Talent Acquisition Specialist

Central Office; Dubai; On-site; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Taaleem is seeking a dedicated Talent Acquisition Specialist to support the delivery of group-wide recruitment strategies across schools and Central Office. You will attract, source and pipeline high-quality talent while partnering with stakeholders to plan workforce needs and optimise recruitment processes.

You will act as the Talentera ATS super-user, ensure governance, reporting, and a positive candidate experience, while complying with safeguarding and UAE regulations.

Qualifications

• Background checks are required including references, proof of relevant qualifications, identification and police checks (including overseas checks).

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain proactive talent pipelines for current and future recruitment requirements across Taaleem schools and Central Office functions.
• Build and nurture talent communities through direct sourcing, networking, market mapping, referrals, university engagement and targeted recruitment campaigns.
• Partner with hiring managers and HR stakeholders to understand workforce requirements and future hiring needs.
• Conduct market research and provide insights on talent availability, salary benchmarking and recruitment trends.
• Support initiatives to reduce agency dependency and increase direct sourcing capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen Taaleem's employer brand and candidate attraction strategy.
• Produce recruitment analytics and workforce planning insights to support strategic hiring decisions.
• Manage and coordinate end-to-end recruitment activities across all Taaleem schools and Central Office functions, including teaching, leadership, ancillary and corporate vacancies.
• Act as the primary administrator and super-user of the Talentera ATS, ensuring recruitment activity is tracked and reported.
• Manage vacancy approvals, advertising, candidate communications, interview scheduling, assessment processes, offer management and hiring decisions through Talentera.
• Provide support and training to school HR teams on recruitment processes and ATS utilisation.
• Monitor recruitment workflows and service levels to ensure timely delivery of hiring requirements.
• Publish job advertisements and maintain employer branding standards.
• Support shortlisting, screening and selection activities; monitor time-to-fill and source effectiveness.
• Ensure compliance with safeguarding, UAE employment law and educational authority requirements.
• Deliver a positive candidate experience through clear communication and stakeholder engagement.
• Liaise with schools and Central Office to facilitate onboarding for new hires.
• Support onboarding framework implementation across Taaleem.
• Assist with onboarding for Central Office employees and support school onboarding where required.
• Ensure Talentera data accuracy for reporting and lifecycle management.
• Respond to queries from new hires promptly to ensure a smooth onboarding experience.

Job description

Taaleem is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. At Taaleem, we hold ourselves to a high standard of effective practices in relation to child protection and we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We expect all staff to share this commitment. Successful applicants will be subject to various background checks including, receipt of high quality references, proof of relevant qualifications, identification and police checks, including overseas checks.

Job Purpose:

Support the delivery and continuous development of Taaleem's group-wide talent acquisition strategy across all schools and Central Office functions. Act as a central Talent Acquisition Specialist responsible for attracting, sourcing, pipelining and securing high-quality talent across academic, leadership, corporate and operational roles, supporting both immediate hiring requirements and longer-term workforce needs.

Partner with school and Central Office stakeholders to provide proactive talent acquisition solutions, workforce planning support and market insights that enable effective hiring decisions and strengthen Taaleem's ability to attract and retain top talent. Lead talent sourcing, candidate attraction and talent pipeline development initiatives to support organisational growth and reduce reliance on external recruitment agencies.

Act as a key administrator and super-user of the Talentera Applicant Tracking System (ATS), ensuring effective recruitment governance, reporting, process optimisation and data integrity across the organisation, while delivering an exceptional candidate experience and maintaining full compliance with safeguarding, policy and regulatory requirements.

Key Accountabilities:

Talent Acquisition, Talent Pipelining & Workforce Planning

• Develop and maintain proactive talent pipelines for current and future recruitment requirements across Taaleem schools and Central Office functions.
• Build and nurture talent communities through direct sourcing, networking, market mapping, referrals, university engagement and targeted recruitment campaigns.
• Partner with hiring managers and HR stakeholders to understand workforce requirements, anticipated vacancies and future hiring needs.
• Conduct market research and provide insights on talent availability, competitor activity, salary benchmarking and recruitment trends.
• Support initiatives aimed at reducing agency dependency and increasing direct sourcing capability across the organisation.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen Taaleem's employer brand and candidate attraction strategy.
• Support recruitment marketing initiatives including careers fairs, university partnerships, social media campaigns and talent attraction events.
  Produce recruitment analytics and workforce planning insights to support strategic hiring decisions and continuous improvement.

Recruitment

• Manage and coordinate end-to-end recruitment activities across all Taaleem schools and CentralOffice functions, including teaching, leadership, ancillary and corporate vacancies.
• Act as the primary administrator and super-user of the Talentera Applicant Tracking System (ATS), ensuring recruitment activity is accurately managed, tracked and reported.
• Manage vacancy approvals, advertising, candidate communications, interview scheduling, assessment processes, offer management and hiring decisions through Talentera.
• Provide support, training and guidance to school-based HR teams and hiring managers on recruitment processes, ATS utilisation and recruitment best practice.
• Monitor recruitment workflows and service levels to ensure timely delivery of hiring requirements.
• Prepare and publish job advertisements through approved recruitment channels, ensuring consistency of employer branding and recruitment standards.
• Support hiring managers with candidate shortlisting, screening and selection activities where required.
• Monitor recruitment metrics including time-to-fill, source effectiveness, candidate conversion rates and hiring outcomes.
• Ensure all recruitment activities comply with safeguarding requirements, Taaleem policies, UAE employment legislation and educational authority requirements.
• Deliver a positive candidate experience through effective communication and stakeholder engagement throughout the recruitment lifecycle.
• Identify opportunities to improve recruitment processes, automation, reporting and system utilisation.

Onboarding

• Liaise with schools and Central Office departments to facilitate a seamless onboarding experience for all new hires.
• Support the consistent implementation of Taaleem's group-wide onboarding framework across all schools.
• Assist with onboarding activities for Central Office employees and provide support to school-based onboarding processes where required.
• Ensure recruitment and onboarding data within Talentera is accurate and complete to support reporting and employee lifecycle management.
• Respond to queries from new hires promptly and professionally, ensuring a positive employee experience from offer acceptance through induction.

General

• Provide professional advice, guidance and support to HR representatives, hiring managers and stakeholders on recruitment processes, best practice and talent acquisition activities.
• Work collaboratively with the Central Office Recruitment team, Cluster HR Managers, School HR Representatives, Principals, Heads of School and other key stakeholders to ensure a consistent,
  efficient and high-quality recruitment service across the organisation.
• Support cross-functional working within the People Operations team and provide cover for colleagues, where required, to maintain business continuity and service delivery.
• Attend and actively contribute to HR, recruitment and stakeholder meetings as required.
• Participate in recruitment, talent acquisition and People Operations projects to supportorganisational priorities and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Undertake continuous professional development and maintain knowledge of recruitment best practice, safeguarding requirements, employment legislation and market trends relevant to the role.