Talent Acquisition Programme Manager

The West Midlands Combined Authority is working to become the best place to work and belong, creating an environment where people feel valued, supported and able to contribute their best. To deliver our ambitions for the region, we need to think differently about how we attract, engage and build future talent, making sure WMCA has the capability, diversity and workforce resilience needed for the years ahead.

As Talent Acquisition Programme Manager, you will lead a time-limited programme of talent acquisition transformation and strategic talent initiatives. This role is about building the foundations for the future: strengthening our employer brand and employee value proposition, developing early careers and future talent pipelines, improving the experience for candidates and hiring managers, and creating evidence-led programmes that help WMCA attract the skills and people we need to deliver the greatest impact for the West Midlands.

Please note that this is a 24-month fixed-term contract. However, we welcome applications from those seeking permanent employment.

What you’ll be doing.

• Shape and deliver WMCA’s strategic approach to talent, owning a prioritised portfolio and roadmap of talent programmes aligned to the People and Culture Strategy, Corporate Plan, future workforce capability and organisational priorities.
• Translate workforce planning insight into targeted talent attraction and pipeline solutions, establishing sustainable and diverse pipelines for critical and hard-to-fill skill areas and identifying innovative approaches to meeting future talent demand.
• Lead the development and evolution of WMCA’s Employer Value Proposition, Employer Brand and talent attraction strategy, ensuring WMCA maintains a compelling and competitive position in the talent market across careers sites, digital, social and wider attraction channels.
• Lead strategic early careers and future talent programmes, including apprenticeships, graduate pathways and internships, while developing partnerships with educational institutions, professional bodies, local and combined authorities, community partners and external talent networks.
• Act as senior owner of the Talent Technology Roadmap, including ATS strategy, system optimisation and digital enablement across the talent lifecycle, promoting the ethical, responsible and inclusive use of recruitment technologies and AI-enabled tools.
• Provide strategic leadership, coaching and professional development to talent and workforce specialists, acting as a senior subject matter expert and trusted adviser to leaders and working collaboratively across Workforce Planning, Talent Acquisition, Inclusion, OD, Reward, Communications, Marketing and other specialist teams.
• Lead the governance, performance and continuous improvement of strategic talent programmes, establishing metrics and reporting frameworks, evaluating applicant quality, diversity outcomes, pipeline conversion, employer brand impact and return on investment, while developing business cases, managing budgets and providing talent insight to Executive and Board-level audiences.

What’s essential.

• Significant experience leading talent acquisition, employer brand or talent strategy initiatives within a complex organisation.
• Ability to develop and deliver long-term talent, employer brand and attraction strategies aligned to organisational objectives and workforce requirements.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders to address workforce and talent challenges.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to advise and challenge senior leaders on future talent and workforce risks.
• Experience designing and delivering large-scale talent programmes.
• Experience using labour market intelligence and workforce insight to inform talent strategies.
• Experience developing and implementing Employer Value Propositions and Employer Brand strategies.
• Ability to evaluate programme effectiveness and develop evidence-based recommendations for improvement.
• Experience building graduate, apprenticeship or early careers programmes.
• Knowledge of emerging trends in talent attraction, workforce development and future skills requirements.
• Knowledge of employment legislation, equality legislation, data protection requirements and associated best practice relevant to talent attraction, early careers programmes and workforce initiatives.
• CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent.

For a full list of duties and essential criteria please refer to the job description attached.

Location.

The location for this role is 16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, B19 3SD with 2 days a week spent in the office.

How to apply.

Applying for a role with WMCA is straightforward. Follow these steps to get started.

Please note, we reserve the right to close any vacancy from further submissions when we have received sufficient applications from which to make a shortlist. Please apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Anonymised Applications.

Your uploaded CV won’t be visible after submission. Our process is anonymised, and only the information in your profile is used for shortlisting. Be thorough in each section. It’s your chance to showcase your skills and experience.

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

We cannot stop anyone from using AI to help write application content. Used right, it can be a great tool. If you choose to use AI, then use it as a helper rather than relying on it wholly to write your application.

Applications that rely too heavily on AI may be rejected during shortlisting. For help on how to write a supporting statement, please visit the FAQs section of our careers site.

Reasonable adjustments.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition that means you might require changes to the application or recruitment process, please get in touch with our Recruitment Team ([email removed]).

Salary and benefits.

We advertise salary ranges, with new appointments typically starting at the lowest salary point. In exceptional cases, the salary point may be adjusted to secure the best candidate. This approach allows for potential year-on-year salary increases, offering progression and appropriate rewards to employees. Requests for salaries above the maximum advertised range will not be considered.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Local Government Pension Scheme (one of the most generous pension schemes in the UK).
• Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme where you can build an additional pot of money alongside your pension with contributions exempt from Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs).
• 28 days paid annual leave (with an option to purchase more) + Statutory days.
• EV car benefit scheme
• Healthcare plans.
• Discounted gym membership, will writing, and mo