Talent Lead
| Posting date: | 06 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £55,000 per year |
| Additional salary information: | Plus benefits |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 24 February 2026 |
| Location: | Cambridge or London (Hybrid) |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 4 days per week |
| Company: | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | JR413 |
Summary
We're seeking a Talent Lead to shape and drive our talent acquisition and talent development agenda at the Royal Society of Chemistry. This is a strategic leadership role that will be instrumental in building our future workforce, embedding a culture of continuous learning, and ensuring we have the right capabilities to meet our long-term organisational vision.
This role will lead our Talent Acquisition and Talent Development teams to deliver proactive, customer-driven services that align with our organisational priorities. You will partner with leadership to anticipate future talent needs, build robust internal and external talent pipelines, and create innovative solutions that prepare the RSC for current and future challenges.
This is a 12-month fixed-term contract.
If you're passionate about shaping the future workforce and creating a culture of continuous learning and leadership excellence, we'd love to hear from you.
What You'll Be Doing
Talent Acquisition
- Develop and execute a strategic, future-focused approach to talent acquisition that positions us as an employer of choice
- Transform recruitment processes and candidate experiences to deliver 'best in class' outcomes
- Leverage technology and data to drive efficient, insight-led hiring decisions
- Design innovative sourcing strategies that build strong internal and external talent pipelines
Talent Development
- Shape our talent development agenda as a trusted advisor to leadership
- Design development programmes that create robust internal pipelines and prepare future leaders
- Partner strategically with external providers to maximise value and impact
- Implement learning and talent systems that enable data-driven people development
Workforce Capability & Leadership
- Lead initiatives to enhance workforce capabilities and address current and future skills gaps
- Design and deliver leadership programmes that foster management excellence
Strategic Impact
- Monitor, measure, and continuously refine talent initiatives to drive organisational success
- Manage budgets strategically to deliver maximum return on investment
What Success Looks Like
You'll know you're succeeding when we have high-quality talent services that meet our evolving needs, a workforce aligned to our strategic ambitions, and capable leaders driving high-performing teams. Most importantly, you'll demonstrate proven ROI through the development and performance of our people.
In this role it is expected that you will attend the Cambridge office 1 day per week as a minimum, with additional office attendance as required to fulfil the responsibilities of the role. If you need flexible working arrangements, please outline this in your application.
What we are looking for:
Essential:
Demonstrable experience in strategic talent development and acquisition, with at least 5 years in a management role.
Deep knowledge of leadership development, capability building, and future workforce trends.
Experience leading high-performing teams across multiple talent disciplines.
Strong strategic vision and ability to align people capability initiatives with long-term business objectives.
Proven ability to lead and execute large-scale strategic talent initiatives that drive organisational transformation.
Experienced in technology-enabled talent and development solutions.
Strong analytical and planning skills, with the ability to interpret data and metrics to drive continuous improvement.
An ongoing commitment to CPD with up to date knowledge on current thinking in this space.
Desirable:
Specific qualifications in talent development
Coaching qualification.
Qualification in talent acquisition (such as Cert RP) or demonstrable experience.
Experience working in a similar organisation such as membership/professional body
Knowledge of Workday and ways to optimise usage for data trends and narrative.
Accreditation to relevant professional bodies (such as REC)
Successful leadership of programmes/projects to realise business case benefits
If you are interested in this role, please apply before the end of the closing date. When applying, you will need to provide an up-to-date CV and as a cover letter (in no more than 500 words) telling us about your relevant knowledge, skills and competencies and why you are applying for this role.
About the RSC
We are a thriving international community of over 60,000 members in 125 countries, an internationally renowned publisher of high quality chemical science knowledge and the professional body for chemists in the UK, with a reputation as an influential champion for the chemical sciences.
As a not-for-profit organisation employing around 700 staff in 6 countries, we reinvest all of our income to achieve our charitable objectives in support of the chemical sciences community and advancing chemistry.
Visit our Work For Us website to learn more about us, our benefits, equal opportunities statement and inclusive culture pledge.
At the RSC, we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce and welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds to apply. We particularly encourage applications from disabled and ethnic minority candidates.
As a part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we endeavour, where possible, to offer an interview to candidates meeting the essential criteria of the role, who has a substantial physical/mental impairment which impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.
We are committed to making our recruitment processes accessible to all and as part of this, we are flexible in the ways we give and receive information. If you would like to apply using a different format, please contact the Recruitment Team at jobs@rsc.org or on +44 (0) 1223 432229 and we will do our best to put any reasonable adjustments in place.
If you have any questions, please contact us at jobs@rsc.org
This role will lead our Talent Acquisition and Talent Development teams to deliver proactive, customer-driven services that align with our organisational priorities. You will partner with leadership to anticipate future talent needs, build robust internal and external talent pipelines, and create innovative solutions that prepare the RSC for current and future challenges.
This is a 12-month fixed-term contract.
If you're passionate about shaping the future workforce and creating a culture of continuous learning and leadership excellence, we'd love to hear from you.
What You'll Be Doing
Talent Acquisition
- Develop and execute a strategic, future-focused approach to talent acquisition that positions us as an employer of choice
- Transform recruitment processes and candidate experiences to deliver 'best in class' outcomes
- Leverage technology and data to drive efficient, insight-led hiring decisions
- Design innovative sourcing strategies that build strong internal and external talent pipelines
Talent Development
- Shape our talent development agenda as a trusted advisor to leadership
- Design development programmes that create robust internal pipelines and prepare future leaders
- Partner strategically with external providers to maximise value and impact
- Implement learning and talent systems that enable data-driven people development
Workforce Capability & Leadership
- Lead initiatives to enhance workforce capabilities and address current and future skills gaps
- Design and deliver leadership programmes that foster management excellence
Strategic Impact
- Monitor, measure, and continuously refine talent initiatives to drive organisational success
- Manage budgets strategically to deliver maximum return on investment
What Success Looks Like
You'll know you're succeeding when we have high-quality talent services that meet our evolving needs, a workforce aligned to our strategic ambitions, and capable leaders driving high-performing teams. Most importantly, you'll demonstrate proven ROI through the development and performance of our people.
In this role it is expected that you will attend the Cambridge office 1 day per week as a minimum, with additional office attendance as required to fulfil the responsibilities of the role. If you need flexible working arrangements, please outline this in your application.
What we are looking for:
Essential:
Demonstrable experience in strategic talent development and acquisition, with at least 5 years in a management role.
Deep knowledge of leadership development, capability building, and future workforce trends.
Experience leading high-performing teams across multiple talent disciplines.
Strong strategic vision and ability to align people capability initiatives with long-term business objectives.
Proven ability to lead and execute large-scale strategic talent initiatives that drive organisational transformation.
Experienced in technology-enabled talent and development solutions.
Strong analytical and planning skills, with the ability to interpret data and metrics to drive continuous improvement.
An ongoing commitment to CPD with up to date knowledge on current thinking in this space.
Desirable:
Specific qualifications in talent development
Coaching qualification.
Qualification in talent acquisition (such as Cert RP) or demonstrable experience.
Experience working in a similar organisation such as membership/professional body
Knowledge of Workday and ways to optimise usage for data trends and narrative.
Accreditation to relevant professional bodies (such as REC)
Successful leadership of programmes/projects to realise business case benefits
If you are interested in this role, please apply before the end of the closing date. When applying, you will need to provide an up-to-date CV and as a cover letter (in no more than 500 words) telling us about your relevant knowledge, skills and competencies and why you are applying for this role.
About the RSC
We are a thriving international community of over 60,000 members in 125 countries, an internationally renowned publisher of high quality chemical science knowledge and the professional body for chemists in the UK, with a reputation as an influential champion for the chemical sciences.
As a not-for-profit organisation employing around 700 staff in 6 countries, we reinvest all of our income to achieve our charitable objectives in support of the chemical sciences community and advancing chemistry.
Visit our Work For Us website to learn more about us, our benefits, equal opportunities statement and inclusive culture pledge.
At the RSC, we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce and welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds to apply. We particularly encourage applications from disabled and ethnic minority candidates.
As a part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we endeavour, where possible, to offer an interview to candidates meeting the essential criteria of the role, who has a substantial physical/mental impairment which impacts their ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.
We are committed to making our recruitment processes accessible to all and as part of this, we are flexible in the ways we give and receive information. If you would like to apply using a different format, please contact the Recruitment Team at jobs@rsc.org or on +44 (0) 1223 432229 and we will do our best to put any reasonable adjustments in place.
If you have any questions, please contact us at jobs@rsc.org
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.