Talent Acquisition Lead

A leading international organisation is looking for a Talent Acquisition Manager to lead the opening of a TA Centre of Excellence in Portugal.

The Client’s Mission

Our client is a leading international organisation undergoing a significant transformation of its global Human Resources function. Building on an established Shared Services Centre in Portugal, the organisation is now expanding its centralised model to Talent Acquisition, bringing together recruitment activities previously managed independently across different countries. The new International Talent Acquisition Centre will support multiple markets across Europe and India, playing a strategic role in driving consistency, operational excellence and innovation across the global recruitment function. Based in Portugal, the Talent Acquisition Manager will lead the development of this new centre, shaping its strategy, building a high-performing team and establishing it as a trusted strategic partner to the business.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Portugal Talent Acquisition Centre, overseeing a team of approximately 15 professionals and ensuring operational excellence, service quality and sustainable growth.

• Define and implement a Talent Acquisition strategy aligned with the organisation’s global vision, business priorities and evolving talent market.

• Drive an exceptional experience for candidates, hiring managers and internal stakeholders, ensuring high standards of service delivery across all supported markets.

• Build strong partnerships with local Talent Acquisition teams, HR operations, business leaders and global Talent Acquisition leadership.

• Establish the centre as a strategic partner, promoting consistent, efficient, technology-enabled and data-driven recruitment solutions.

• Lead, develop and empower an international team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability and high performance.

• Identify and implement continuous improvement initiatives to increase productivity, streamline processes and enhance recruitment efficiency while respecting local market requirements.

• Leverage recruitment technology, automation, reporting and analytics to optimise performance and support data-driven decision-making.

• Manage the centre’s budget, monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and ensure operational and financial sustainability.

• Lead the transition towards a centralised Talent Acquisition model, supporting organisational change and ensuring effective collaboration across countries and functions.

• Report directly to the Group’s global Talent Acquisition leadership, contributing to the broader transformation of the organisation’s recruitment strategy.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for an experienced Talent Acquisition leader with a strong international background and a proven track record of building, leading and developing high-performing teams in complex, multicultural environments. Experience in multi-country recruitment operations, Shared Services Centres or Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) environments will be particularly valuable, alongside a demonstrated ability to deliver against recruitment KPIs and drive operational excellence. The ideal candidate combines strategic vision with a hands-on approach, strong stakeholder management and the ability to influence senior leaders across a matrix organisation. A solid understanding of recruitment technology, automation, reporting and analytics is essential, as is experience in budget management, continuous improvement and talent attraction strategies. Fluent English is required, while French language skills will be considered an advantage. Above all, we are looking for an inspiring and commercially minded leader who can shape a new international operation, drive transformation and establish a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.