Principal Talent Acquisition Partner

Talent Solutions are thrilled to be hiring for a Principal Talent Acquisition Partner based in Bristol.

The Principal Talent Acquisition Partner is responsible for managing full-cycle hiring processes, driving delivery excellence, and mentoring recruitment teams. This role combines deep expertise in sourcing niche talent, stakeholder engagement, and data driven strategy to support complex client environments. The Principal TAP not only owns requisitions and delivers hires but also influences recruitment strategy and contributes to continuous improvement across the RPO program. The Principal TAP will often collaborate with sourcing specialists and may guide others informally, contributing to the overall success of the RPO delivery model.

Key Accountabilities

• Design and execute recruitment strategies aligned with client business objectives.
• Manage requisitions from intake to offer, ensuring adherence to SLAs and KPIs.
• Source and engage candidates with rare and in-demand skills using creative and data informed methods.
• Owns recruitment for senior or highly specialised roles, critical projects, or high-volume, business critical hiring initiatives.
• Conduct market research and leverage analytics to optimise sourcing and hiring outcomes.
• Act as the primary point of contact for stakeholders within a designated function or business area. Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with hiring managers and HR partners, providing guidance on workforce planning, market insights and talent strategy.
• Manages multi-stakeholder recruitment processes with increased visibility and accountability.
• Provide stakeholders with market intelligence, salary benchmarking, and competitor insight to support strategic hiring decisions. Advise on talent trends and pipeline development to address current and future workforce needs.
• Build consultative relationships with hiring managers, HR, and client stakeholders.
• Provide strategic guidance on recruitment processes, sourcing options, and market trends.
• Deliver exceptional candidate experiences through clear communication and support.
• Schedule regular check-in meetings with clients to review recruitment progress, address any concerns or challenges, and align on recruitment priorities.
• Engage and manage a 3rd party supply chain where needed to ensure roles that require additional support receive it.
• Track supplier performance and ensure quality checks and processes are in place and performance is high, whilst ensuring process is followed.
• Track and analyse recruitment metrics to identify areas for improvement.
• Present recruitment performance data, metrics, and insights within their assigned function or business area.
• Conduct root cause analysis and implement data-driven solutions.
• Collaborate with internal teams and supply chain partners to ensure quality and compliance.
• Share workforce insights and recruitment expertise across platforms.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and attend relevant events to promote employer brand.
• Translate workforce intelligence into actionable recommendations for clients.
• Coach and mentor Talent Acquisition Partners and Talent Associate Partners
• Oversee quality of delivery and mitigate risks to account health and client satisfaction.
• Manages Multi-Scope or Multi Region stakeholder processes with higher visibility and strategic influence. (Multi-Scope or Multi-Region - Covers several business units, countries, or brands.)
• Designs recruitment strategies; leads complex or critical hiring initiatives
• Increased GP per FTE/Higher financial KPI targets

Required Experience & Skills

• Minimum 5 years of full-cycle recruitment experience (RPO or in-house).
• Proven success sourcing talent across Engineering, IT, Finance or Corporate functions.
• Experience leading or mentoring recruitment teams in complex environments.
• Proficiency with ATS, CRM and sourcing platforms.

Nice to Haves

• Experience in strategic workforce planning or talent intelligence.
• Exposure to supplier management and vendor performance tracking.
• Familiarity with recruitment marketing and employer branding.
• Participation in industry events or professional networks.

Observable Skills & Behaviors

• Drives for Results: Achieves ambitious goals and thrives in fast-paced environments.
• Learns and Adapts: Embraces change and seeks continuous improvement.
• Solves Problems: Uses data and judgment to make sound decisions.
• Focuses on Clients and Candidates: Builds trust and delivers exceptional service.
• Communicates Effectively: Clear, persuasive, and professional in all interactions.
• Provides Proactive Support: Mentors others and fosters development.
• Collaborates to Win: Works effectively across teams and functions.
• Unleashes Human Potential: Develops high-performing teams and promotes growth.
• Disciplined Execution: Maintains focus and accountability to deliver results.

Our Standards

Clarity: Takes time to understand and share our organisation's vision and strategy with others, holds themself and others accountable to deliver on our common goals, mindfully gives honest and regular feedback and openly receives it so we can all learn and deliver our best.

Care: Leads themself and others with care, respecting people as people first and promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in their environment so people feel heard and valued, listens to understand and then communicates purposefully and consistently, intentionally develops themself and inspires, coaches and empowers the development of others.

Grow: Openly contributes thoughts, asks questions and challenges appropriately so that we make better, courageous and timely decisions, collaborates with others to identify current ideas, trends and perspectives (internally and externally) to continuously improve and transform what we do and builds on our successes.