Education Talent Acquisition Lead — UK (Hybrid)

Cognita Schools; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognita is a global leader in independent education, operating 90 schools across 20 countries. We seek an experienced recruitment professional to attract and secure top teaching and leadership talent for Cognita's UK schools.

You will partner with school leaders to understand workforce needs, build pipelines, and manage campaigns from attraction to onboarding, while ensuring safeguarding and compliance throughout the process.

Qualifications

• Five years' experience managing full-cycle recruitment.
• Proven track record sourcing candidates for teaching, leadership, and academic positions.
• Strong relationship-building, organisational, communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience managing multiple vacancies and competing priorities.
• Familiarity with sourcing tools, CV databases, and ATS.

Responsibilities

• Attract, engage, and secure teaching, leadership, and education professionals across Cognita's UK schools.
• Partner with Heads, Principals, and hiring managers to understand workforce needs.
• Develop sourcing strategies and deliver the recruitment journey from attraction through onboarding.
• Build and nurture talent pipelines and run campaigns and events.
• Advise stakeholders on recruitment best practices and ensure safeguarding and pre-employment checks meet standards.
• Maintain ATS data accuracy and provide recruitment reporting and workforce planning insights.

Skills

Full-cycle recruitment

Sourcing

Stakeholder management

Communication

Negotiation

Organisational skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

CIPD qualification

Tools

ATS

CV databases

Social media sourcing

Job description

Cognita is a global leader in independent education, operating 90 schools across 20 countries. We seek an experienced recruitment professional to attract and secure top teaching and leadership talent for Cognita's UK schools.

You will partner with school leaders to understand workforce needs, build pipelines, and manage campaigns from attraction to onboarding, while ensuring safeguarding and compliance throughout the process.