Senior Talent Acquisition Manager (fixed-term contract)

Location: Hybrid - 2 days per week in our London office
Salary: From £53,000 + 10% discretionary bonus
Level: Senior Manager level, leading through delivery and execution

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Talent Acquisition Manager (FTC until March 2027) to join our People Team at SMG. This is a delivery-focused recruitment role where your primary focus will be finding, attracting, and securing exceptional talent across the UK and US to support our ambitious growth plans.

You’ll take a hands-on approach to end-to-end hiring across a portfolio of roles, driving recruitment activity at pace while building strong talent pipelines and delivering an outstanding candidate experience. This role is all about execution, partnering closely with hiring managers, keeping roles moving, and ensuring we hire great people quickly and effectively.

If you love variety, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and embrace change with energy, this could be your right role.

Why SMG?

At SMG, we hire for the future, which is fast-moving and changing shape . Do you have the potential to help shape our business? We’re looking for brilliant, diverse talent who want to grow with us—people who are curious, ambitious, and eager to learn, whether as specialists or across teams.

Our culture is everything. If you’re someone who stays honest, stays hungry, stays foolish, and has fun, you’ll feel right at home here.

We value those who take ownership of their growth and bring fresh perspectives. That’s why we’re committed to equity, inclusion, and building a place where everyone feels empowered to grow . At SMG, it’s not just about filling a role but building the future together.

• 10% discretionary bonus

• £1,800 yearly wellbeing fund (on top of your salary!)

• Free Headspace subscription

• £500 yearly “Learning Fund” for learning

• 4 extra Wellbeing Days off per year

• 4pm finishes every Friday

• Flexible and hybrid working

Are We What You’re Looking For?

We move fast, adapt quickly, and like to challenge each other. We're looking for people who enjoy the buzz of change, the satisfaction of building something better, and the joy of working with a close-knit, values-driven team .

This isn’t for everyone, but if you thrive in this environment, we’d love to meet you!

A Little Bit About You

You’ll bring:

• A strong background in Talent Acquisition, either agency or in-house, with a genuine passion for recruitment delivery and finding great talent

• Proven experience managing end-to-end recruitment across a portfolio of roles, including senior and hard-to-fill hires

• Strong direct sourcing and headhunting capability, with the ability to proactively identify, engage, and convert high-quality candidates

• A track record of delivering hires at pace while maintaining quality and a strong candidate experience

• The ability to manage multiple roles and priorities simultaneously in a fast-moving environment

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build credibility and maintain momentum with hiring managers

• A highly organised and proactive approach, with excellent attention to detail and follow-through

• A candidate-focused mindset, with a commitment to delivering a positive and engaging recruitment experience

• Experience using recruitment data and metrics to track pipeline progress and improve hiring performance

• Commercial awareness, with the ability to balance quality, speed, and cost in hiring decisions

• Strong market awareness, including sourcing tools, hiring trends, and recruitment best practices

• An understanding of diversity and inclusion principles and how they apply to attraction and selection

Don’t meet every single requirement? We still want to hear from you. If you believe you’d thrive in this role, your unique perspective might be just what we’re looking for.

What You’ll Be Doing

Your days will be dynamic. You might find yourself:

• Managing end-to-end recruitment delivery across a portfolio of roles across the business

• Proactively sourcing and headhunting talent through multiple channels to build strong pipelines for current and future hiring needs

• Screening, interviewing, and managing candidates through the full recruitment process from initial outreach through to offer and close

• Driving hiring activity forward at pace, ensuring roles are progressing efficiently and aligned to business priorities

• Partnering closely with hiring managers to understand role requirements, provide market insights, and keep hiring processes moving

• Supporting and running assessment centres and recruitment days where required

• Managing workload and recruitment priorities effectively to ensure consistent hiring delivery across multiple live roles

• Acting as a trusted recruitment partner to hiring teams, providing guidance on process, candidate management, and hiring best practice

• Managing relationships with external recruitment partners where required, while focusing on strong direct sourcing capability

• Delivering a high-quality and consistent candidate experience across every touchpoint

• Tracking recruitment activity, pipeline health, and hiring metrics to improve visibility and support decision-making

• Ensuring all recruitment activity is compliant with employment legislation and internal policies

• Supporting onboarding activity and wider People Team initiatives where needed

Our Values:

Stay honest. Stay hungry. Stay foolish. Have fun.

Useful Links Before You Apply:

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