About The Role
For informal enquiries, please contact Mike Hudman (Director of Talent and Development) Mike.Hudman@warwick.ac.uk
The Head of Talent is responsible for shaping and delivering the University's talent acquisition and talent management strategies. As the subject matter expert in these areas, they lead the development of strategies, processes, policies, and procedures to support effective talent practices. They also identify and nurture talent pools to ensure the University attracts, develops, and retains the right people to meet its current and future needs.
Team/function Overview
The Talent team sits within the Talent and Development Centre of Excellence which brings together expertise in talent acquisition, talent strategy and management, and learning and development. The team serves as the subject matter expert for all aspects of talent and employee development. They work collaboratively across the wider People Services function to support the delivery of strategic goals, ensuring alignment with the University of Warwick’s overarching strategy and long-term growth ambitions.
About You
You’re a strategic and forward-thinking talent professional with a strong track record of leading modern, inclusive approaches to both talent acquisition and talent development. You have experience designing and delivering impactful talent programmes and initiatives that help individuals and organisations thrive.
You combine deep expertise in attracting and developing high-quality, diverse talent with a clear understanding of how to align talent strategies with wider organisational goals. You’re passionate about social inclusion and embed this into every stage of the talent lifecycle from recruitment through to progression and retention.
You’re an engaging and credible leader who can build strong relationships across a complex organisation. You collaborate effectively with senior stakeholders, influence with confidence, and are unafraid to challenge established thinking in pursuit of better outcomes.
Ideally, you will bring an understanding of the higher education context. If not, you will be open and committed to developing expertise in academic probation, promotion and career framework management to support the needs of academic colleagues and pathways.
You’ll thrive in a collaborative environment and bring a data-informed, values-led approach to building talent pipelines and strengthening Warwick’s ability to attract, develop, and retain the people it needs now and into the future.
For further information regarding the skills required for this role please see the personal specification section of the attached job description.
About The Department
For information about the People Team, click here.
About The University
Born in the 60s with a mindset of boldness, imagination and collaboration, the University of Warwick is a world-leading research-intensive university with the highest academic and research standards. We’re one of the world’s top universities, ranked 67th in the world and 10th in the UK*, with 92% of our research assessed to be ‘world leading or internationally excellent’**.
You'll be joining a diverse, innovative and globally connected community committed to igniting real world progress. Here at Warwick, we offer you opportunities to follow your ambitions as long as you bring the energy and determination to succeed.
- QS World University Rankings 2024
- Research Excellence Framework 2021
To find out more about us visit our website.
How to Apply
CLOSING DATE: Sunday 17th August 2025 at 23:55 (BST)
To apply, please click ‘Apply’ below and submit an application form by the closing date.
Please plan for any potential delays as you will not be able to submit an application form past this deadline (even if you opened the form at, say, 23:30).
You will have to attach a CV and a cover letter.
- Your CV should include your employment history (including your most recent employment), your education history, and any other relevant experience.
- Your cover letter should explain your motivations for applying to the role. It should also explain, using examples, how you meet each of the essential and desirable criteria detailed in the Job Description PDF document below. Please note that all essential criteria must be met by candidates who are invited to interview.
Please see here for guidance on writing a cover letter. We
highly recommend using individual criteria as headers and explaining below, using examples, how you meet the criterion, though you are free to format the letter as you wish.
To streamline our hiring processes, we can only accept applications submitted via our official careers webpage, warwick-careers.tal.net.
- Interview Date: Week Commencing 25th August and or Week Commencing 1st September
- Desired Start Date: 1st September 2025
What we Offer
We will provide you with a great range of benefits, which include an attractive pension scheme, 30 days holiday plus Christmas closure, excellent learning and development opportunities, and savings on a wide range of products and services. We offer a generous maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave policy, and onsite childcare facilities.
We recognise the importance of a healthy work/life balance and offer you access to flexible working, for more information click here.
We are proud to say that we are a Living Wage employer.
If you are considering relocating to the UK, read our Relocation Guide to find out more about what Warwick has to offer and what might be involved in the process.
Our Commitment to Inclusion
Warwick is committedto building an organisation ofmutual respectanddignity, promoting awelcoming, diverse, and inclusive workingand learning environment. We recognise that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways, and that those differences are to berecognised, respected, and valued. Where possible, we go beyond legislation to provide a place where everyone can thrive, supporting all staff to achieve their full potential. We aspire to remove economic, social, and cultural barriers that may otherwise prevent people from succeeding.
We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all communities regardless of culture, background, age, disability, sex/gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion/belief, or sexual or romantic orientation. To find out more about our social inclusion work at Warwick visit our webpageshere.
The University currently holds aRace Equality Charter Bronze Award,Athena Swan Sliver Awardand aDisability Smart Bronze Award.Further information on all of the University's Awards and Accreditations can be found here. The University of Warwick is also one of the six founder institutions of theEUTOPIA European University Alliance.
Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)
The University of Warwick is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all those we work with.
In line with the DBS Code of Practice, the successful candidates for any roles involving regulated activity, will be subject to a DBS check at the appropriate level. The University will take all necessary measures to ensure that any individual subject to a barring order does not undertake any work with the barred group specified (i.e. children and/or adults).
We expect all employees, volunteers, and partners to share our commitment to safeguarding.
Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders
The University undertakes not to discriminate against anyone who makes a disclosure relating to a conviction. The information disclosed at application stage is only visible to the central DBS team (i.e. not recruiting managers) to ensure there is no bias during the shortlisting process.
Job Description
JD Head of Talent (110492).pdf – 221KB Opens in a new window
Right to Work in the UK
If you do not yet have the right to work in the UK and/or are seeking sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa, please follow this link which contains further information about obtaining the right to work in the UK.