scoping and approval through to offer and handover

Partner closely with senior stakeholders, providing expert advice, market insight and constructive challenge

Build strong credibility as a trusted recruitment advisor, adapting hiring strategies to changing business needs

Recruit across a diverse range of corporate disciplines including Finance, Marketing, HR, Technology and Operations

Confidently manage multiple roles simultaneously, often with varying urgency and complexity

Attracting and sourcing exceptional talent

Design and deliver targeted sourcing strategies, including direct search, LinkedIn, referrals and talent mapping

Write compelling, inclusive job adverts that reflect LEYF's mission, values and social purpose

Build and maintain strong talent pipelines for priority and future-critical roles

Use market intelligence to advise on talent availability, salary expectations and potential hiring risks

Delivering a standout candidate experience

Provide a professional, engaging and inclusive candidate experience from first contact through to offer

Screen, shortlist and interview candidates, supporting fair, evidence-based selection decisions

Facilitate interview panels and coach hiring managers on best-practice assessment

Ensure timely, thoughtful and constructive communication at every stage of the process

Operational excellence and continuous improvement

Manage vacancies accurately within the applicant tracking system, ensuring data integrity and compliance

Deliver against agreed hiring timelines while maintaining a strong focus on quality of hire

Monitor recruitment metrics and share insights to continually improve process, technology and experience

Stay up to date with market trends and organisational priorities to proactively shape recruitment delivery

Proven in-house recruitment experience across corporate or Central Office roles (essential)

Experience hiring roles from entry level through to Senior Manager (essential)

Strong stakeholder management skills with the confidence to influence and challenge (essential)

Demonstrated expertise in direct sourcing and proactive talent mapping (essential)

Experience recruiting across multiple corporate disciplines (desirable)

Brings the behaviours that make this role shine

Commercially minded, balancing pace with quality and long-term impact

A clear, confident communicator who adapts their approach to different audiences

Highly organised and resilient, able to manage competing priorities effectively

A collaborative team player who contributes positively to team culture

Committed to inclusive hiring and fair, consistent recruitment practices

Motivated by purpose and aligned with LEYF's values and social impact goals

At LEYF, our mission to change the world one child at a time starts with the people we bring into our organisation. Our Central Office teams spanning Finance, Marketing, Technology, HR, Operations and more - play a critical role in enabling our nurseries to thrive and our organisation to grow sustainably.

Be part of something impactful: Join a team with a strong sense of purpose, dedicated to making a real difference in Early Years education

Enjoy the perks: Competitive salary and great range of benefits including a market-leading 7% employer pension contribution

Save on childcare: 70% discount at our nurseries if you have children or grandchildren

Time to recharge: 26 days off a year (pro rata), including Christmas closure, your birthday off, and bank holidays

Feel valued: Access to a wellbeing app, shopping discounts, team events, and more

We welcome you exactly as you are

A diverse team makes us stronger. Whatever your background, if you care about people, quality and social impact - and want to do recruitment work that truly matters - we'd love to hear from you.