Senior Specialist, Early Careers

At McLaren, our mission is to set the standard for high performance in sport. Everyone, in every part of the team, plays a critical role in our success, both on and off the track.

Purpose of the Role:

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Early Careers Lead to play a pivotal role in shaping our future workforce. This position will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive Early Careers Strategy, ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of our talent pipeline.

Role Dimensions:

Reporting to the Head of Talent Acquisition, this role will lead the Early strategy and proposition at McLaren Racing, providing top talent with apprenticeship, summer internship, industrial placement and graduate opportunities.

Principal Accountabilities:

1. Strategy Development and Execution:
   • Develop and implement a robust Early Careers Strategy aligned with the organisation's overall business objectives.
   • Oversee the end-to-end recruitment process for apprentices, industrial placements, summer interns, and graduates, from application to hire.
   • Ensure consistency and alignment across all early careers initiatives to foster a high-performance culture.
2. Talent Acquisition and Partnerships:
   • Build strong relationships with top universities and training organizations to attract high-calibre candidates.
   • Expand outreach to diverse talent pools to enhance our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) initiatives.
   • Leverage data-driven insights to optimize recruitment strategies and improve candidate quality.
3. Program Management and Development:
   • Design and deliver engaging and impactful early careers programs that foster professional development and skill acquisition.
   • Provide ongoing support and mentorship to early careers cohorts, ensuring their success and integration into the organisation.
   • Track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of early careers programs and identify areas for improvement.
   • Work with the People Experience team to design and implement development interventions.
4. Data Analysis and Reporting:
   • Collect and analyse data on early careers initiatives, including recruitment metrics, program outcomes, and employee retention.
   • Generate insightful reports to inform decision-making and demonstrate the value of early careers programs.
   • Forecast future talent needs and adjust early careers strategies accordingly.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Proven experience in talent acquisition, preferably in an early careers context.
• Strong understanding of recruitment processes, including sourcing, screening, interviewing, and onboarding.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to build relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret data to inform strategic decisions.
• Passion for developing talent and creating a positive employee experience.
• Experience with HRIS systems and recruitment tools.

Personal Attributes:

• Problem solving: able to operate effectively with ambiguity, adopting an inquisitive style that understands the ‘why’ to determine the ‘how’ and applies extensive knowledge to develop creative solutions and workarounds for the client.
• Results: someone who is driven; who comes with an outstanding work ethic and expects the best from him or herself and people around them.
• Credible: Considered credible and has gravitas, acting as a role model for the McLaren values.
• Challenges: challenges others to strive for more, both in innovation and meeting stakeholder needs.
• Ownership: demonstrates behaviours that support a high-performance culture within and across teams.
• Collaboration: Engages in partnerships, networks and alliances to support long term success and engages in partnerships for decision making to support the best interests of the business.
• Driven: a track record of getting things done.
• Role Model: Is a role model and champions best practice in diversity and inclusion.

What can McLaren offer?

We constantly strive to be better tomorrow than we are today. Our ambition is to be the most pioneering and exhilarating racing team in the world, and our collective task is to set the standards for high performance in sport. We show up every day with energy and enthusiasm, ready to play our part.

We encourage and support diversity, equity and inclusion. We will actively promote a culture that values difference and eliminates discrimination in our workplace.

McLaren Racing is based at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) near Woking. Here at McLaren, we offer hybrid working with 3 days a week based in the MTC.

Our state of the art, sustainable campus offers many facilities including a gym, restaurant and indoor and outdoor break-out areas, as well as direct access to park and common land. The MTC is connected to Woking mainline station via regular shuttle buses, from which London Waterloo is a 30 minute train ride.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including private healthcare, car schemes, life insurance and generous pension contributions.