Engineering Talent Acquisition Partner

Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA); Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 49,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service Pension (employer 28.97%

25 days annual leave

Bank holidays

Staff discount portal

Career development opportunities

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible working

Job summary

Vehicle Certification Agency in Birmingham is seeking a Talent Acquisition & Strategy Partner to lead end-to-end recruitment for specialist roles, build robust talent pipelines, and provide evidence-based strategic advice to stakeholders.

You will own the full lifecycle from sourcing to selection, using market intelligence to shape attraction strategies in competitive markets and work with HR and hiring managers to deliver a professional candidate experience.

Qualifications

• Experience of working within a recruitment agency or specialist recruitment environment to source candidates in competitive or hard-to-fill markets.
• Experience of recruiting in specialist or scarce skillset fields, using proactive sourcing methods to identify and engage suitable candidates.
• Experience of completing market research and using market intelligence to advise on attraction strategies and competitive reward packages.
• Exceptional relationship management, consulting and advisory skills, with the ability to provide evidence-based advice to stakeholders on recruitment challenges.
• Excellent communication, both written and verbal, with strong attention to detail.
• Analytical mindset, with the ability to derive actionable insights from recruitment metrics.
• Ability to process data to facilitate evidence-based decision making to set the strategic direction in this space.

Responsibilities

• Develop a network within the automotive industry and other relevant engineering disciplines to understand market trends, scarce skill areas and candidate availability.
• Use market intelligence and evidence to advise stakeholders on attraction challenges, employment models and potential reward considerations for hard-to-fill roles.
• Tailor VCA’s attraction and advertising approach for specialist recruitment campaigns to target relevant candidates in competitive markets.
• Work with VCA Vacancy Holders and VCA local HR to coordinate and manage interview and selection processes effectively.
• Ensure a seamless and professional experience for candidates throughout the recruitment journey.

Job description

Vehicle Certification Agency

Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 27th September 2026

Location: Birmingham, Leeds, Swansea. Please note: applications for Swansea are restricted to internal candidates only to support office capacity management. (This role is suitable for hybrid working)

Salary: £44,241 - A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

As a Talent Acquisition & Strategy Partner at the VCA, you will be pivotal in identifying, attracting and recruiting specialist talent for hard-to-fill roles in highly competitive markets. This role is integral to building strong talent pipelines, gathering market intelligence and using evidence to advise stakeholders on attraction challenges, reward considerations and recruitment strategy.

You will take ownership of the full recruitment lifecycle, from sourcing and selecting ideal candidates to developing networks with stakeholders and using commercial market insight to support successful recruitment outcomes for scarce or specialist skill areas.

This position requires a creative, initiative-taking and adaptable individual with expertise in recruitment strategies, stakeholder management, market research and evidence-based advice.

Top Responsibilities

• Develop a network within the automotive industry and other relevant engineering disciplines to understand market trends, scarce skill areas and candidate availability
• Use market intelligence and evidence to advise stakeholders on attraction challenges, employment models and potential reward considerations for hard-to-fill roles
• Tailor VCA’s attraction and advertising approach for specialist recruitment campaigns to target relevant candidates in competitive markets
• Work with VCA Vacancy Holders and VCA local HR to coordinate and manage interview and selection processes effectively
• Ensure a seamless and professional experience for candidates throughout the recruitment journey

For more information on the role and responsibilities please see the full job advert on CS Jobs using the link provided.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

About You

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Experience of working within a recruitment agency or specialist recruitment environment to source candidates in competitive or hard-to-fill markets.
• Experience of recruiting in specialist or scarce skillset fields, using proactive sourcing methods to identify and engage suitable candidates.
• Experience of completing market research and using market intelligence to advise on attraction strategies and competitive reward packages.
• Exceptional relationship management, consulting and advisory skills, with the ability to provide evidence-based advice to stakeholders on recruitment challenges.
• Excellent communication, both written and verbal, with strong attention to detail.
• Analytical mindset, with the ability to derive actionable insights from recruitment metrics.
• Ability to process data to facilitate evidence-based decision making to set the strategic direction in this space.

This vacancy closes at 23:55 on Sunday 27th September 2026