Talent Acquisition Specialist

Up Education; Auckland; On-site; NZD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

UP Education in Auckland is seeking an experienced Talent Acquisition professional to lead end-to-end recruitment across our NZ and AU groups. You will partner with hiring managers, design sourcing strategies and drive fair, data-informed decisions to attract top talent.

The role emphasizes rapid candidate engagement, strong stakeholder communication and the use of AI-enabled tools to improve the recruitment process while maintaining an exceptional candidate experience.

Qualifications

• Proven end-to-end recruitment experience.
• Ability to explain talent identification and engagement strategies.
• Credible with practical advice, clear communication and candidate care.
• Adaptable to changing priorities and able to seek guidance when risk is involved.

Responsibilities

• Own recruitment from brief to onboarding: manage sourcing, assessment, checks, offers and onboarding coordination, keeping vacancies progressing and stakeholders informed.
• Find and engage talent proactively: use targeted sourcing methods to reach suitable candidates and build pipelines for recurring and hard-to-fill roles.
• Advise hiring managers: help managers clarify requirements, assess relevant skills and deliver fair, consistent selection processes.
• Apply sound recruitment judgement: handle varied vacancies independently, maintain a professional candidate experience and recognise when to involve senior TA colleagues.
• Improve recruitment practice: maintain reliable ATS records and use candidate feedback, recruitment data, technology and AI-enabled tools to improve your approach.

Skills

End-to-end recruitment

Sourcing strategies

Stakeholder management

AI-enabled recruitment tools

Tools

ATS platforms

AI-enabled tools

Data-driven recruitment

Job description

UP Education brings together education providers across New Zealand and Australia, delivering vocational training, higher education and university pathway programmes.

For our Talent Acquisition team, that means variety: different businesses, specialist disciplines and candidate markets, connected by the need to attract people who help learners succeed. You’ll work with hiring managers across an education group where understanding the business matters as much as understanding the vacancy.

Job Description

Please note, this role will start in January 2027.

If you enjoy the pace of high-volume recruitment, finding candidates beyond the applicants who come to you and building productive relationships with hiring managers, this role offers scope to put those strengths to work.

Reporting to the Talent Acquisition Lead, you’ll manage end-to-end recruitment across assigned vacancies and business areas, supporting hiring across New Zealand and Australia. You’ll clarify what managers need, develop sourcing approaches and help them make well-supported selection decisions.

You’ll be comfortable managing several searches, resetting priorities and keeping people informed when circumstances change. You’ll have independence in your work, alongside access to senior TA guidance when you need it.

Key Responsibilities

• Own recruitment from brief to onboarding: Manage sourcing, assessment, checks, offers and onboarding coordination, keeping vacancies progressing and stakeholders informed.
• Find and engage talent proactively: Use targeted sourcing methods to reach suitable candidates and build pipelines for recurring and hard-to-fill roles.
• Advise hiring managers: Help managers clarify requirements, assess relevant skills and deliver fair, consistent selection processes.
• Apply sound recruitment judgement: Handle varied vacancies independently, maintain a professional candidate experience and recognise when to involve senior TA colleagues.
• Improve recruitment practice: Maintain reliable ATS records and use candidate feedback, recruitment data, technology and AI-enabled tools to improve your approach.

Qualifications

You’ll bring proven end-to-end recruitment experience and the confidence to manage a varied portfolio. You’re a proactive recruiter who can explain how you identify and engage suitable talent, rather than relying on advertising alone.You build credibility through practical advice, clear communication and follow-through, maintaining candidate care and attention to detail when things get busy.You’ll also bring:

• An understanding of structured assessment, skills-based hiring and fair selection.
• Confidence using applicant tracking systems and maintaining accurate recruitment records.
• Practical experience with AI-enabled tools, including checking outputs and applying judgement around accuracy, bias and privacy.
• The ability to adapt to changing priorities and ask for guidance when the risk warrants it.

Experience recruiting in Australia, or a working understanding of Australian employment practices and the recruitment market, is desirable. Education-sector experience is welcome, but not essential.

Additional Information

We welcome different backgrounds and perspectives and are committed to a fair, consistent recruitment process. If you need an adjustment to participate, please let us know.

Questions about your identity help us appreciate the diversity of individuals looking to work with us, ensuringwe’reattracting applications from people with identities and perspectives that are as diverse as our students.

We are an equal opportunity employer. As part of our commitment to equity, we work to ensure a fair and consistent interview process. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to an inclusive work environment.