Talent Acquisition Lead

Hicksons Lawyers; Sydney; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Hicksons Lawyers is seeking an experienced Talent Acquisition Lead to deliver end-to-end recruitment and support talent management across the firm. You will work with the Head of People & Culture to understand workforce needs and attract high-caliber candidates while ensuring a professional candidate experience.

This hands-on role involves owning recruitment processes, building proactive pipelines, and contributing to workforce planning and succession initiatives across multiple offices and

Qualifications

• Experience in end-to-end recruitment and partnering with hiring managers.
• Strong sourcing, candidate research and proactive talent pipelining capability.
• Excellent stakeholder management with the ability to influence and manage expectations.

Responsibilities

• Partner with hiring managers to clarify role requirements, candidate profiles and hiring timeframes.
• Manage end-to-end recruitment processes from briefing to appointment, including longlists, sourcing, screening and offers.
• Use the firm's legal recruitment platform and direct sourcing to identify and engage talent, reducing reliance on agencies.
• Plan outreach for each role and map internal connections to optimize channels.
• Maintain relationships with Partners and leaders, advising on sourcing strategies and selection approaches.

Skills

End-to-end recruitment

Sourcing capability

Stakeholder management

Organization & attention to detail

Candidate engagement

Talent pipelining

Education

Tertiary qualifications in HR or related discipline

Tools

LinkedIn

Legal recruitment platform

Job description

Sydney | Fixed-Term Contract (6-12 months)

Hicksons | Hunt & Hunt | Holman Webb is an Australian law firm operating across multiple offices and practice areas, following a recent period of growth and strategic acquisitions.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Talent Acquisition Lead to deliver end-to-end recruitment and support talent management projects across the firm.

Working closely with the Head of People & Culture, the People & Culture team and hiring leaders, you will help the firm understand workforce requirements, attract and engage suitable candidates and deliver a professional high-quality candidate experience.

This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys taking ownership of the recruitment processes while also building proactive talent pipelines and contributing to workforce planning, talent identification and succession initiatives.

You will partner with stakeholders across the firm, provide practical advice on sourcing and selection, and use market insights and platform data to support informed recruitment decisions.

What you'll do

• Partner with hiring managers to clarify role requirements, candidate profiles, recruitment priorities, selection criteria and hiring timeframes.
• Manage end-to-end recruitment processes from briefing through to appointment, including building targeted longlists for hiring partners to review and shortlist, sourcing, screening, interview coordination, reference checking and offer documentation.
• Use the firm's legal recruitment platform as the starting point for every lawyer search, supported by proactive direct sourcing, talent mapping, professional networks, referrals, LinkedIn and selective advertising, to identify and engage talent, reducing reliance on external recruitment agencies.
• Plan the outreach approach for each role, checking existing personal and professional connections across the firm and choosing the right channel.
• Build trusted relationships with Partners, Business Unit Leaders and operational leaders, providing practical advice on sourcing strategies, candidate availability and selection approaches.
• Deliver a professional, inclusive and respectful candidate experience, supported by timely communication and accurate records throughout the recruitment process.
• Own, document and embed a standard, written recruitment process that is shared across the firm so partners, teams and offices follow a consistent approach, and support the design and implementation of practical talent initiatives.
• Contribute to talent identification, workforce planning and succession planning activities across business units.
• Consult with stakeholders on future talent needs and help identify skill gaps and effective sourcing strategies.
• Use platform data and market insights to inform talent strategy, including talent movement at competitor firms, tenure, hard-to-fill areas by experience level and share market feedback with partners.
• Proactively map and engage potential candidates before vacancies arise, building relationships with legal talent across priority practice areas, levels and locations.
• Create and maintain targeted talent pools using platform data and market insights, with a structured approach to keeping in touch with pipelined candidates over time.
• Manage multiple vacancies, pipelines and stakeholder requirements in a fast-paced environment, escalating priorities where appropriate.

About you

You are an experienced talent acquisition or recruitment professional who combines strong sourcing capability with sound judgement, organisation and a professional approach to stakeholder and candidate engagement.

You will bring:

• Strong experience in talent acquisition, recruitment consulting or a similar talent role, with demonstrated capability managing recruitment independently and partnering directly with senior stakeholders, ideally within legal or professional services.
• Demonstrated experience managing end-to-end recruitment and partnering directly with hiring managers.
• Strong direct sourcing, candidate research and proactive talent pipelining capability, including using recruitment platforms and data to drive sourcing decisions.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the judgement to influence effectively and manage expectations.
• Excellent organisation and attention to detail, with the ability to manage competing priorities and maintain accurate records.
• Clear written and verbal communication and a professional, engaging approach with candidates and stakeholders.
• Resilience and confidence working both independently and collaboratively in a complex environment.
• Tertiary qualifications in human resources, business or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.

This is an opportunity to join the firm at an important point in its growth and help shape how we attract and engage talent across the business.

Working closely with the People & Culture team and senior leaders, you will have the opportunity to move beyond reactive recruitment and help build a more proactive approach to talent sourcing, pipelining and workforce planning.