Senior Associate Talent Acquisition & Talent Intelligence

Americana Restaurants; Dubai; On-site; AED 300,000 - 460,000; Full time

Job summary

Americana Restaurants in the UAE seeks a Senior Associate - Talent Acquisition & Talent Intelligence to lead end-to-end recruitment with AI-enabled tools. You will partner with hiring managers, map markets, build talent pipelines and close hires while ensuring fair, data-driven decisions.

The role blends traditional sourcing with automation, analytics and stakeholder advisory across regions. Expect hands-on recruitment, candidate engagement, negotiations and continuous improvement of processes,

Qualifications

• 5+ years of proven talent acquisition experience within the UAE/MENA region.
• Ability to proactively source and engage passive candidates.
• Strong interviewing and candidate assessment capability.
• Experience partnering with hiring managers and managing multiple recruitment priorities.
• Strong candidate engagement, negotiation and offer-closing skills.
• Experience using Applicant Tracking Systems and AI recruitment technology.
• Ability to conduct talent mapping and market research.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• High level of ownership, organization and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Manage recruitment assignments from intake through sourcing, assessment, selection, offer management and closure.
• Partner with hiring managers to understand requirements and candidate profiles.
• Develop sourcing and hiring strategies based on role complexity and market conditions.
• Conduct structured candidate assessments to evaluate fit and capability.
• Maintain candidate pipelines and recruitment activity in the ATS.
• Lead candidate pre-closing, offers and negotiations to secure joining.

Skills

Passive sourcing

Interviewing

Assessment

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

ATS familiarity

AI recruitment tools

Talent mapping

Data-driven decisions

Communication skills

Tools

Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

LinkedIn Recruiter

AI recruitment tools

Job description

The Senior Associate - Talent Acquisition & Talent Intelligence is responsible for delivering high-quality, end-to-end recruitment while helping shape a more AI-enabled, technology-first Talent Acquisition model.

The role combines strong recruitment fundamentals with modern sourcing, talent intelligence, AI, automation and data to identify, engage and secure high-quality talent. As technology increasingly supports transactional and repetitive recruitment activities, the Senior Associate will focus on the areas where human judgement creates the greatest value; understanding business needs, identifying talent, assessing fit, influencing stakeholders, engaging candidates and successfully closing hires.

The role requires a strong hands-on recruiter who is curious about technology, comfortable with data and motivated to continuously improve how talent is identified and hired.

Key Responsibility Areas:

End-to-End Talent Acquisition

• Manage recruitment assignments from role intake through sourcing, assessment, selection, offer management and successful closure.
• Partner with hiring managers to understand business requirements, role expectations, critical capabilities and candidate profiles.
• Develop appropriate sourcing and hiring strategies based on role complexity, market conditions and talent availability.
• Conduct structured candidate assessments to evaluate experience, capability, motivation and organizational fit.
• Manage candidate pipelines effectively and maintain momentum throughout the selection process.
• Lead candidate pre-closing, offer discussions and negotiations to support strong offer acceptance and successful joining.
• Maintain accurate and timely recruitment activity and candidate information within the Applicant Tracking System.
• Build proactive talent pipelines for current and anticipated hiring needs.
• Use LinkedIn Recruiter, digital sourcing platforms, AI-enabled tools, professional networks, referrals, online communities and other channels to identify active and passive talent.
• Conduct talent mapping and competitor research to understand talent pools, market availability and emerging skills.
• Develop targeted sourcing strategies for difficult-to-fill and business-critical positions.
• Build and nurture relationships with high-potential candidates and relevant talent communities.
• Continuously explore new sourcing channels, tools and approaches to improve talent discovery.
• Adopt and effectively use AI-enabled recruitment technology, automation and digital tools across the hiring lifecycle.
• Leverage technology to improve sourcing, screening, candidate matching, communication, scheduling and recruitment productivity.
• Apply human judgement to validate AI-generated recommendations and ensure hiring decisions remain fair, accurate and appropriate.
• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive recruitment activities and improve recruiter productivity.
• Experiment with emerging AI and recruitment technologies and share relevant use cases and learnings with the wider TA team.
• Support adoption of new recruitment technology and processes with hiring managers and stakeholders.

Stakeholder Partnership & Advisory

• Build trusted relationships with hiring managers and act as a credible recruitment partner.
• Provide hiring managers with talent market insights, sourcing recommendations and realistic expectations regarding talent availability.
• Use market intelligence and recruitment data to challenge assumptions and recommend alternative hiring approaches where appropriate.
• Provide regular, clear updates on recruitment progress, pipeline health, market challenges and required actions.
• Influence hiring decisions through evidence, candidate insights and sound recruitment judgement.

Candidate Experience & Employer Brand

• Deliver a professional, engaging and transparent candidate experience throughout the recruitment journey.
• Maintain timely communication with candidates and ensure clarity regarding selection stages and expectations.
• Build strong relationships with high-potential and critical talent, including passive candidates.
• Represent the organization and its employee value proposition effectively throughout the recruitment process.
• Partner with relevant teams on targeted talent attraction and employer branding initiatives where required.
• Use recruitment data to monitor pipeline conversion, time to hire, source effectiveness, offer acceptance and other key hiring outcomes.
• Identify recruitment bottlenecks and recommend actions to improve hiring effectiveness and candidate experience.
• Use market data and talent insights to support recruitment planning and stakeholder decision-making.
• Maintain strong data quality and process discipline within recruitment systems.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across Talent Acquisition.
• Share market knowledge, sourcing practices, technology use cases and recruitment learnings across the team.

Key Requirements:

Core Recruitment Capabilities

• 5+ years of proven talent acquisition experience within the UAE/MENA region.
• Demonstrated ability to proactively source and engage passive candidates.
• Strong interviewing and candidate assessment capability.
• Experience partnering with hiring managers and managing multiple recruitment priorities.
• Strong candidate engagement, influencing, negotiation and offer-closing skills.
• Experience using Applicant Tracking Systems and AI recruitment technology.
• Ability to conduct talent mapping and market research.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• High level of ownership, organization and attention to detail.

Technology & Talent Intelligence Capabilities

We are looking for someone who is curious about how technology is changing Talent Acquisition and is motivated to build capability in areas such as:

• AI-enabled recruitment and sourcing tools
• Recruitment automation
• Recruitment analytics and dashboards
• Candidate relationship management / CRM
• AI prompting for recruitment use cases
• Talent mapping and competitor intelligence
• Data storytelling
• Responsible and ethical use of AI in recruitment
• Result-Oriented: Drive for continuous improvement in hiring processes and achieving targets.
• Data-Driven: Analytical approach to recruitment and reporting.
• Collaboration: Builds strong cross functional relationships and works effectively with diverse teams across regions.
• Adaptability: Ability to manage multiple priorities and changing demands in a fast-paced environment.
• Leadership: Ability to lead by example and motivate teams to achieve hiring objectives.
• Ownership: Takes accountability for delivery, quality, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Professional Presence: Represents the Talent Acquisition function with credibility and confidence.