Talent Partner (Employer Brand)

Reporting to:  Talent Acquisition & Projects Manager

Location: London Head Office  

Role Purpose

To focus on Early Careers for the NEXT Wholly Owned Brands and Joint Ventures (Lipsy, Friends Like These and Love & Roses, Next Beauty, Victoria's Secret and Gap).  You will lead end to end recruitment for early careers in Buying and Merchandising playing a key role in identifying, attracting and assessing top entry talent for our product teams.  As the lead on Employer Brand you will develop and implement our external employer brand in our mission to attract the best talent at all levels while communicating our company culture and values. 

Role Responsibilities

Employer Brand

• Partner with the Senior Culture &  Communications Manager and Talent Acquisition & Projects Manager to develop a compelling employer brand strategy that highlights our company culture and employee experience across all platforms
• Create and manage engaging content for careers pages, social media channels, and recruitment marketing materials, showcasing what it’s like to work at one of our Brands
• Organise and execute recruitment events, both virtual and in-person that showcase the NEXT London based brands as an employer of choice
• Monitor employer review sites and social media mentions, responding as appropriate and providing insights to the wider People team to improve employer reputation and engagement
• Leverage platforms including the Careers Page, LinkedIn and Indeed to promote NEXT as an employer of choice. Collaborate closely with Internal Comms, Marketing & Brand to ensure that LinkedIn and other channels reflect key organisational messages and values, creating a consistent and compelling employer image across all touchpoints.
• Build and develop strong relationships with universities, industry organizations, and talent communities in order that our businesses are well represented
• Collect and analyse candidate feedback to refine our employer value proposition
• Continuously review selection and assessment materials ensuring they are fit for purpose and aligned with brand values and are clearly branded by role and brand
• Lead the development of an enticing and attractive candidate experience with supporting guides and materials
• Manage job descriptions to ensure they are reflective of the role and attractive to prospective candidates

Sourcing & Attraction 

• Manage the end to end recruitment process for early careers recruitment - predominantly entry level Buying & Merchandising roles
• Develop a deep understanding of what applicants want from an early careers recruitment process and make recommendations to improve the process to ensure our strategy meets the needs of this population
• Work in partnership with the Talent team to continually evaluate and improve methods of attraction (careers page, social media and 3 rd party partners).
• Deliver a cost effective recruitment process and keep up to date with changing market conditions and new innovative and cost effective recruitment methods.
• Build relationships with Heads of Brand and Merchandise leads to understand the needs of the entry level roles and how these skills can be identified in this population
• Develop and maintain an external “talent pool” of people who are identified as high potentials and meet the short and longer term needs of the company’s resourcing & succession plans.
• Ensure a seamless and positive candidate experience throughout the recruitment process, from initial contact to onboarding, by providing timely and clear communication, constructive feedback, and identifying areas for continuous improvement.

Assessment & Selection

• Collaborate with managers and department heads to assess team  requirements, develop targeted recruitment plans and set hiring priorities. 
• Ensure relevant stakeholders are updated on progress and timelines, flagging potential challenges and risks.
• Update the recruitment tracker and ATS to produce statistics to measure our KPI’s and improve performance. 

People Data and Reporting:

• Ensure the ATS system is consistently up-to-date and accurately reflects current recruitment activity.
• Monitor and report on recruitment activity and success on an ad hoc and monthly basis, providing regular updates to the Talent & Projects Manager on recruitment progress and metrics to drive continuous improvement.
• Assist in maintaining accurate employee records, ensuring that all recruitment, onboarding and employee information is properly documented and maintained.

Projects

• Work with the Talent Team to deliver the recruitment strategy, supporting projects as needed.

Technical Requirements

• Proven experience within a head office recruitment environment, preferably fashion retail or similar
• Ownership of recruitment process end to end
• A collaborative and positive approach to working with your team, Hiring Managers and People Partners
• A passion for finding the best talent and providing the highest standard of candidate and Hiring Manager experience
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with a flair for storytelling
• Understanding of social media platforms and content creation best practices
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects
• Creative mindset with an eye for visual aesthetics
• Collaborative approach and ability to work with teams across the organization
• Knowledge of employer branding principles and practices
• Experience with graphic design or video editing software

• 25% off most NEXT, MADE*, Lipsy*, Gap* and Victoria's Secret* products (*when purchased through NEXT)
• 10% off most partner brands & up to 15% off Branded Beauty
• Hot deals and exclusive offers from over 3,500 retailers through our online benefits platform 
• Company performance based bonus
• Early VIP access to sale stock via Direct to Desk
• Life assurance
• Sharesave scheme
• Annual Travel Card Loan
• Sample Sales
• Fantastic L&D opportunities
• Flexi-Hour Scheme
• Direct to Work - Discount online and instore, collect your items the next day for free from your place of work or local store
• Support Networks - Access to Network Groups to empower and celebrate each other
• Wellhub - Discounted flexible monthly gym memberships, with apps, PT sessions and more

Conditions apply to all benefits. These benefits are discretionary and subject to change. 

We aim to support all candidates during the application process and are happy to provide workplace adjustments when necessary. Should you need support with your application due to a disability or long-term condition, feel free to get in touch with us by email [email protected] (please include 'Workplace Adjustments' in the subject line), or call us on 0207 436 2000 and leave a voicemail.