Talent Acquisition Lead

Takealot Group; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Takealot Group in Cape Town is seeking a Talent Acquisition Lead to drive the TA strategy for a business unit and lead a team toward proactive, data-driven recruitment. You will design attraction plans, optimize processes, and partner with HR to ensure high-quality hires and strong stakeholder collaboration.

The role requires 7+ years in talent acquisition with 2–3 years in leadership, and a Diploma/Degree. A strong analytics mindset and ecommerce experience are advantageous.

Qualifications

• Diploma or Degree in the relevant field.
• 7+ years’ experience in Talent acquisition.
• 2 - 3 years experience in managing a team or in a Senior Talent Acquisition position.
• Highly analytical and data centric
• End to end project and team management
• System integration and experience working with cross functional teams
• Experience driving a data-driven recruitment approach
• Experience within ecommerce is advantageous
• Proven ability to manage, motivate, and lift the performance of teams that require high engagement and prompting.
• Ability to adapt leadership styles from hands-on direction to strategic coaching based on individual team member needs.

Responsibilities

• Design attraction strategies aligned with workforce plans and the identification of key, critical and scarce skills and obtain the necessary approvals
• Optimize talent acquisition processes based on trend analysis and business requirements
• Review workforce plans and vacancies and identify interventions to support filling roles within required timeframes
• Manage Graduate Recruitment initiatives
• Optimize hiring processes to ensure best practice across areas
• Manage the direct talent acquisition team and day-to-day operations
• Input into development of employer brand and drive initiatives
• Partner with HR People Partners to shape attraction strategies
• Onboarding of placed candidates and handover to HR People Partners
• Proactive identification of talent pools and partnerships with HRBP for requirements
• Draw data insights to inform talent strategy
• Train and develop up-skilling programs for interviewing and recruitment practices
• Keep abreast of innovative recruitment practices
• Develop and drive Talent attraction strategies to improve workforce profile
• Provide insight to inform talent strategy
• Ensure data gathering and consolidated reporting
• Establish and manage cadences to maintain momentum and track KPIs
• Implement performance management frameworks to meet SLAs
• Act as escalation point for complex recruitment challenges
• Coach and mentor team members to move beyond transactional execution
• Aim for high performance and optimized time-to-hire and quality-of-hire
• Ensure daily/weekly tracking and clear SLAs
• Document upskilling and development plans showing progression
• Resolve stakeholder friction swiftly and professionally

Skills

Analytical thinking

Data analytics

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Recruitment strategy

Sourcing techniques

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Diploma or Degree in relevant field

Job description

Takealot Group, South Africa’s leading online retailer, is looking for a highly talented Talent Acquisition Lead to join our team in Cape Town

We are a young, dynamic, hyper-growth company looking for smart, creative, hard-working people with integrity to join us. We offer a market related, Total Remuneration Package which allows full flexibility according to your needs, a great work environment and a promise that you won’t be bored as long as you are prepared for a challenge and want to build something great.

This position reports to:** Head of Talent Acquisition**

Purpose of the role:

Accountable lead for a particular business unit or portfolio’s Talent Acquisition Strategy. In addition you are leading a team to ensure the enablement and execution of Talent Acquisition processes. Crucially, this role requires a hands-on leader who can drive operational discipline, foster a culture of accountability, and actively coach a transactional team toward more proactive, solution-oriented behaviors.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design attraction strategies aligned with workforce plans and the identification of key, critical and scarce skills and obtain the necessary approvals
• Optimize talent acquisition processes based on trend analysis and business requirements
• Review workforce plans and vacancies and identify if all appropriate interventions are in place to support filling the roles with talent within the required timeframes with the Group EE Plan
• Manage the Graduate Recruitment initiatives within respective areas
• Optimize our hiring process and ensure best practice is implemented across respective areas – ensuring that efficient, effective and fit for purpose
• Manage the direct talent acquisition team – managing activities and day to day operations
• Give input into the development of the employer brand and related drive initiatives into the business unit
• Ensure that policy is adhered to in the respective business unit
• Partner with the HR People Partners to sound attraction strategies
• Onboarding of placed candidates and handover to HR People Partners.
• Proactive identification talent pools, partnering with HRBP’s regarding requirements for talent
• Drawing data insights to inform the talent strategy – know the market
• Training and developing up-skilling programs with regards to interviewing, systems, recruitment practices and ensure that all Managers are capacitated to take part in the Hiring Process across the Group.
• Remain abreast of innovative and progressive recruitment practices and new approaches to continuously improve the recruitment experience.
• Develop and drive Talent attraction strategies to improve the workforce profile
• Providing insight to their business unit to inform the appropriate talent strategy
• Ensure the appropriate data is gathered and consolidated reports provided to business
• Establish and manage daily/weekly operational cadences (e.g., stand-ups, pipeline reviews) to maintain team momentum, track KPIs, and ensure consistent delivery.
• Implement clear performance management frameworks to drive accountability and ensure the team is meeting service level agreements (SLAs) proactively.
• Act as the primary escalation point for complex recruitment challenges, handling high-pressure stakeholder or candidate situations with a hands-on, problem-solving approach.
• Actively coach and mentor team members to move beyond transactional execution, encouraging critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative sourcing techniques.
• Team Performance: High-performing, accountable TA team hitting optimized time-to-hire and quality-of-hire targets.
• Operational Discipline: Implementation of daily/weekly tracking mechanisms and clear team SLAs.
• Capability Growth: Documented upskilling and development plans for team members, showing a measurable shift from operational to proactive recruitment.
• Stakeholder Trust: Swift, professional resolution of business escalations and friction points.

Minimum Required Qualification

• Diploma or Degree in the relevant field

Minimum Required Experience

• 7+ years’ experience in Talent acquisition
• 2 - 3 years experience in managing a team or in a Senior Talent Acquisition position

Minimum Required Competencies

• Highly analytical and data centric
• End to end project and team management
• System integration and experience working with cross functional teams
• Experience driving a data-driven recruitment approach
• Experience within ecommerce is advantageous
• Proven ability to manage, motivate, and lift the performance of teams that require high engagement and prompting.
• Ability to adapt leadership styles from hands-on direction to strategic coaching based on individual team member needs.

Skills, knowledge & abilities

• Resilience, proactive and adaptable: You are adaptable to change and optimistic in your outlook
• Strong Data Analytics and Insights skills with the ability to tell meaningful stories with Data
• Influence and Interpersonal relationships: Ability to influence and interpret the needs of stakeholders, with a strong customer service orientation
• Critical and logical analysis: Creative thinker with ideas that will drive efficiency and improve business processes. Able to see the patterns in people puzzles
• Communication and simplification: Distil the trends and messages from data in a clear, concise and articulate manner.
• Conflict Resolution & De-escalation: Exceptional emotional intelligence with a track record of calming high-stress situations with stakeholders or candidates.

The Environment :

• takealot.com employees are entrepreneurial and dynamic, smart, customer- centric, fun and have the shared ambition of takealot.com being the leading e- commerce company in Africa.
• We have fun, work hard, take ownership, work in teams to create solutions, and are always open to direct feedback/new ideas on where we can improve.
• We are short on ego and high on output.
• We are doers and not only thinkers, its all in the execution after all.
• We love what we do and what we are creating.
• We seek to employ an Extra Ordinary Mind whois Smart, has Integrity,and is Hardworking.

If you meet the above you are an Extraordinary Mind so come and join us!

Takealot Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applicants from the previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities, to apply