Talent Acquisition Manager

As the Talent Acquisition Manager at GB Railfreight, you will lead and manage all recruitment and onboarding activity. Your focus will be on maximising the use of technology, building strategic talent pools, and enhancing our employer branding and Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to attract and retain top-tier talent across all levels of the organisation.

The salary on offer for this role is up to £68k with a car allowance and an annual performance-related bonus. This role can be based in London, Peterborough or Doncaster with regular travel.

Closing date: 18th August 2025

Talent Acquisition Strategy & Execution

• Design and implement an end-to-end recruitment strategy aligned with workforce planning needs and future growth in the safety critical rail freight sector.
• Collaborate with senior leaders to understand talent gaps and proactively build pipelines for critical roles (engineering, operations, digital transformation, etc.).
• Lead and coach a small recruitment team to deliver timely, high-quality hires across all functions.
• Champion Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) by embedding inclusive recruitment practices and diverse talent pipelines.
• Upskill and coach hiring managers to conduct structured, unbiased, and competency-based interviews, ensuring consistency and a high-quality candidate experience across the organisation.

Technology & Innovation

• Leverage modern ATS, CRM, AI-based sourcing tools, and recruitment analytics to drive efficiency and quality of hire.
• Identify and implement technology solutions that enhance candidate experience, reduce time-to-fill, and enable predictive hiring.
• Develop recruitment dashboards and reporting frameworks to support data-driven decisions.

Talent Pool Development

• Build and maintain targeted talent pools for priority roles through proactive sourcing, talent mapping, and relationship building.
• Strategising to attract key talent from other industries outside rail to diversify our skills base.
• Implement community and university/college partnerships and industry outreach to feed long-term pipelines.
• Promote apprenticeships and the GBRf Future Talent Associate programmes.
• Ensure appropriate representation at relevant recruitment, networking and industry events to support talent attraction.
• Ensure job adverts are written in a clear, inclusive and engaging manner to attract a diverse high quality talent pool.
• Oversee succession planning pipelines in partnership with HRBP and L&D teams.

Employer Branding & EVP

• Define and execute a compelling Employer Value Proposition (EVP) tailored to different candidate personas.
• Develop a strong employer brand strategy including content creation, social media presence, recruitment campaigns, and candidate experience initiatives.
• Partner with marketing and communications teams to elevate our brand in the rail and infrastructure sectors.

Onboarding & Candidate Experience

• Own the design and continuous improvement of the onboarding process in partnership with HR and business leaders to ensure a seamless transition from candidate to new hire.
• Ensure onboarding is aligned with GBRf’s culture, compliance requirements, and operational readiness.
• Monitor and improve early engagement metrics such as new hire satisfaction, ramp-up time, and 90-day retention.

Essential

• Degree qualified, or qualified by experience.
• Line management experience.
• Proven experience in a senior talent acquisition role, preferably within the rail, infrastructure, construction, engineering, aviation sectors.
• Strong understanding of recruitment technology, sourcing platforms, and HR analytics.
• Proficient in using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Experience using Eploy is advantageous.
• Demonstrated success in building proactive talent pipelines and workforce segmentation strategies.
• Experience leading employer branding initiatives and developing a compelling EVP.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and project management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong data management and reporting skills.
• Presentation skills.
• Negotiation skills.
• Report / Business case writing.
• Strong leadership, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• High level of confidentiality and professionalism.
• Adaptability and a proactive approach to change management.

Our Values

Professionalism – Safety and security is paramount in our business, and we feel that this embodies the foundation of a high achieving safety culture

Support – We look after our people and they in turn are encouraged to look after each other

Communication – The transparency of our is business is valued by our colleagues and customers

Trust and Empowerment – We believe that openness and honesty make for the best relationship because it leads to trust and confidence

Enjoyment – Taking pleasure in coming to work at GBRf is actively encouraged right from the top

At GB Railfreight we recognise that having a more diverse range of people leads to greater innovation. We want to create a diverse workforce and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds with the aim to have a workforce representative of wider society. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace in line with our values.