The Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist delivers end-to-end recruitment for IMI's corporate, commercial and media functions. They own each hire from intake to onboarding. The role suits a recruiter with a strong headhunting and delivery track record who can bring agency-level pace and market knowledge to an in-house team. They will act as a trusted advisor to hiring managers and HR Business Partners and give candidates a high-quality experience that reflects the IMI brand.
Key Responsibilities:
- Manage a portfolio of concurrent vacancies end to end, delivering against agreed time-to-hire and quality targets.
- Run structured intake meetings with hiring managers to define role requirements and selection criteria. Challenge unrealistic briefs using market data.
- Headhunt passive candidates directly through LinkedIn Recruiter, Boolean search, referrals and market mapping, reducing reliance on external agencies.
- Screen, interview and assess candidates to present focused, well-qualified shortlists.
- Manage offer negotiations and closing, balancing candidate expectations with IMI's grading and salary framework.
Pipeline and market intelligence:
- Build and maintain talent pipelines for critical and recurring roles, including talent maps for key media and commercial skill sets.
- Share market insight with hiring managers and the TA team on talent availability, competitor movements and compensation trends.
- Partner with HR Business Partners and hiring managers to understand workforce plans and anticipate hiring needs.
- Keep stakeholders updated on progress, pipeline health and risks, and push for timely interview feedback and decisions.
Candidate experience and onboarding:
- Ensure a professional, responsive candidate experience from first contact through to the first day.
- Coordinate pre-employment and onboarding activities with HR, Admin and relevant departments to ensure new hires integrate smoothly.
Governance and continuous improvement:
- Ensure all recruitment activity complies with IMI's HR policies, the recruitment policy and UAE Labor Law.
- Maintain accurate, up-to-date records in the ATS for audit and reporting.
- Contribute to improvements in recruitment processes, employer branding and the use of recruitment technology and AI tools.
EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE & KEY SKILLS
- Minimum 5-7 years of recruitment experience, including significant time in a recruitment agency, executive search or RPO environment.
- Proven direct-sourcing and headhunting capability, with a track record of placing hard-to-find talent.
- Experience managing a high-volume, multi-role desk against delivery targets.
- Strong offer management and negotiation skills.
- Experience recruiting in the UAE/GCC market.
- Proficiency with an ATS and LinkedIn Recruiter.
- Experience recruiting for, or working within, the media, broadcast, publishing or digital sector.
- Some in-house or RPO experience.
- Arabic language is a must
- Stakeholder management and the ability to influence without authority.
- Clear and professional communication with candidates and senior stakeholders.
- Strong organization, prioritization and attention to detail.
- Commercial mindset with a focus on results.
- Data-driven approach to pipeline and performance tracking.