Talent Acquisition Manager

Zertus UK & Ireland; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus 10%

25 days annual leave + holidays

Pension contributions 4% / 5%

Life assurance

Healthcare plan

Salary sacrifice perks

Career development

Job summary

Zertus UK & Ireland is seeking a Talent Acquisition Manager to lead and evolve our TA function across UK&I, shaping how we attract and hire talent for manufacturing sites, HQ and support functions. You will work with Directors, Hiring Managers and HR to build strong pipelines and deliver a best-in-class candidate experience.

The role is based at Humdinger, Sherburn-in-Elmet, with UK travel and hybrid working.

Qualifications

• In-house Talent Acquisition or credible agency background within FMCG/food manufacturing is preferred.
• Experience leading end-to-end recruitment across operational, technical, and support functions.
• Proven ability to coach and develop Talent Acquisition teams.
• Strong stakeholder management with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization.
• Knowledge of UK recruitment legislation, right to work, GDPR and compliant processes.
• Experience delivering employer branding and recruitment marketing initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Group Talent Acquisition function across UK&I and align activity with business goals.
• Partner with Directors, senior leaders and hiring managers to attract and secure top talent.
• Develop and manage a TA Coordinator and TA Assistant to build a high-performing team.
• Own end-to-end recruitment across multiple vacancies and priorities.
• Create and execute innovative sourcing, talent mapping and direct sourcing strategies.
• Drive employer branding, recruitment marketing and collaboration with Marketing and HR.
• Develop apprenticeships, graduates and early careers programs for future pipelines.
• Oversee iCIMS governance, data reporting and candidate experience improvements.
• Utilize market data and KPIs to drive continuous TA improvements.

Skills

Leadership & people mgmt

Stakeholder mgmt

TA strategy

Employer branding

Data-driven decisions

Change management

Education

CIPD Level 5 or equiv

Tools

iCIMS

Job description

Talent Acquisition Manager

Zertus UK & Ireland | Humdinger, Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire

At Zertus UK&I, we believe great people are at the heart of our success. Across our chocolate and snacking factories, it's our people who bring our much-loved products to life, ensuring millions of consumers can enjoy the brands and treats they love every day.

We're looking for a Talent Acquisition Manager to lead and evolve our Talent Acquisition function, ensuring we attract, engage and hire the very best talent into the right roles, at the right time, across our UK&I businesses.

This is more than a recruitment role. You'll shape how we attract and secure talent across our operational sites, support functions and leadership teams, working closely with Directors, Hiring Managers and local HR teams to build strong talent pipelines, deliver an exceptional candidate experience and support the future growth of our businesses.

Based within the central HR function, you'll lead a small Talent Acquisition team while remaining hands-on in recruitment delivery. One day you could be leading a high-volume recruitment event to support growth across one of our manufacturing sites, the next partnering with senior leaders to identify and secure talent for a critical Director-level appointment. From strengthening our employer brand and enhancing recruitment technology, to developing future talent through apprenticeships and early careers programmes, you'll play a key role in shaping how people join and succeed at Zertus.

Position type: Full time, permanent

Location: Humdinger, Sherburn-in-Elmet, LS25 with some UK/Ireland travel as required, plus hybrid working

Hours: Monday - Friday, 08:30 - 16:30 (37.5 hours per week)

Closing Date: 12/10/2026

Responsibilities

• Leading the Group Talent Acquisition function across our UK&I businesses, ensuring recruitment activity aligns with business objectives, workforce plans and future growth requirements.
• Acting as a trusted partner to Directors, senior leaders and hiring managers, providing expert advice, market insight and recruitment strategies to help attract and secure the talent needed to achieve business goals.
• Managing and developing a Talent Acquisition Coordinator and Talent Acquisition Assistant, creating a high-performing team focused on delivering an exceptional experience for both candidates and hiring managers.
• Taking ownership of end-to-end recruitment across a portfolio of vacancies while overseeing recruitment delivery across the wider Group, ensuring vacancies are proactively managed and key hiring priorities are achieved.
• Developing innovative sourcing and talent attraction strategies, building talent pipelines and reducing reliance on recruitment agencies through direct sourcing, networking, talent mapping and referral activity.
• Leading employer branding and recruitment marketing initiatives, working collaboratively with Marketing, HR and business leaders to strengthen our reputation as an employer of choice across multiple talent markets.
• Driving apprenticeship, graduate and early careers recruitment initiatives in partnership with Learning & Development, HR teams and operational leaders to create sustainable future talent pipelines.
• Owning and continually enhancing our Applicant Tracking System (iCIMS), ensuring effective governance, user adoption, reporting capability and an outstanding candidate journey throughout the recruitment process.
• Using recruitment data, market intelligence and key performance metrics to identify trends, inform decision making and drive continuous improvement across the Talent Acquisition function.
• Producing meaningful recruitment reporting, dashboards and workforce insights that support business planning and provide visibility of recruitment performance across the Group.
• Managing relationships with recruitment agencies, attraction partners and external suppliers, ensuring commercial value, effective service delivery and governance of preferred supplier arrangements.
• Identifying opportunities to improve recruitment processes, systems and ways of working, leveraging technology and automation to increase efficiency, consistency and candidate engagement.
• Championing a high-quality, compliant and inclusive recruitment process, ensuring activity meets legislative requirements and delivers a positive experience from attraction through to onboarding.
• Supporting the successful onboarding and integration of new employees by working closely with HR, IT, hiring managers and wider business stakeholders to ensure new starters have the best possible introduction to the business.
• Representing the business at careers fairs, networking events, education partnerships and community initiatives, helping to strengthen our employer brand and attract future talent.

Qualifications

We're interested in speaking with Talent Acquisition professionals who have:

• Significant experience within an in-house Talent Acquisition/ Recruitment function, or a credible recruitment agency background with a strong understanding of food manufacturing/FMCG businesses.
• Experience leading end-to-end recruitment across operational, technical, specialist or support functions (HR, Finance, Procurement, Legal, Supply Chain etc).
• Proven experience managing, coaching and developing talent/recruitment teams.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at all levels of an organisation.
• Experience developing recruitment strategies that deliver measurable hiring outcomes.
• Knowledge of Applicant Tracking Systems, recruitment technology and recruitment analytics.
• Experience producing recruitment reporting, KPIs and workforce insights.
• A strong understanding of UK recruitment legislation, equality, right to work and GDPR requirements.
• Experience delivering employer branding, attraction campaigns or talent pipeline initiatives.
• CIPD Level 5 or relevant recruitment qualification would be desirable but not essential.

What will make you successful?

• A confident and credible leader who can build strong relationships across the business.
• Commercially minded, balancing recruitment quality, speed and cost.
• Naturally curious about talent markets and innovative approaches to attraction and sourcing.
• Comfortable operating strategically whilst remaining hands-on when required.
• Passionate about delivering a first-class experience for candidates and hiring managers.
• Data-driven, able to turn recruitment insights into meaningful actions and recommendations.
• Highly organised, able to manage multiple vacancies across various departments from high volume operational roles to specialist senior hires, alongside TA project work, within a fast-paced environment.
• Someone who enjoys challenging the status quo and continuously improving processes, systems and ways of working.

Rewards Benefits

• Competitive salary plus 10% annual bonus opportunity.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase additional holiday.
• 4% employer and 5% employee pension contribution.
• Life assurance at four times basic salary.
• Healthcare Cash Plan through Paycare, covering dental, optical, therapies and counselling.
• Salary sacrifice schemes including pension, Cycle to Work and electric vehicle options.
• Genuine opportunity to shape a newly created leadership role and make a significant impact on business performance.
• The chance to work closely with senior operational leaders on strategic improvement programmes.
• Career development opportunities within one of the UK's leading confectionery and snacking manufacturers.

About Us

Zertus UK & Ireland is home to some of the UK's best-loved confectionery and snacking brands, including Humdinger, Kinnerton and Lir Chocolates. We combine the pace of a growing manufacturing business with the backing of an international family-owned group, creating exciting opportunities for ambitious professionals to make a real difference.

This role is based primarily at our Sherburn site, with regular travel across all UK manufacturing locations.

Our manufacturing Locations: Heckington, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Fakenham, Bromborough, Navan (Ireland). We have a hot-desking office space in Hull (East Yorkshire) and also in Camden, London.

Application & Interview Process

Zertus is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Your application will be reviewed and entered into the selection process, if successful you will receive a call or email from a member of our Recruitment or HR Team (PLEASE CHECK YOUR JUNK MAIL), if successful, your application will be sent to the hiring manager for review, if successful, you will attend a two stage interview process, which may include a factory tour.