Engineering Talent Acquisition Partner

Can you find the talent shaping the future of automotive engineering? Ready to recruit specialist engineers for rapidly evolving vehicle technology? Can you turn market insight into successful engineering hires? If so, we would love to hear from you!

The Vehicle Certification Agency's (VCA) work focuses on improving vehicle safety and environmental protection by providing robust testing and certification to national and internationally recognised standards. We are a part of the Department of Transport as the designated UK Vehicle Type Approval Authority. With more than 40 years’ experience, we have become one of the largest and well-respected approval bodies around.

As Talent Acquisition & Strategy Partner at the VCA, you will be pivotal in identifying, attracting, and recruiting top‑tier specialist talent to meet our dynamic hiring needs. This role is integral to building strong talent pipelines and securing deep specialist skillsets, ensuring seamless candidate experiences, and enabling VCA to deliver on its recruitment goals in specialist automotive engineering areas where technology is developing rapidly.

This role is fixed‑term for 2 years.

• Develop a network within the automotive industry and other relevant engineering disciplines to understand in depth the market trends for talent.
• Work with key stakeholders at the Department for Transport (DfT) to determine all available employment models that could be used by VCA.
• Tailor VCA’s attraction package and advertising package for roles in this sector to target a bespoke audience in the marketplace.
• Work with VCA Vacancy Holders and VCA local HR to coordinate and manage interview and selection processes effectively.
• Ensure a seamless and professional experience for candidates throughout the recruitment journey.

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Proven expertise in end-to-end recruitment processes, including sourcing, assessing, and onboarding.
• In-depth knowledge of proactive sourcing tools and methodologies, including social media platforms and job boards.
• Ability to analyse job descriptions and translate them into compelling candidate profiles.
• Exceptional relationship management, consulting, and advisory skills.
• Excellent communication, both written and verbal, with strong attention to detail.
• Analytical mindset, with the ability to derive actionable insights from recruitment metrics.
• Ability to process data to facilitate evidence-based decision making to set the strategic direction in this space.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary.
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• 24‑hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work‑life balance.