Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist – Early Careers Lead

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Early Careers professional to lead the design and delivery of our UK early talent agenda within a major bank. The role will oversee graduate, internship, apprenticeship and analyst programmes across multiple business lines, ensuring attraction, development and retention of high‑potential talent.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and execute the UK Early Careers strategy aligned to business growth and workforce planning.
• Partner with senior leaders across Corporate & Institutional Banking, Asset Management, Operations, Technology and Functions to identify talent needs.
• Lead end‑to‑end management of graduate, summer internship, industrial placement and apprenticeship programmes.
• Design structured development frameworks including rotations, technical training, mentoring and leadership initiatives.
• Drive campus recruitment strategy and enhance employer brand within financial services.
• Champion diversity, equity and inclusion across early‑careers pipelines.
• Collaborate with HR Business Partners, senior leadership and hiring managers on demand forecasting and intake planning.
• Provide strategic insights on market trends, hiring performance, diversity metrics and programme outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, legal and internal governance requirements.
• Manage programme budgets, vendor contracts and resource allocation.

Required profile

• Proven experience leading Early Careers or Emerging Talent programmes within banking, financial services or a large complex corporate environment.
• Strong understanding of graduate recruitment, apprenticeships and campus engagement in the UK market.
• Demonstrated ability to manage senior stakeholders in a matrix organisation.
• Commercial awareness with the ability to align talent strategy to business priorities.
• Experience delivering diversity and inclusion initiatives within talent acquisition.

Required skills