Early Careers Programme Coordinator

SmartRecruiters, Inc.; Royston; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private healthcare

25 days annual leave

Generous pension scheme

Annual performance-based bonus

PA share ownership

Job summary

PA Consulting is seeking a Programme Coordinator to support its Early Careers team. Hybrid working (office 2 days per week) with required presence for assessment centres in Cambridge and London.

You will coordinate recruitment and programme activity across graduates, apprentices, interns and placements, managing pipelines and events. You will support onboarding, offers, and the three-day PA Futures programme in London, while building relationships with universities, providers and internal teams

Qualifications

• Genuine interest in Early Careers, Talent or HR and a desire to develop in this area.
• Proactive, positive approach with initiative and collaboration.
• Excellent organisation with ability to manage multiple activities and deadlines.
• Strong attention to detail, data accuracy and clear written communication.
• Comfort presenting to groups and representing the team at events.
• Experience in Early Careers, recruitment, HR, learning, events or related roles.
• Flexibility to attend events in person, including London PA Futures.
• Experience with Microsoft 365 and recruitment systems.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day Early Careers recruitment and programme activity across graduate, apprentice, intern and industrial placements.
• Manage candidate pipelines, interview scheduling, communications and progress tracking.
• Organise assessment centres, careers fairs and university activity with logistics and on-the-day delivery.
• Represent the team at events, welcome participants and deliver briefings where required.
• Support offers, pre-boarding and onboarding activities with joining instructions and buddy coordination.
• Assist PA Futures three-day programme in London and ensure a well-organised participant experience.
• Coordinate learning sessions and programme meetings, including follow-ups.
• Draft clear communications to candidates, managers, trainers and universities.
• Maintain schedules, calendars, trackers and participant records across systems.
• Be a first point of contact for routine queries and escalate issues as needed.
• Build relationships across the Early Careers team and external partners.
• Adapt to changing priorities and peak periods.
• Identify improvements to communications and tracking processes.

Skills

Early Careers

Talent management

Programme coordination

Communication

Organisation

Teamwork

Tools

Microsoft 365

CRM systems

Job description

We believe in the power of ingenuity to build a positive human future.

As strategies, technologies, and innovation collide, we create opportunity from complexity.

Our teams of interdisciplinary experts combine innovative thinking and breakthrough technologies to progress further, faster. Our clients adapt and transform, and together we achieve enduring results.

We are over 4,000 strategists, innovators, designers, consultants, digital experts, scientists, engineers, and technologists. And we have deep expertise in consumer and manufacturing, defence and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government and public services, health and life sciences, and transport.

Our teams operate globally from offices across the UK, Ireland, US, Nordics, and Netherlands.

PA. Bringing Ingenuity to Life.

Job Description

Hybrid working - our approach is to be in the office 2 days per week. You will also be required to be in the office to support all assessment centres in Cambridge and London.

Role Scope

The Programme Coordinator owns the effective coordination and administration required to deliver agreed recruitment and programme activity. Programme strategy, design, governance, budget decisions, complex participant matters and final decisions on programme outcomes remain with the Early Careers Programme Lead and relevant senior colleagues.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Early Careers team and help shape a brilliant experience for candidates and programme participants. You will support activity across the full Early Careers lifecycle, from attraction and recruitment through to offers, onboarding and programme delivery.

The role is deliberately broad and varied. One day you might be coordinating candidate pipelines or an assessment event; the next, you could be supporting onboarding, presenting at an event or helping to deliver a three-day PA Futures programme in London. You will become an integral member of a collaborative team and gain valuable exposure across the wider Talent and HR function, including both recruitment and learning and development.

We are looking for someone ambitious, proactive and keen to build their career in Early Careers, Talent or HR. You may already have some experience in Early Careers, recruitment, HR, learning or events, or you may be at the beginning of your career with strong transferable experience and a clear motivation to develop in this field.

What you will do

• Coordinate day-to-day Early Careers recruitment and programme activity across graduate, apprentice, intern and industrial placement populations.
• Support candidate pipeline management, including interview and assessment scheduling, candidate communications, progress tracking and follow-up actions.
• Coordinate assessment centres, careers fairs, insight events, university activity and candidate engagement events, covering invitations, venues, rooms, materials, attendance and on-the-day delivery.
• Confidently represent the Early Careers team at events, including welcoming participants, providing information and delivering presentations or briefings where required.
• Support offer management, pre-boarding and onboarding activity, including joining instructions, participant information, line manager and buddy coordination, timetables and operational follow‑up.
• Play a key role in the delivery of PA Futures, including supporting a three‑day programme in London and helping to create an engaging and well‑organised participant experience.
• Coordinate learning sessions, capability events, programme meetings, check‑ins, performance reviews and progression activity, including logistics, documentation, communications and action tracking.
• Draft and issue clear, engaging communications to candidates, participants, line managers, buddies, trainers, providers, universities and other stakeholders.
• Maintain accurate schedules, calendars, trackers, participant records, attendance information, distribution lists, programme documentation and reporting data across relevant systems.
• Act as a helpful first point of contact for routine recruitment and programme queries, resolving straightforward issues and escalating decisions, risks or sensitive matters appropriately.
• Build positive working relationships across the Early Careers team, the wider Talent and HR function, the business, universities, apprenticeship providers and external partners.
• Work flexibly across recruitment and programme delivery, helping the team respond to changing priorities and peak periods.
• Identify practical ways to improve communications, tracking, administration and ways of working, taking ownership for making agreed improvements happen.

Qualifications

What we are looking for

• A genuine interest in Early Careers, Talent or HR, with the ambition to learn, contribute and develop your career in this area.
• A proactive, positive approach and the confidence to take initiative, follow through on actions and get involved wherever support is needed.
• Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple activities, deadlines and stakeholders at the same time.
• Strong attention to detail and a consistent approach to record keeping, data accuracy and written communications.
• Clear, confident written and verbal communication skills, including the ability or willingness to speak to groups and represent the team at events.
• The confidence to build relationships with candidates, programme participants, colleagues and stakeholders at different levels.
• Experience gained through Early Careers, recruitment, HR, learning, events, programme coordination, customer service or another relevant environment. This may include work experience, internships, placements, volunteering or an early‑career role.
• Comfort working both independently and as part of a team, knowing when to make progress and when to ask for guidance or elevate an issue.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft 365 and confidence learning recruitment, HR and programme systems.
• A service‑focused, inclusive and discreet approach, with the judgement to handle personal information appropriately.
• Flexibility to attend and support events and programme activity in person, including the three‑day PA Futures programme in London.

Additional Information

Life At PA encompasses our peoples' experience at PA. It's about how we enrich peoples’ working lives by giving them access to unique people and growth opportunities and purpose led meaningful work.

We believe diversity fuels ingenuity. Diversity of thought brings exciting perspectives; diversity of experience brings a wealth of knowledge, and diversity of skills brings the tools we need. When we bring people together with diverse backgrounds, identities, and minds, embracing that difference through an inclusive culture where our people thrive; we unleash the power of diversity – bringing ingenuity to life.

We are dedicated to supporting the physical, emotional, social and financial well‑being of our people. Check out some of our extensive benefits:

• Health and lifestyle perks accompanying private healthcare for you and your family
• 25 days annual leave (plus a bonus half day on Christmas Eve) with the opportunity to buy 5additional days
• Generous company pension scheme
• Opportunity to get involved with community and charity‑based initiatives
• Annual performance‑based bonus
• PA share ownership
• Tax efficient benefits (cycle to work, give as you earn)

We recruit, retain, reward and develop our people based solely on their abilities and contributions and without reference to their age, background, disability, genetic information, parental or family status, religion or belief, race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity (or expression), political belief, veteran status, or any other range of human difference brought about by identity and experience. We are on a journey towards ensuring our workforce is diverse at all levels and that our firm is representative of the world around us. We welcome applications from underrepresented groups.

Adjustments or accommodations

Should you need any adjustments or accommodations to the recruitment process, at either application or interview, please contact us.

#LI-HM3

Please be aware that some of our UK roles at PA Consulting require a UK security clearance.

All PA people are required to undergo background checks and to achieve the Baseline Personnel Security Standard however, some UK roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting, where applicants must have at least 5 years of continuous residency in the UK.

We therefore ask that you only apply if you meet the residency requirements (i.e. you are a British citizen or have been resident in the UK for the past 5 years), as this is the prerequisite for a security clearance. If you're unsure about your eligibility, we encourage you to review the UK Government’s guidance on security vetting before applying.