Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist (9 month parental leave cover)

About us

The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading news organisations, globally recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, with a mission to deliver quality information and services worldwide.

At the FT, curiosity thrives and ambitious thinking is rewarded. Here, you’re given the chance to reach millions, create work that matters and deliver impartial journalism in a polarised world.

In our warm, collaborative culture, you’ll connect with a diverse community of experts who support your growth, career aspirations and wellbeing.

Your future at the FT will be filled with opportunities that challenge and inspire you. With no fixed path, you’ll discover new skills and forge a career that can take you anywhere.

Build a newsworthy career at the FT.

Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion

We believe in the power of unique perspectives and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves and operate to their full potential. We are committed to removing barriers for everyone, with a focus on addressing those faced by underrepresented groups.

The Role

The Financial Times is looking for an experienced Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist to join our global Talent Acquisition team on a 9-month fixed-term contract.

This is a hands-on recruitment delivery role managing a varied and fast-moving portfolio of vacancies across the FT. Working across multiple business areas, including Product, Technology and Commercial, you will manage recruitment at a range of levels, including senior, specialist and business-critical appointments, while partnering with stakeholders across our global organisation.

You will take ownership of the full recruitment lifecycle, from initial role briefing and market assessment through sourcing, screening, interview management and offer. You will independently manage approximately 15–18 live requisitions at any one time, including the associated scheduling and candidate communication.

While the role will primarily support UK hiring, you will also recruit across other regions, particularly the US and APAC, according to business demand.

This is an opportunity for an experienced in-house recruiter who enjoys being close to recruitment delivery and can move confidently between different functions, levels and geographies, build credibility with senior stakeholders and personally drive searches through to successful appointments.

Key Responsibilities

- Independently manage a portfolio of approximately 15–18 concurrent requisitions, taking ownership from initial briefing through to accepted offer.

- Deliver recruitment across a broad range of functions, including Product, Technology and Commercial, adapting your approach to different roles and talent markets.

- Manage recruitment across a range of levels, including senior, specialist and business-critical appointments.

- Lead detailed role briefings with hiring managers to establish requirements, assessment criteria, recruitment strategy and realistic hiring timelines.

- Write and optimise job adverts and determine appropriate attraction and sourcing strategies for each vacancy.

- Proactively identify and engage passive candidates through LinkedIn Recruiter, direct headhunting, talent mapping, referrals and other appropriate channels.

- Screen and assess candidates against agreed requirements and provide hiring managers with clear, evidence-based recommendations.

- Design and manage effective interview and assessment processes in partnership with hiring managers.

- Own interview scheduling and candidate communication, providing a responsive and high-quality candidate experience throughout.

- Manage offer delivery and negotiation, working with People colleagues and hiring managers to secure successful appointments.

- Deliver recruitment through direct sourcing and attraction channels without reliance on recruitment agencies.

- Build trusted relationships with hiring managers and senior leaders, advising and constructively challenging recruitment strategy, candidate quality, market conditions, assessment and hiring decisions.

- Provide clear updates on recruitment progress, pipeline health, risks and recommended actions, and lead structured interview wash-ups and selection discussions.

- Partner with HR Business Partners and other People colleagues to understand priorities and anticipate recruitment requirements.

- Manage recruitment across UK, US and APAC markets according to business needs, working effectively across different locations and time zones.

- Develop proactive sourcing strategies and build strong and diverse pipelines for specialist and hard-to-fill vacancies.

- Champion fair and inclusive recruitment practices and advise hiring managers on structured and inclusive assessment approaches.

- Maintain accurate and timely recruitment data in Greenhouse and Workday, monitor pipelines and take proactive action to keep recruitment moving.

- Use recruitment data and market insight to inform search strategies and stakeholder conversations.

Required Skills and Experience

- Significant end-to-end talent acquisition experience, ideally within a complex, international organisation and/or fast-paced in-house recruitment environment.

- Demonstrable experience independently managing a high-volume portfolio of concurrent vacancies while maintaining a strong candidate and stakeholder experience.

- Broad recruitment experience across multiple functions, ideally including Product, Technology and Commercial.

- Experience recruiting at a range of levels, including senior and specialist appointments, with confidence partnering directly with senior stakeholders.

- Experience managing recruitment across multiple countries or regions, ideally including exposure to UK, US and/or APAC hiring.

- Strong direct sourcing and headhunting capability, including identifying and engaging passive candidates for difficult-to-fill roles.

- Confidence managing recruitment independently from sourcing and screening through interview management, candidate communication and offer negotiation, without dedicated coordinator or sourcer support.

- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the confidence to advise, challenge and manage expectations constructively.

- Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, with the ability to maintain momentum across multiple competing recruitment processes.

- Strong judgement and assessment skills, including the ability to understand unfamiliar roles and identify the capabilities required for success.

- Experience applying inclusive recruitment practices and supporting fair, structured candidate assessment.

- Confidence using recruitment data and market insight to inform hiring strategies and stakeholder conversations.

- Experience using an Applicant Tracking System, ideally Greenhouse or similar.

- A proactive, pragmatic and delivery-focused approach, with the ability to work autonomously and remain effective in a fast-moving environment.

What's in it for You?

Our benefits vary by location but we are committed to providing best-in-class perks across all our offices. These include generous annual leave, medical cover, inclusive parental leave packages, subsidised gym memberships and opportunities to give back to the community. Full details of our benefits are available here.

We currently operate a hybrid model which requires staff to work onsite 50% of the time, subject to role requirements & regular review. While flexible working requests will be considered, not all patterns are suitable for all roles. We believe this balanced approach supports flexibility and protects our culture, making collaboration and communication easier, building stronger relationships and team cohesion, and supporting peer learning. We reserve discretion on reasonable notice to change this approach either generally or for specific individuals or teams.

Accessibility

We are a disability confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory.

Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments/personalisation as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements or have any questions, email [email protected] and a member of our team will be happy to help.

Further Information

At the FT, we embrace innovation and the use of technology and appreciate that individuals may leverage AI tools as part of their job application process. Whilst we are happy for you to use AI to assist with your application, it is essential that all information provided is authentic and accurately represents your skills, experience, and qualifications.

Candidates should be aware that the use of AI throughout the application process may be monitored to ensure a fair and transparent hiring process for all.

Please beware of fraudulent job postings and offers claiming to be from the Financial Times. All legitimate opportunities will direct you to apply through the official Financial Times careers site, and the FT will never ask for financial information, payments, or referrals to third parties during the hiring process. If you have any concerns about the legitimacy of a job posting or suspect any scam activity, please contact [email protected].

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