Senior Strategic Talent Acquisition Specialist

Aecom2; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible and hybrid working

AI tools & recruitment tech

Career development

Additional annual leave (up to six wks

Volunteer leave

Flexible public holiday options

Diverse and inclusive culture

Learning & development programs

Job summary

AECOM is hiring a Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist to partner with leaders across Buildings & Places, delivering strategic hiring and workforce plans.

You will lead end-to-end recruitment for critical water infrastructure roles, build talent pipelines, and support international recruitment with visa guidance. This role offers hybrid work and opportunities across Australia and New Zealand.

Qualifications

• 8+ years' experience in recruitment or talent acquisition, ideally within engineering, consulting, construction or infrastructure environments.
• Experience partnering with senior business leaders on workforce planning and strategic hiring initiatives.
• Strong understanding of the Australian talent market and current attraction challenges.
• Experience recruiting internationally and working with skilled migration and visa pathways.
• Demonstrated capability using modern recruitment technology, sourcing platforms, AI tools and talent analytics.
• Strong influencing, stakeholder management and communication skills.
• A commercial mindset with the ability to translate workforce data into actionable business recommendations.
• Experience recruiting within the Water sector or broader infrastructure market will be highly regarded.

Responsibilities

• Partner with senior leaders to develop strategic hiring and workforce plans.
• Provide talent market insights, competitor intelligence and workforce recommendations.
• Lead end-to-end recruitment for critical and specialist Water industry positions.
• Build proactive talent pipelines across technical and leadership disciplines.
• Support international recruitment initiatives and provide guidance on visa pathways and talent mobility.
• Use data, analytics and market intelligence to influence hiring decisions and workforce strategy.
• Identify opportunities to improve recruitment processes, leveraging AI, automation and emerging technologies.
• Collaborate with employer branding and attraction teams to strengthen AECOM's position in the talent market.
• Deliver exceptional candidate and stakeholder experiences while driving quality hiring outcomes.
• Present talent insights and recommendations to senior stakeholders with confidence and credibility.

Skills

Senior stakeholder engagement

Workforce planning

Talent acquisition

Australian talent market knowledge

International recruitment

Sourcing platforms & AI tools

Communication & influence

Data-driven recruitment

Water/infrastructure recruitment

Tools

Sourcing platforms

AI tools

Talent analytics

Job description

What will a day in this role look like?

As a Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, you'll work closely with leaders across our Buildings & Places business to develop and deliver talent strategies aligned to business growth, capability needs and long-term workforce planning.

You will:

• Partner with senior leaders to develop strategic hiring and workforce plans.
• Provide talent market insights, competitor intelligence and workforce recommendations.
• Lead end-to-end recruitment for critical and specialist Water industry positions.
• Build proactive talent pipelines across technical and leadership disciplines.
• Support international recruitment initiatives and provide guidance on visa pathways and talent mobility.
• Use data, analytics and market intelligence to influence hiring decisions and workforce strategy.
• Identify opportunities to improve recruitment processes, leveraging AI, automation and emerging technologies.
• Collaborate with employer branding and attraction teams to strengthen AECOM's position in the talent market.
• Deliver exceptional candidate and stakeholder experiences while driving quality hiring outcomes.
• Present talent insights and recommendations to senior stakeholders with confidence and credibility.

What you'll bring:

We're looking for an experienced talent acquisition professional who enjoys building relationships, influencing hiring decisions and partnering with leaders to solve complex workforce challenges.

While not every candidate will tick every box, we'd love to hear from you if you bring a combination of the following skills, experience and capabilities:

• 8+ years' experience in recruitment or talent acquisition, ideally within engineering, consulting, construction or infrastructure environments.
• Experience partnering with senior business leaders on workforce planning and strategic hiring initiatives.
• Strong understanding of the Australian talent market and current attraction challenges.
• Experience recruiting internationally and working with skilled migration and visa pathways.
• Demonstrated capability using modern recruitment technology, sourcing platforms, AI tools and talent analytics.
• Strong influencing, stakeholder management and communication skills.
• A commercial mindset with the ability to translate workforce data into actionable business recommendations.
• Experience recruiting within the Water sector or broader infrastructure market will be highly regarded.

As mentioned, this is a 12-month fixed-term contract opportunity based in either our Melbourne or Sydney office. With continued growth across our business, there may be potential for extension beyond the initial term, as well as future career opportunities within AECOM.

Why You'll Enjoy Working With Us

At AECOM, you'll be part of a global organisation where your ideas, expertise and ambition are valued. We empower our people to grow their careers while maintaining the flexibility to thrive both professionally and personally.

You’ll have the opportunity to partner with influential leaders, shape workforce strategies for one of our key growth sectors and contribute to projects that make a meaningful difference to communities across Australia and New Zealand.

What we offer

• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements to support work-life balance.
• The opportunity to influence strategic workforce decisions across a growing business.
• Access to industry-leading technology, AI tools and innovative recruitment practices.
• Career development opportunities across Australia, New Zealand and our global network.
• The ability to purchase up to six weeks of additional annual leave each year.
• Paid volunteer leave and opportunities to support community initiatives.
• Flexible public holiday options that allow you to recognise the days that matter most to you.
• A diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can bring their whole self to work.
• Industry-leading learning and development programs to support your long-term career growth.

Join us and help shape the future workforce delivering some of the most important water infrastructure projects across the region.

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in‑person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

AECOM acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we, our clients and our communities live and work around Australia. We pay our respects to their cultures and to their Elders - past, present, and emerging. We are committed to connecting to Country in our work through meaningful engagement with First Nations peoples and businesses. Find out more about our Australian Reconciliation Action Plan here: https://aecom.com/au/our-vision-for-reconciliation/.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the proj