Talent Acquisition Specialist - Early Careers

GKN Aerospace; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace company in the United Kingdom is seeking a Talent Acquisition Specialist for Early Careers to drive recruitment strategies and develop relationships with educational institutions. This role is pivotal in shaping the recruitment function and ensuring alignment with sustainability goals. Ideal candidates should have experience in recruitment, strong communication skills, and be fluent in Dutch at a B2 level.

Benefits

40 paid holidays

Excellent pension scheme

Travel allowance

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in recruitment or HR.
• Proven ability to work in high-growth environments.
• Ability to engage and influence stakeholders.
• Experience in organizing assessment centers/events.

Responsibilities

• Manage the full recruitment lifecycle for early careers roles.
• Develop relationships with educational institutions.
• Keep abreast of market trends to gain competitive advantage.
• Provide data to illustrate campaign performance.

Skills

Customer service

Stakeholder management

Organizational skills

Fluent in Dutch (B2)

Job description

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Talent Acquisition Specialist - Early Careers

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Client:

GKN Aerospace

Location:

United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

8c33127794b5

Job Views:

6

Posted:

12.08.2025

Expiry Date:

26.09.2025

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Job Description:

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

The Talent Acquisition Specialist – Early Careers will play a pivotal role in shaping and building the early careers recruitment function from the ground up. This is a newly created position in a dynamic and evolving environment, where processes and strategies still need to be defined and implemented. You will take ownership of creating structure, driving clarity, and implementing best practices across all Early Careers recruitment activities.
Reporting to the Talent Acquisition Lead and collaborating closely with both local and global TA teams. This role demands someone with strong stakeholder management skills, a strategic mindset, and the ability to operate independently while bringing order to a fast-moving, sometimes chaotic environment. You will also act as the key contact person with educational institutions, attraction partners, and internal hiring teams to build a strong, sustainable pipeline of early talent that aligns with GKN Aerospace’s ambition “to be the most sustainable partner in the sky.”

Job Responsibilities

• Being an ambassador for Early Careers and manage the full recruitment lifecycle for early careers roles
• Pro-actively look for new ways to attract early careers talent across a variety of methodologies
• Develop and manage relationships with schools, colleges, universities and other Early Career pathways on creating ways to promote early careers opportunities
• Keep abreast of Early Careers market trends, direct competition and innovative attraction methods to gain competitive advantage
• Provide data and results to illustrate campaign performance for Early Careers
• Ensure applicant tracking system is kept up to date to support with accurate reporting
• Support recruitment across other business functions as required
• Work with Marketing/branding agencies to coordinate creation and updates to Early Careers content for our brand management portal
• Develop talent pipelines for entry level positions/trainees in the business

Job Qualifications

• A passion for early careers recruitment promotes a high level of customer service
• Demonstrable experience in recruitment, HR, or talent development—ideally with exposure to Early Careers
• Proven ability to work in high-growth, high-change, or unstructured environments, bringing stability and clarity
• Possess a professional, approachable and collaborative working style
• Be a team player who thrives in a fast paced, busy and challenging environment
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills across all levels of the organization
• A strategic thinker who can also roll up their sleeves and execute operationally
• Comfortable working independently and proactively in a non-linear, evolving setup
• Fluent in Dutch at minimum B2 level (required)
• Experience of hosting and facilitating assessment centers/events, internal and or external events
• Be someone who finds it easy to build and maintain effective working relationships. Confident stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Excellent organizational, planning, and communication skills – able to juggle competing priorities

What's in it for you

We are committed to offer you a challenge but also a great opportunity to learn and grow. We want to offer you a career that can go to many directions thanks to our breadth of international opportunities. By being part of GKN Fokker Aerospace that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry, you will know that you will be working towards being the most trusted partner in the aerospace industry.

In the role of the Talent Acquisition Specialist - Early Careers, you will belong to a close knitted team. We will support and promote your professional and personal development. Furthermore, we will offer you:

• A gross monthly salary in Grade K or L1 depending on your experience and qualifications and according to the CLA Metalektro
• 40 paid holidays for full-time employment in line with the Collective Labor Agreement Metalektro (27 holidays and 13 ADV days)
• An excellent pension scheme (PME) and travel allowance
• A pleasant and informal working environment, in which we work together to achieve the best result for our customers

Next to a competitive package, we will offer you a world of opportunities: we want to see your career fly! We will support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities.

How to Apply

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We arethe place where human dreams, plus humanendeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.