Talent Research Associate Business Operations & England, United Kingdom

Join us at EIT

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we’re on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges in four transformative areas:

• Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology
• Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture
• Climate Change & Managing CO₂
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you’ll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real‑world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society. Explore more .org.

We are expanding our Central Talent Team and are seeking a Talent Research Associate to support recruitment activity across EIT Oxford, with a particular focus on academic, scientific and research‑led roles.

This is a hands‑on role centred on talent pipelining, sourcing, candidate screening and recruitment coordination. You will work closely with Talent Partners, hiring managers and HR colleagues to ensure efficient, well‑organised hiring processes and a high‑quality candidate experience. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys detail, research, and building strong talent pools within complex scientific environments.

• Build and maintain long term talent pipelines for academic, scientific and research‑focused roles aligned to strategic research areas
• Identify potential candidates through publications, grants, research group listings, Linked In, Google Scholar etc.
• Talent mapping and market research for specific research groups, labs and institutions
• Conduct in‑depth candidate research and proactive sourcing using Linked In, databases, networks and referrals
• Screen candidates against role requirements and provide structured shortlists
• Support Talent Partners and hiring managers across the recruitment lifecycle
• Coordinate complex interview scheduling, including multi‑panel interviews
• Manage diary coordination across multiple stakeholders
• Book meeting rooms, virtual interviews and assessment sessions
• Prepare candidates for interviews, including briefing packs and process guidance
• Act as a key point of contact for candidates, ensuring clear and timely communication
• Maintain accurate records within the ATS and recruitment trackers
• Support recruitment administration, reporting and process improvements
• Collaborate with the wider HR and Talent Team on ongoing and future projects

• Demonstrated experience in talent research, sourcing or resourcing, ideally within executive search, in‑house TA or research‑led environment (e.g. life sciences, plant sciences, biotech etc)
• Proven experience researching and pipelining candidates for academic, scientific or technical roles
• Strong familiarity with academic and scientific career pathways, including PhD, postdoctoral and research‑led roles
• Experience reviewing and interpreting academic CVs
• Ability to conduct structured candidate screenings and produce high quality longlists and shortlists
• Experience using Linked In Recruiter and/or other research tools
• Strong organisational skills with experience managing high volumes of scheduling and coordination
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• High attention to detail and a candidate‑focused approach
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment
• Experience using ATS, CRM systems and Microsoft Office
• Knowledge of the Oxford local talent market or similar academic/scientific hubs

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience), ideally within a scientific, research or people‑related discipline
• Familiarity with recruitment compliance and basic UK employment principles

• Salary:
  Depending on Experience + travel allowance + bonus
• Enhanced holiday + options to buy additional days
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Hospital Cash Plan
• Therapy Services
• Perk Box
• Electric Car Scheme
• Childcare benefit

• You must have the right to work permanently in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. In certain cases, we can consider sponsorship, and this will be assessed on a case‑by‑case basis.
• You will live in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford (or be willing to relocate).
• This is a hybrid role, minimum 3 days per week in Oxford.