Closing Date
2025-10-14
Head of Talent Acquisition
Location: Worthing
Permanent – 37 hours per week
Competitive Salary + Excellent Benefits
Build the Workforce of the Future. Champion Diversity. Shape Southern Water’s Talent Strategy.
Southern Water is on a transformation journey — and we’re looking for a visionary Head of Talent Acquisition to lead the charge in attracting, hiring, and onboarding the talent that will power our future.
This is a high-impact leadership role, responsible for the end-to-end talent acquisition strategy — from employer brand and early careers to executive hiring. You’ll play a critical role in positioning Southern Water as an employer of choice, strengthening our workforce, and driving diversity across all levels of the organisation.
As part of this role, you will be responsible for:
1. Strategic Ownership: Set and deliver the overall hiring strategy across all levels — from apprentices to senior leaders.
2. Brand Leadership: Build and protect Southern Water’s employer brand and reputation in the market.
3. Operational Excellence: Oversee recruitment, selection, and vetting processes to ensure quality, fairness, and compliance.
4. Early Careers Pipeline: Lead graduate, apprentice, and trainee programmes to build a strong future talent pipeline.
5. System Optimisation: Govern and improve recruitment systems for efficiency and a seamless user experience.
6. Manager Enablement: Equip hiring managers with the tools and confidence to recruit effectively.
7. Candidate Experience: Ensure a best-in-class experience from application through to onboarding.
8. Executive Hiring: Strengthen and tailor approaches to senior recruitment, ensuring quality, diversity, and support.
9. Talent Mapping: Lead proactive succession planning and talent pipelining for critical and future roles.
10. Strategic Alignment: Work closely with Organisation Effectiveness to align hiring with future skills and workforce plans.
11. Digital Innovation: Leverage platforms, data, and technology to enhance sourcing, selection, and candidate engagement.
12. External Partnerships: Build and maintain networks to access diverse and hard-to-reach talent pools.
You will be a strategic talent leader with a passion for building inclusive, high-performing organisations. You will bring deep expertise in recruitment strategy, employer branding, and workforce planning — and you will know how to turn vision into action. You’re confident influencing at executive level and thrive in fast-paced, purpose-driven environments.
We’re more than a utility — we’re a purpose-led organisation committed to sustainability, innovation, and community impact. Join us and help shape a workforce that delivers for our customers, our environment, and our future.