Talent Attraction Specialist – R&D

Cpl Life Sciences; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Cpl Life Sciences is seeking a Talent Attraction Specialist – R&D in London with hybrid working. This 6-month contract role (35 hours/week) focuses on shaping and executing sourcing strategies to build diverse pipelines for scientific, clinical, and digital roles across R&D.

You will partner with Recruitment Business Partners and senior stakeholders to deliver market-informed strategies and ensure delivery of talent across Drug Discovery and Development, Biomedical Research, and Clinical

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Talent Acquisition, Executive Search, Talent Attraction, or Strategic Sourcing in life sciences, healthcare, or related fields.
• Proven success building proactive pipelines for scientific, clinical, or tech roles.
• Experience conducting market mapping and talent landscape analysis.
• Strong use of data and talent insights to influence sourcing strategies and hiring outcomes.
• Experience partnering with senior stakeholders in matrixed organisations; familiarity with AI-enabled sourcing tools.

Responsibilities

• Build a high-quality, agile and business-aligned sourcing strategy.
• Develop and execute targeted sourcing strategies aligned to R&D priorities and workforce plans.
• Maintain alignment with scientific hiring needs across R&D functions.
• Translate workforce planning priorities into proactive talent campaigns, pools, and pipelines.
• Anticipate evolving capability requirements and future talent demands across R&D disciplines.

Skills

Talent Acquisition

Executive Search

Strategic Sourcing

Stakeholder Management

Data-driven Sourcing

Market Mapping

Diversity Hiring

AI-enabled Sourcing

Tools

AI sourcing tools

Talent intelligence platforms

CRM platforms

Job description

Talent Attraction Specialist – R&D

Location: London (Hybrid working)

Duration: 6 months

Hours: 35 hours per week

The candidate is responsible for shaping and executing the talent attraction and sourcing strategy across Research & Development. This role plays a critical part in identifying, engaging, and building diverse talent pipelines for future scientific, clinical, digital, data, and innovation-focused hiring needs across the R&D organization.

You will partner closely with Recruitment Business Partners, hiring leaders, and workforce planning stakeholders to deliver proactive, market-informed sourcing strategies that enable us to attract world-class talent across Drug Discovery, Development, Biomedical Research, Clinical Development,

Key Responsibilities

• Build a high-quality, agile and business-aligned sourcing strategy
• Develop and execute targeted sourcing strategies aligned to the priorities and workforce plans of R&D business units
• Maintain close alignment with scientific and technical hiring needs across R&D functions
• Translate workforce planning priorities into proactive talent attraction campaigns, talent pools, and succession pipelines
• Anticipate evolving capability requirements and future talent demands across key R&D disciplines

Strategic Sourcing Excellence

• Align sourcing priorities and delivery approaches with R&D workforce plans and business objectives
• Use data, market intelligence, and talent insights to identify critical talent segments and sourcing priorities
• Build and maintain deep pipelines of external talent across scientific, clinical, digital, data, AI, and innovation-related disciplines
• Deliver high-quality longlists and shortlists through direct sourcing, market mapping, talent engagement, and networking activities.
• Drive a data-led approach to sourcing prioritisation, pipeline management, and talent attraction effectiveness
• Leverage talent intelligence platforms, AI-enabled sourcing tools, competitor analysis, and labor market insights to optimise hiring outcomes
• Monitor and report on sourcing performance, pipeline quality, diversity outcomes, and market trends

Experience Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in Talent Acquisition, Executive Search, Talent Attraction, or Strategic Sourcing, preferably within life sciences, biotechnology, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, or other highly specialised industries
• Demonstrated success building proactive pipelines for scientific, clinical, technical, digital, or business-critical roles
• Experience conducting market mapping and talent landscape analysis
• Strong capability in using data and talent insights to influence sourcing strategies and hiring outcomes
• Experience partnering with senior stakeholders and navigating complex, matrixed organisations
• Familiarity with AI-enabled sourcing tools, CRM platforms, talent intelligence solutions, and advanced search methodologies