Talent Acquisition Lead

Tanqeeb; Dubai; On-site; AED 240,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Independent Food Company is seeking a Talent Acquisition Lead to drive end-to-end hiring across hospitality and corporate functions. You will manage mass recruitment, urgent hiring, and open day events, while building talent pipelines and dashboards to track performance.

Travel to various stores and regions will be required to support on-ground hiring efforts. You will work closely with the Head of Talent Acquisition on strategic initiatives, employer branding, and process improvements, ensuring

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, business, or equivalent.
• 5–8 years of TA/recruitment experience, hospitality focus preferred.
• Experience managing mass recruitment and urgent high-volume hiring.
• Proven ability to plan and run open day events.
• Strong knowledge of recruitment metrics, dashboards, and reporting tools.
• Fluent English; Arabic a plus; MS Office and ATS proficiency.
• Willingness to travel as required.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end recruitment for F&B and corporate roles across levels.
• Manage mass recruitment campaigns and urgent hiring for openings.
• Own day-to-day TA activities, meeting vacancies within SLAs.
• Plan and run open day events and walk-ins to attract candidates.
• Develop creative sourcing strategies (social media, branding, partnerships).
• Build recruitment dashboards and metrics to track performance.
• Collaborate with Head of TA on strategic projects and improvements.
• Travel abroad and between sites to support hiring events.

Skills

Talent acquisition

Mass recruitment

Open day recruitment

Stakeholder management

ATS experience

English fluency

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources/Business Administration

Tools

MS Office

ATS

Power BI

Job description

Independent Food Company is home to some of the region's most recognised hospitality concepts, including SALT, Somewhere, Parker's, Shalwa, Somewhere, and Public. We are a fast-growing organisation with an expanding portfolio of concepts, an active acquisition strategy, and ambitious plans for growth across new and existing markets. As we scale, the quality of our people remains central to everything we build. That is where you come in.

Role Purpose

The Talent Acquisition Lead is responsible for driving end-to-end hiring activities across the organization's operations and corporate functions. They manage mass recruitment and urgent hiring needs, lead creative and high-volume sourcing initiatives including open day recruitment events, and build recruitment dashboards and metrics to track performance, working closely with the Head of Talent Acquisition on wider TA projects.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the end-to-end recruitment cycle for F&B & Corporate function roles across all levels, from sourcing to offer stage Manage mass recruitment campaigns and urgent/high-volume hiring needs for new store openings and seasonal peaks Own day-to-day recruitment activities for the TA team, ensuring timely fulfilment of vacancies against agreed SLAs and time-to-fill targets Plan and run open day recruitment events and walk-in interview drives to attract high volumes of qualified candidates Develop and execute creative, out-of-the-box sourcing strategies (social media campaigns, employer branding activations, community and campus partnerships) to build a strong hospitality and F&B talent pipeline Build and maintain recruitment dashboards and metrics (time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, source of hire, offer acceptance rate, pipeline conversion) to track performance and share insights with stakeholders Partner closely with the Head of Talent Acquisition on strategic TA projects, employer branding initiatives, and process improvement plans Travel abroad and across sites, stores, and restaurants as needed to support on-ground hiring events, interviews, and hiring manager coordination in different countries/regions Build and maintain a strong pipeline of qualified candidates for critical and recurring hospitality/F&B roles to reduce time-to-fill Partner with hiring managers and operations teams to understand manpower needs and translate them into effective recruitment plans Manage relationships with recruitment agencies, job boards, universities, and hospitality institutes to diversify sourcing channels Ensure a positive candidate experience throughout the recruitment journey, from first contact to onboarding handover Track and report on recruitment KPIs, providing regular updates and insights to the Head of Talent Acquisition Stay current on hospitality and F&B labor market trends, salary benchmarks, and competitor hiring practices to keep sourcing strategies competitive

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or equivalent5-8 years of experience in Talent Acquisition/Recruitment, with a significant portion within hospitality, restaurants, or F&B operations Proven experience managing mass recruitment and urgent/high-volume hiring needs Track record of planning and running open day recruitment events Strong knowledge of recruitment metrics, dashboards, and reporting tools Fluency in English is a must; Arabic language is a plus Proficiency in MS Office and applicant tracking systems (ATS) Willingness and flexibility to travel as required

Additional Insights for the TA Lead Role

This role suits a candidate who is comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-volume hiring environment typical of hospitality and F&B operations, where urgency and adaptability are critical Strong stakeholder management skills are essential, as the role interfaces regularly with operations leaders, hiring managers, and the Head of Talent Acquisition Familiarity with applicant tracking systems (ATS) and data visualization tools (Excel, Power BI, or similar) supports the dashboard and metrics component of the role Regional or on-site travel should be expected, particularly around new openings, open day events, and peak hiring periods Creativity in sourcing and employer branding is increasingly important in hospitality recruitment, where competition for frontline and skilled talent is high