Talent Acquisition Manager - Pharmacy & Opticians

BOOTS; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Boots Retirement Savings Plan

Discretionary annual bonus

Generous employee discounts

Enhanced parental leave pay and gift

Flexible benefits including extra HOL,

Lif e assurance

Job summary

Boots is seeking a Talent Acquisition Manager for Pharmacy and Opticians in Greater London to lead a proactive recruitment strategy, building a diverse, high-quality talent pool across healthcare and stores.

You will lead 11 Talent Acquisition Partners, shape workforce plans, strengthen senior stakeholder partnerships and deliver sustainable hiring outcomes. This role rewards leadership, data-driven decision making and the ability to translate business priorities into great candidate experiences.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in workforce planning, talent pipelining or recruitment leadership.
• Strong leadership, building and developing high-performing teams.
• Experience leading teams in high-volume or specialist recruitment.
• Skilled in direct sourcing and multi-channel attraction.
• Experience managing teams with niche skill sets.
• Influence senior stakeholders with data-driven advice.
• Data-literate with ability to forecast risks using trends.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building.
• Passion for developing people and delivering great candidate experiences.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the healthcare recruitment strategy, translating workforce data into proactive hiring plans.
• Lead, inspire and develop a team of 11 Talent Acquisition Partners, creating a high-performing, accountable and collaborative team culture.
• Anticipate talent risks and skills gaps, creating practical mitigation plans to support business and workforce needs.
• Build trusted partnerships with senior stakeholders to influence hiring decisions and shape workforce plans.
• Drive recruitment delivery across Pharmacy and Opticians, balancing immediate hiring requirements with longer-term talent strategy.
• Drive direct sourcing and talent relationship management to engage passive candidates and build sustainable talent pipelines.
• Use labour-market intelligence and recruitment insight to shape targeted attraction and recruitment actions.
• Partner with Recruitment Marketing to create inclusive campaigns that enhance our employer proposition.
• Identify opportunities to simplify and improve recruitment processes, making it easier for our stores, candidates and hiring managers.
• Use data and insight to measure performance, identify trends and continuously improve recruitment outcomes.
• Ensure a simple, engaging and inclusive end-to-end candidate journey.

Skills

Workforce planning

Talent pipelining

Recruitment leadership

Direct sourcing

Multi-channel attraction

Data-driven decision making

Stakeholder management

Communication

People development

Tools

ATS systems

Job description

What you'll be doing

As the Talent Acquisition Manager for Pharmacy and Opticians, you will lead a proactive recruitment strategy that ensures Boots has access to diverse, high-quality talent across our complex healthcare and stores businesses.

This is a high-impact leadership role, responsible for leading and developing a team of 11 Talent Acquisition Partners, driving recruitment delivery whilst shaping the future of how we attract, recruit and retain our Pharmacy and Opticians talent.

You will translate business priorities and workforce demand into effective hiring plans, build strong partnerships across the business and use insight and data to identify opportunities, manage talent risks and deliver sustainable recruitment solutions. Your leadership will be key to ensuring we continue to put the right people, in the right places, at the right time to support our stores and customers.

This could be a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Talent Acquisition Manager looking for their next challenge, a Pharmacist who has successfully led a team or store, or an experienced Store Leader looking to broaden their career into Talent Acquisition and workforce strategy. What matters most is your ability to lead people, influence stakeholders and turn business needs into great talent outcomes.

Key responsibilities

• Own and evolve the healthcare recruitment strategy, translating workforce data into proactive hiring plans.
• Lead, inspire and develop a team of 11 Talent Acquisition Partners, creating a high-performing, accountable and collaborative team culture.
• Anticipate talent risks and skills gaps, creating practical mitigation plans to support business and workforce needs.
• Build trusted partnerships with senior stakeholders to influence hiring decisions and shape workforce plans.
• Drive recruitment delivery across Pharmacy and Opticians, balancing immediate hiring requirements with longer-term talent strategy.
• Drive direct sourcing and talent relationship management to engage passive candidates and build sustainable talent pipelines.
• Use labour-market intelligence and recruitment insight to shape targeted attraction and recruitment actions.
• Partner with Recruitment Marketing to create inclusive campaigns that enhance our employer proposition.
• Identify opportunities to simplify and improve recruitment processes, making it easier for our stores, candidates and hiring managers.
• Use data and insight to measure performance, identify trends and continuously improve recruitment outcomes.
• Ensure a simple, engaging and inclusive end-to-end candidate journey.

What you'll need to have (our must-haves)

• Proven experience in workforce planning, talent pipelining or recruitment leadership.
• Strong leadership experience, with a proven ability to build, lead and develop high-performing teams.
• Experience of leading teams within a complex, high-volume or specialist environment.
• Strong skills in direct sourcing and multi-channel attraction.
• Experience managing teams with niche skill sets in complex recruitment environments.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders with evidence-based advice.
• Data-literate and analytical, capable of identifying trends and forecasting risks.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• A passion for developing people and delivering great experiences for candidates, colleagues and customers.

It would be great if you also have

• Experience in the healthcare, pharmacy, opticians, retail or similar sectors.
• Previous experience as a Pharmacist, Store Leader or within a customer-facing operational leadership role.
• Experience leading a large recruitment or operational team.
• Familiarity with ATS and sourcing technology.
• Knowledge of innovative recruitment practices and technologies.
• A background in project management, workforce planning or change management.

Where your brilliance can take you

At Boots, your career growth is a priority. As a Talent Acquisition Manager, you will have the opportunity to lead a team of 14 Talent Acquisition Partners, influence recruitment strategy across Pharmacy and Opticians and play a key role in shaping how we attract and retain talent across our stores.

Whether you're developing your career in Talent Acquisition, bringing valuable operational and healthcare leadership experience from Pharmacy or Stores, or looking to broaden your experience into workforce strategy, this role offers the opportunity to make a real difference at scale.

With a commitment to continuous improvement, innovation and developing our people, you can expect to grow your leadership capability, broaden your commercial experience and build a career across Boots.

Rewards designed for you

• Boots Retirement Savings Plan
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Generous employee discounts
• Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption leave pay and gift card for anyone expecting or adopting a child
• Flexible benefits scheme including option to buy additional holiday, discounted gym membership, life assurance, activity passes and much more.
• Access to free, 24/7 counselling and support through TELUS Health, our Employee Assistance Programme.

There's lots more in our benefits and discounts, MyBoosts - there to give you that little lift in your everyday. Find out more at http://boots.jobs/rewards. Exclusions may apply; eligible roles only. Please note that any salary estimates provided on third-party sites are not endorsed by Boots and may not be accurate.

A bit about us

At Boots, we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer, creating a place where everyone feels welcome, supported and free to be themselves. We believe that when our people feel valued and included, they thrive, so we're committed to creating a brilliant Boots for our people so they can make a difference for our customers and colleagues every time.

What's next?

Where a role is advertised as full-time, we are open to discussing part-time and job share options. If you require additional support as part of the application and interview process, we are happy to provide reasonable adjustments to help you be at your best.

Boots is a Ban the Box employer and will consider the suitability of applicants with criminal convictions on a case-by-case basis.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Be brilliant with Boots.