Talent Acquisition Partner

Closing Date

Job title: Talent Acquisition Partner

Job type: Fixed Term Contract- Ending March 2027
Location: Durrington, Worthing (Hybrid)
Salary: To be discussed at screening stage
Hours: 37 hours per week

Role Overview

As a Talent Acquisition Partner, you will deliver a best‑in‑class, insight‑led recruitment service for a defined business area. Acting as a trusted advisor, you will shape and deliver recruitment strategies aligned to workforce plans, market conditions and diversity ambitions.

You will be confident managing multiple complex or hard-to-fill roles at once, with strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence and challenge constructively. You’ll be highly data literate, using recruitment insights and metrics to drive performance and improve outcomes, while bringing a collaborative approach that prioritises teamwork, respect and shared success.

You will combine strong stakeholder partnership, proactive talent attraction and disciplined use of data to manage your effectiveness, performance and pipeline quality, ensuring we attract, engage and appoint diverse, high‑quality talent efficiently and fairly.

Key Accountabilities

Strategic Workforce Partnership

• Build deep understanding of current and future hiring needs within your business area, informed by workforce planning, skills gaps and external market insight.
• Act as a subject matter expert (SME) for your aligned functions, advising leaders on attraction strategies, hiring approaches and market conditions.
• Translate workforce requirements into clear, outcome‑focused recruitment strategies that balance speed, quality, cost and diversity.
   

Proactive Talent Attraction & Pipeline Management

• Proactively identify, build and maintain diverse talent pipelines aligned to business needs, with particular focus on improving gender representation and inclusion in shortlists and appointments.
• Lead end‑to‑end recruitment for 10–15 hard‑to‑fill roles, using direct sourcing, talent pooling and targeted outreach as standard practice.
• Manage ongoing communication with talent pools in line with employer brand principles, ensuring strong candidate engagement and experience.
• Use pipeline data and metrics (e.g. conversion rates, time‑to‑hire, diversity indicators) to continuously improve attraction effectiveness.
   

Campaigns, Insight & Performance Reporting

• Partner with our managed service provider to design and deliver creative, targeted recruitment campaigns aligned to workforce priorities.
• Own recruitment performance reporting for your business area, building and maintaining data in line with agreed SLAs.
• Use metrics and insight to actively manage workload, identify risks, surface trends and drive continuous improvement in outcomes and ways of working.
   

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

• Actively support and promote our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion strategy through inclusive recruitment practices and everyday behaviours.
• Champion fair, unbiased recruitment processes and play an active role in improving diversity outcomes—particularly improving gender balance.
• Demonstrate inclusive behaviours that help create an environment where everyone feels respected, valued and able to belong.
   

Hiring Manager Capability & Collaboration

• Build recruitment capability across the business by coaching and advising line managers on best practice, inclusive hiring and effective assessment.
• Support or co‑lead interviews and selection processes, ensuring consistency, fairness and quality of decision‑making.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Prior experience in a Talent Acquisition Partner, Recruiter or Recruitment Business Partner role.
• Proven experience in talent pooling, proactive sourcing and candidate management, gained in an in‑house TA or 360° agency environment.
• Knowledge or experience recruiting within at least one of the following areas: IT / Digital Engineering Water, Utilities or Infrastructure Professional Services
• Experience working with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to manage pipelines, reporting and compliance.
   

Desirable

Qualifications

REC qualification and/or CIPD qualification (or working towards).

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed.

You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation

"At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you’re passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need."

If this role isn’t quite what you’re looking for but are keen to be contacted about opportunities at Southern Water, you can register your details here: Introduce Yourself (myworkdaysite.com- Introduce Yourself)

Our Commitment to Diversity

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

Additional information:

In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years.

Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre‑employment checks, including security vetting.

Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment.

Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.