Head of Recruitment & Retention

EMJ; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

EMJ is seeking a Head of Recruitment & Retention to drive growth by attracting and retaining top talent. The successful candidate will lead recruitment strategies, manage teams, and enhance the employer brand, contributing significantly to the company's success.

Benefits

Bupa medical cashback

Aviva private medical insurance

Bike to Work scheme

25 days of holiday

Enhanced maternity leave

Summer Ball and Christmas celebrations

Qualifications

• 3+ years leading recruitment teams.
• Experience in talent acquisition and retention strategies.
• In-house and agency experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement recruitment strategies.
• Lead the full recruitment lifecycle.
• Build and champion EMJ's employer brand.

Skills

Talent acquisition strategies

Employee retention initiatives

Mentoring recruitment teams

Innovative recruitment approaches

Passion for recruitment

Job description

The Head of Recruitment & Retention will drive EMJ's growth by attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent aligned with our values and goals, building high-performing teams and enhancing our employer brand.

What's in it for you:

• Join our ambitious team and gain opportunities for growth, development, and real impact on our company's success.
• Enjoy Bupa medical cashback after passing probation and Aviva private medical insurance after one year, keeping you covered when it matters most.
• Our Bike to Work scheme helps you save money and stay active on your commute.
• Start with 25 days of holiday, plus an extra day for each year of service (up to 30 days!).
• We offer enhanced maternity leave, ensuring time to bond with your baby.
• From our legendary Summer Ball to festive Christmas celebrations, we love bringing everyone together.

Who you are:

• Extensive experience in developing and implementing effective talent acquisition and retention strategies.
• Minimum of 3+ years of proven experience leading and mentoring recruitment teams of 3 or more individuals.
• Demonstrated ability to generate innovative approaches to attract high-calibre candidates.
• Strong understanding and experience in developing and executing employee retention initiatives.
• A genuine passion for the field of recruitment and a deep understanding of its strategic importance to business success.
• Ideally, a combination of in-house and recruitment agency experience.

What you’ll do:

• Design and implement recruitment strategies that consistently attract high-performing, gold medal-winning talent who not only meet the skills criteria but also embody EMJ’s values and culture.
• Lead and manage the full recruitment lifecycle across all departments, ensuring every stage — from initial job brief through to offer and onboarding — is delivered with precision, pace, and a values-driven approach that reflects EMJ’s high-performance standards.
• Build and champion EMJ’s employer brand, creating engaging content, campaigns, and outreach strategies that communicate our unique culture, mission, and growth journey, making EMJ a destination workplace in the eyes of top-tier talent.
• Ensure a seamless, world-class candidate experience, treating every applicant with respect and care, and optimising every touchpoint — from initial contact to first day — to reflect EMJ’s commitment to excellence and people-first values.
• Manage, mentor, and develop internal recruitment team members, as well as external recruitment partners, to maintain a high-performing, values-aligned hiring function that operates as a strategic partner to the business.
• Leverage data, analytics, and industry insights to measure recruitment effectiveness, identify areas for improvement, and make evidence-based decisions that drive better hiring outcomes and long-term retention.
• Collaborate closely with EMJ’s leadership team to forecast talent needs, support workforce planning, and ensure hiring strategies align with future business objectives, organisational design, and team capabilities.

Key Information

• Salary: £70 - £75k
• Reports to: Chief Content Officer
• Hours: 8.30am – 5pm, Mon-Fri
• Working pattern: Up to 2 days flexibility to work from home (FT in office during probation)
• Location: This role is based onsite in our London/Moorgate office

We offer a hybrid work environment, balancing office and remote work. To support your training and development during your initial three-month probation, this period will be fully office-based, five days a week. Following this, we anticipate a regular office presence of at least three days a week to maintain collaboration and team connection.

About EMJ:

EMJ's purpose is to elevate the quality of healthcare globally, by supporting all healthcare professionals with free and easy access to medical journals and lifelong learning opportunities. We do this to create Gold Medal Winners, enabling healthcare professionals to become the best versions of themselves. Similarly, we equip our employees with all the skills, tools, and knowledge they need to be in the top 10% of what they do and create Gold Medal Winners in the company.

At EMJ, we believe in…

• Taking care of your own: We all need to be proactive and responsible for our own actions. This will lead to an inspiring place to work that we are all proud of.
• Going the extra mile: Always give your best performance, this will create a team that is different from anything else, full of hard-working, gold medal winners.
• Entire buy-in: Everyone has loyalty to our vision, values, culture, and the long-term goals of EMJ. We are committed to doing so in a positive and passionate way.

Find out more about us and careers at EMJ.

Application process:

Your CV will be reviewed by the Recruitment team. If successful, we will be in touch to arrange a Teams call. Following this, there will be a 2-stage interview process, one focused on competencies and one on the EMJ values.