Talent Acquisition Specialist

Genuine innovation. Visionary solutions. Surprising results.

Talent Acquisition Specialist  

£34,000 - £38,000 per annum, plus benefits

Reports to: Talent Acquisition Delivery Manager

Department: Chief Operating Office

Contract: 6 Month FTC

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London - High Flex

Internal Closing date: 19/07/2026 at 23:55

External Closing date: 13/07/2026 at 23:55

Please note: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That’s why we’re looking for someone talented, someone innovative and ambitious, someone like you.

As a  Talent Acquisition Specialist, you’ll provide specialist advice and support on the planning and delivery of recruitment across Cancer Research UK, with particular focus on creative,  cost effective candidate sourcing to be able to identify the right candidate, for the right role. You’ll bring a passion for creating a more diverse organisation and be experienced at sourcing high quality candidates through a variety of channels. In this role, you’ll work predominately across our Chief Finance Office directorate (Finance, Procurement, Legal and Internal Audit) and our Marketing, Fundraising & Engagement directorate.

What will I be doing?

• Deliver effective hiring in-line with Resourcing KPIs i.e. cost, quality and time; proactively mitigating any risk where KPI’s are not being met 

• Build strong relationships with hiring managers, advising on all stages of the recruitment process; attraction, candidate management, selection and offer on roles up to middle management level 

• Work in partnership with the Talent Acquisition Partners to ensure delivery of directorate specific resourcing plans, focusing on improvements across specific ‘Hot Spot’ areas, ensuring that key targets and SLAs are met

• Be an advocate of inclusive & cost effective hiring through successfully sourcing candidates through a variety of recruiting channels

• Use MI to review the effectiveness of different attraction and sourcing channels 

What skills are you looking for?

• Experience of delivering multiple, concurrent, end to end recruitment processes (previous experience of recruiting Finance and marketing roles is advantageous, though not essential)

• Proven experience within an in-house or outsourced resourcing function, managing a high volume of vacancies

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with demonstrable experience of influencing and advising hiring managers 

• Experience of sourcing passive candidates directly to build a talent pipeline

• Experience of managing recruitment agency relationships  

• Experienced in competency based interviewing and other selection techniques  

• An understanding of HR regulations and legislative requirements around interviewing and selection  

• Experience of using an ATS system

What will I gain?

Each and every one of our employees contributes to our progress and is supporting our work to beat cancer. We think that’s impressive.

In return, we make sure you are supported by a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools, policies and processes to enable you to do your job well.

Our benefits package includes a substantial retirement plan, a generous and flexible leave allowance, discounts on anything from travel to technology, gym membership, and much more.

We don’t forget people have lives outside of work too and so we actively encourage a flexible working culture.

Our work – from funding cutting-edge research to developing public policy – will change the world. It’s exciting to be part of our team.

For the full job description and more information about working with us contact us at [email protected]

How do I apply?

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly and objectively.

For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at [email protected].  

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

There’s a place for everyone at Cancer Research UK. Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We're committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential. 

We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented, and believe that a diverse workforce will help us to beat cancer sooner. 

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you. We don’t expect everyone to meet all of the criteria listed.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen by emailing us at [email protected]. 

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.