Talent Partner

Talent Partner

Salary: £35,000 - £39,000

Contract Type: Full time, permanent

Benefits: Tax free EOT bonus, private healthcare scheme inc dental & optical cover, enhanced pension scheme, unlimited holidays, flexible working

Location: North Leeds office, hybrid first business

Reporting to: People Director

Line reports: N/A

Life at First Event

We’re a global 360 conference and events agency and have been one of the UK’s leading event companies for over 20 years. But no matter how long we’ve been around, one thing that never gets old is our deep-rooted passion for creating jaw-dropping events all around the world.

First Event is only as good as the people who work here, and you won’t find another workplace culture like ours. Whilst a clear strategy is important for business growth, it means nothing without the people that make the magic happen. We are firm believers that our success depends on our people, so we want every single person in the First Event Fam to love what they do and to be proud of the events they create.

That's why in 2021 we decided to become an employee-owned company. This decision not only secured our strong ethos, creative freedom and core values, but also cemented the future independence of our team. Our employee council, made up of members from each department, work closely with our management team to create a fun and encouraging environment that allows us all to flourish and thrive. And did we also mention that we are one of The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Work?

So, you want to work for us? Good choice. We quite like it here too. We promise you a warm welcome, some pretty cool perks, access to ongoing development opportunities and that, while you will work hard, you will also definitely have a lot of fun along the way!

About The Role

The Talent Partner at First Event will play a key role in ensuring that the best talent in the sector work in our organisation. They will spearhead our talent attraction, acquisition, onboarding and employer brand work, helping to ensure that we are a place where the most exciting talent wants to work and a team that our employees feel proud to be part of.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

●       Lead on talent attraction, acquisition and recruitment activity agency wide

●       Partner with the hiring manager population to ensure candidate experience is optimised, acting as the custodian of recruitment and attraction standards for our business

●       Develop and implement recruitment strategies to attract top talent across our agency

●       Manage the end to end recruitment process, from job outline through attraction and sourcing to offer and onboarding

●       Ensure the capability of our hiring manager population to preserve and uphold candidate experience in line with the great culture we have at First Event

●       Grow our talent pools and build a pipeline of qualified candidates through a blend of networking, headhunting, job boards and employee referrals as well as through strong relationships with relevant institutions

●       Ensure the right supplier relationships are in place to support recruitment activity where this is appropriate and necessary, managing supplier relationships and performance effectively and within agreed budget

●       Manage supplier costs robustly, ensuring a direct recruitment approach unless agreed with People Director

●       Partner with our marketing team to develop and grow our Employer Brand and Employer Value Proposition, ensuring the award winning culture at First Event has the level of profile needed to fill our talent pools and to retain our most talented colleagues

●       Develop strategies to enhance the company’s employer brand and position us as a leading employer in our sector

 ●       Develop high quality agency wide induction and onboarding content and processes that enable and inspire new joiners to succeed. Benchmark these continuously to ensure the best experience in our sector and to ensure we drive innovation into our onboarding experience

●       Work with colleagues across the People team to deliver agency wide induction and onboarding for all new joiners

●       Work through the line manager group to standardise department and team level induction, coaching them to deliver high quality induction for their teams to follow agency wide content

●       Develop a digital strategy and plan for talent activity which balances the ‘human feel’ that aligns to First Event’s culture whilst ensuring we feel like a modern, tech enabled employer and which provides a scalable model for all talent activity

●       Ensure ROI from talent systems and necessary training and coaching for user population, linking to onboarding as appropriate

●       Align First Event talent plans with business goals and priorities ensuring we attract top talent to all roles

●       Work with Heads of Departments and hiring managers to develop and deliver robust campaigns for every recruitment event

●       Build talent data and metrics (e.g. attrition, time to hire, cost to hire, external budget spend, time to short list) that informs decision making and process compliance. Ultimately to protect and preserve candidate experience and First Event employer brand. Provide coaching and feedback to managers as necessary. Report on these metrics to First Event leadership as agreed

Ensure compliance with relevant employment law and required governance standards

Qualifications and competencies

●       4 years + relevant experience working in talent acquisition, talent management or people and culture

●       Strong understanding of employer brand and employer value proposition

●       Experience with ATS and HR systems to deliver talent attraction and recruitment activity

●       Deep understanding of recruitment and onboarding processes, with proven experience delivering and owning both within a business environment

●       Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels, for example presenting to SLT level, partnering with hiring managers and engaging applicants and potential future employees

●       The ability to act as an ambassador of our agency, for example with external groups, and to be a strong advocate for our great culture

●       Strong analytical skills with experience using data to drive decision making and process improvement

●       Solid knowledge of employment law and best practices relevant to recruitment and talent management

●       Strong stakeholder management and partnership skills

●       Ability to manage multiple projects and conflicting priorities.

Personal Specification

●       Attitude is everything! We love working with positive people who will bring a great energy to the role and the company.

●       The ideal candidate will have experience working in a talent role within a business environment where they have grown the employer brand and really driven up the profile of the organisation

●       You must be really passionate about showcasing our amazing culture and about ensuring only the best talent join our agency

●       You will need to be a strong partner to the hiring manager and leadership teams, using data and coaching skills to help optimise our talent brand and candidate experience

●       We are looking for an individual who can play a really impactful role in shaping the talent landscape of our growing company

●       Experience of working in the events sector and in an employee ownership model are desirable, but certainly not essential

Our Values

We love that our vibrant team is made up of so many different personalities. No matter how different we are, we’re all united by our core First Event values, which sum up the kind of people we’re looking for. These are the values that bring us together, make us a force to be reckoned with and help us deliver the outstanding events we’re globally recognised for.

• Passionate
• Caring
• Fun
• Committed
• Honest