Talent Scientist - Graduate Lead

Canonical; Remote; ZAR 1 256 000 - 1 508 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech firm is seeking a Talent Scientist - Graduate Lead for its Cape Town office. This role involves advancing the graduate hiring strategy through partnerships with universities and data-driven recruitment practices. The ideal candidate will possess a strong academic background in psychology, experience in hiring within the tech sector, and a passion for scientific hiring. It offers a remote work environment, competitive compensation, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Personal learning and development budget

Annual compensation review

Recognition rewards

Maternity and paternity leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Priority Pass with lounge access

Qualifications

• Strong academic background in Psychology or related field.
• Experience in graduate hiring within the tech sector.
• Familiarity with behavioural and competency interviews.

Responsibilities

• Build partnerships with academic institutions for graduate recruitment.
• Drive talent analytics to improve hiring decisions.
• Conduct behavioural interviews to assess candidates effectively.

Skills

Data-driven mindset

Proficiency in SQL

Experience in hiring technology industry talent

Behavioural interview techniques

Knowledge of psychometric assessments

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Psychology or related discipline

Tools

Greenhouse

LinkedIn

Superset

Thomas International / DISC assessments

Job description

Canonical – Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Talent Scientist - Graduate Lead

Join Canonical's Talent Science team to advance our graduate hiring strategy by building strong partnerships with top universities worldwide and ensuring objective, scientific hiring practices.

Location

Remote position based in the EMEA region.

Position Details

Seniority level : Mid-Senior level

Employment type : Full-time

Job function : Research, Analyst & Information Technology

Industries : Software Development

Key Responsibilities

• Build effective partnerships with leading academic institutions to raise awareness of our graduate opportunities.
• Create a compelling proposition to inspire top talent to apply to Canonical.
• Drive talent analytics to provide real-time insights, enabling efficient hiring decisions.
• Conduct in-depth behavioural talent interviews to uncover motivations and behaviours.
• Build key relationships with global stakeholders to deliver on our hiring agenda.
• Generate data-driven insights to support robust decision making.
• Shape the employer brand ensuring positive candidate experience.
• Review and streamline hiring processes and tools for continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with external vendors and platforms to maximise ROI.
• Champion diversity and inclusion, eliminating unconscious bias from hiring workflows.

Desired Qualifications

• Exceptional academic background – Bachelors or Masters in Psychology or a people-focused discipline.
• Experience hiring in the technology industry, particularly graduate talent.
• Highly data-driven mindset with proficiency in SQL and measurable outcome creation.
• Passion for scientific hiring approaches and predicting hiring outcomes.
• Exposure to psychometric assessments, including interpretation.
• Experience conducting behavioural / competency interviews and training stakeholders.
• Familiarity with Greenhouse, LinkedIn, Superset, Thomas International / DISC assessments.
• Strong personal organisation and self-drive for remote work.
• Willingness to travel to company events 2–4 times a year, up to two weeks each.

Benefits

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person.
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2, per year.
• Annual compensation review and performance-driven bonus.
• Recognition rewards.
• Annual holiday leave.
• Maternity and paternity leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Opportunities to travel to new locations.
• Priority Pass with lounge access for company travel.

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the open-source movement, operating the Ubuntu platform for AI, IoT, and the cloud.

Remotely focused since , we recruit globally and maintain the highest standards for new hires, driving excellence across all roles.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Canonical is an equal-opportunity employer.

We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination.

Diversity of experience, perspective, and background creates a better work environment and better products.

Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.