Recruitment Partner

UKRI International; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Defined benefit pension

30 days annual leave plus public days

Employee discounts and offers

Employee assistance programme

Flexible working options

Job summary

UK Research & Innovation is seeking a Recruitment Partner to advise on recruitment solutions and support hiring managers, ensuring a high-quality candidate experience. This fixed-term role (12 months parental leave cover) offers hybrid working with locations in Swindon and Harwell, minimum 28.5 hours per week.

The role involves coordinating recruitment activity, onboarding, CV management, and collaboration with HR and external partners to attract suitable candidates.

Qualifications

• Experience working in recruitment or similar environment.
• Strong administrative experience.
• Outstanding organisational skills with ability to coordinate and prioritise in a fast-paced environment.
• Knowledge of recruitment best practice and process stages (advertising, CV review, interviews).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to adapt to change and drive continuous improvement.
• Ability to establish effective working relationships with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide advice and guidance on recruitment solutions to hiring managers (advertising, interviews, onboarding).
• Support hiring managers to carry out recruitment activity and progress campaigns.
• Manage candidate processes with onboarding service providers to ensure a timely experience.
• Provide information and support to candidates from application to onboarding.
• Coordinate recruitment adverts and arrange interviews when required.
• Oversee the new starter process for quick and smooth onboarding.
• Administer and update the talent pool and CV database in collaboration with staff.

Skills

Experience in recruitment

Administrative experience

Organisational skills

Written and verbal communication

Adaptability to change

Stakeholder relationships

Team collaboration

Job description

Recruitment Partner.

UK Research & Innovation.

Salary: £30,895 per annum.

Band: UKRI Band C.

Contract Type: Fixed Term (12 months parental leave cover).

Hours: Full-time/ Part Time (Minimum 28.5 hours per week). We understand the importance of work-life balance and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.

Location: Polaris House, Swindon or Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell (Hybrid working available, likely to require at least 40% of time in the office).

Closing Date: 6th September 2026.

About the role

This role will provide advice and assistance on recruitment solutions to enable our hiring managers to carry out all recruitment activity, while also ensuring a high-quality candidate experience.

Working within the UKRI HR team, the main role of the Recruitment Partner is to provide recruitment support, completing the transactional elements of the recruitment process and support to Hiring Managers and Senior Recruitment Partners to ultimately ensure UKRI are best placed to attract suitable candidates and ensuring a high-quality candidate experience.

Your responsibilities:

• Provide advice and guidance on recruitment solutions to hiring managers, including advertising, interviews, all forms of assessment and on-boarding.
• Provide support and guidance to enable hiring managers to carry out all recruitment activity. This includes ensuring the vital approvals are in place, coaching hiring managers to input vacancies correctly onto the relevant System, providing/uploading the relevant paperwork and forms for completion and being responsible for progress of recruitment campaigns.
• Deliver the full range of activities relating to candidate management, including where appropriate, working with our onboarding service provider, UK SBS, to ensure a flawless, timely and professional experience for candidates.
• Provide information and support to candidates from the point of application to on boarding, acting as an ambassador for UKRI to present a positive and engaging impression.
• Assist with/writing recruitment adverts.
• Arrange interviews when required.
• Oversee the new starter process to ensure successful candidates can take up employment quickly and seamlessly.
• Administer the relevant talent pool. This includes reviewing CVs, adding candidates, keeping the database up to date through keeping in contact with candidates and collaborating closely with relevant staff about candidates.
• Working closely with HR colleagues to ensure they are kept up to date with progress on recruitment activity.
• Providing updates on key accountabilities to allow for analysis for continuous improvement.
• Adapt to new ways of working identified in overarching resourcing strategy to improve the UKRI offering, working alongside our Talent Team.
• Support corporate recruitment campaigns when required (e.g. senior hires, graduates, generic programmes and students).
• Assist and support with the administration and communication of the resourcing pool and secondments when required.
• Support, organise and attend occasional careers events as necessary to help raise the employer profile.

Contacts and Communication

• Work closely with all members of the UKRI HR Team.
• Collaborating regularly with the UK SBS onboarding colleagues where appropriate.
• Provide recruitment advice and support to the hiring community.
• Liaise with colleagues in other functional areas on process related matters.
• Liaise with external partners, such as advertising suppliers, as required.

About You/ Personal Specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

Essential

• Experience working in recruitment, or similar environment (S&I).
• Strong administrative experience (S).
• Outstanding organisational skills with the ability to coordinate and prioritise work in a fast-paced environment (S&I).
• Knowledge of recruitment best practice and process stages such as writing/placing engaging recruitment adverts, reviewing CVs and organising interviews (I).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (S&I).
• Able to adapt to change and demonstrate a continuous improvement approach (I).
• Ability to establish effective working relationships with a variety of stakeholders (I).

Benefits

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!

A list of benefits below:

• An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme.
• 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent).
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.
• Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice.
• Flexible working options.

Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

For further information on our benefits please see:

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

UKRI is an Equal Opportunity & Disability Confident Employer.

Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact [e-mail].

Join us and let’s transform tomorrow together!