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Recruitment and Talent Manager
The closing date is 05 June 2026
The postholder is responsible for the development, implementation and ongoing management of an in-house recruitment service, transitioning services from an external provider whilst ensuring continuity of operational delivery and minimal disruption to business as usual activity.
The role operates across both strategic and operational levels, providing specialist expertise in recruitment, resourcing and talent management. The postholder will work with a high degree of autonomy to design, implement and digitalise recruitment processes, oversee operational delivery, and contribute to the development of a talent management approach aligned to the organisation's workforce strategy and future operating model.
The postholder will lead on executive and senior recruitment and will be responsible for ensuring robust governance arrangements are in place, including the implementation and oversight of the Fit and Proper Person Test (FPPT) process.
Working closely with HR Business Partners, Learning and Development colleagues and senior leaders, the postholder will support workforce sustainability, succession planning and organisational performance, ensuring recruitment processes are fair, equitable and accessible, and that the wider employee experience from attraction through to onboarding, development and exit is effectively supported.
Main duties of the job
Key Duties & Responsibilities:
* Lead the establishment and transition of recruitment services from an externally provided model to a fully in-house service, ensuring continuity of delivery and minimal disruption to business as usual activity.
* Have overall responsibility for the day-to-day operational delivery of recruitment services, ensuring activity is effectively managed, meets agreed service standards and is compliant with relevant legislation, NHS employment check requirements and organisational policies.
* Lead on executive and senior recruitment across the organisation, ensuring robust, transparent and timely recruitment processes are in place, and that all governance requirements are met.
* Responsible for ensuring that recruitment processes are fair, equitable and accessible, promoting equality of opportunity and supporting reasonable adjustments for candidates where required.
About us
Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) is a highly complex organisation serving a population of over 2.7 million people across nine localities (Boroughs including local Authorities), 16 NHS Provider organisations, 51 PCNs plus North West Ambulance service as well as third sector and voluntary organisations. Cheshire and Merseyside is the third largest ICS in the country, and in regard to scope of organisations the ICS is double the size of the next largest ICS.
From a demographic perspective, there are some real challenges within Cheshire and Merseyside. 33% of the population of Cheshire and Merseyside live in the most deprived 20% of neighbourhoods in England. In addition, the population overall suffers from some of the poorest health outcomes in England.
Job responsibilities
Key Working Relationships
The post holder will need to build and maintain constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including but not limited to:
Internal: HR Business Partners and wider People function Learning and Development colleagues (in relation to recruitment training and capability development) Chief People Officer, Deputy Director of Workforce and senior leaders Recruiting managers across all directorates Workforce Information, ESR and HR systems colleagues Finance Business Partners (in relation to recruitment activity and workforce planning)
External: External recruitment providers and system suppliers (e.g. TRAC or equivalent) NHS England / regulatory bodies (in relation to governance such as FPPT where applicable) Trade union and staff-side representatives Other NHS organisations and system partners across the ICS
The postholder will also work collaboratively across teams and directorates to ensure alignment between recruitment activity, workforce planning, talent management and the organisations strategic priorities.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
The postholder will lead the establishment and transition of recruitment services from an externally provided model to a fully in-house service, ensuring continuity of delivery and minimal disruption to business as usual activity. This will include the design, implementation and continuous improvement of recruitment processes, systems and governance arrangements, making effective use of technology to enhance and digitalise service delivery.
The postholder will have overall responsibility for the day-to-day operational delivery of recruitment services, ensuring activity is effectively managed, meets agreed service standards and is compliant with relevant legislation, NHS employment check requirements and organisational policies. The role will line manage the Recruitment Officer and ensure a consistently high-quality and customer-focused service.
The postholder will lead on executive and senior recruitment across the organisation, ensuring robust, transparent and timely recruitment processes are in place, and that all governance requirements are met. This includes responsibility for the implementation and ongoing oversight of the Fit and Proper Person Test (FPPT), including both new appointments and annual assurance processes.
The postholder will be responsible for ensuring that recruitment processes are fair, equitable and accessible, promoting equality of opportunity and supporting reasonable adjustments for candidates where required.
The role will support managers to deliver inclusive recruitment practices and ensure compliance with relevant equality and diversity legislation and organisational standards.
Working in partnership with Learning and Development colleagues, the postholder will design and support delivery of a recruitment training and development programme for managers, aimed at improving capability and confidence in recruitment processes. This will include raising awareness of good practice in selection, including unconscious bias, inclusive recruitment approaches and effective decision making.
Working closely with HR Business Partners and senior leaders, the postholder will contribute to the development and implementation of a recruitment and talent management approach that supports the organisations workforce strategy and future operating model. This will include supporting the development of talent pipelines, succession planning and internal career pathways.
The postholder will analyse recruitment and workforce data to monitor performance, identify trends, risks and opportunities, and implement improvements to enhance service effectiveness, efficiency and candidate experience. The role will provide assurance reporting and workforce insight to senior stakeholders as required.
The postholder will lead and contribute to projects and workstreams relating to recruitment and talent management, ensuring delivery within agreed timescales and alignment with organisational priorities, particularly during periods of organisational change and transformation.
The role will require regular engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, providing specialist advice, guidance and support to managers and senior leaders on recruitment approaches, market conditions and best practice, and supporting the development of management capability in recruitment and selection processes.
The postholder will ensure that recruitment, onboarding and exit processes contribute positively to the overall employee journey, supporting retention, workforce stability and organisational effectiveness.
The postholder will contribute to the further development of workforce services, supporting the alignment and potential integration of related functions over time, including employment services and broader workforce pathways, to ensure a coherent and efficient end-to-end employee lifecycle approach within the organisation.
This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties, which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with their manager. This job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing service requirements, and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder.
This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of the changing needs of the organisation. It will be reviewed in conjunction with the post holder on an annual basis.
Person Specification
Knowledge, Training & Experience
* CIPD Level 5 or above (or working towards)
* Educated to post-graduate or equivalent level of experience working within a HR, workforce or organisational development function
* Significant experience of working within a HR or workforce function in a complex organisation, ideally within the NHS or public sector
* Experience of supporting or leading workforce activities such as recruitment, employee relations, workforce planning, organisational development or talent management
* Experience of leading or supporting service development, improvement or transition activity, including implementing new processes or ways of working
Skills
* Experience of setting up and implementing internal processes and procedures
* Knowledge of Systems e.g. monitoring budget management, processing invoices and procurement
* Demonstrated capabilities to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales
Equality & Diversity
* Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems in the area.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board
Address
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Headquarters (with travel across Cheshire and Merseyside)
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Headquarters (with travel across Cheshire and Merseyside)
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