About AstraZeneca  

AstraZeneca is a global, science‑led, patient‑focused biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes prescription medicines for some of the world’s most serious diseases. We work in a fast‑paced, agile environment powered by technology and digital innovation, united by a shared purpose to deliver life‑changing medicines.

We are looking for a Global Talent Acquisition Lead, Enabling Functions to provide strategic Talent Acquisition leadership across Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Compliance, Global Portfolio & Project Management, and Global Corporate Affairs.

In this role, you will translate business and people priorities into coordinated, measurable Talent Acquisition strategies and plans. You will bring together business leaders, HR, Talent Acquisition partners, Centres of Excellence, executive scouts and talent scouts to create a clear view of hiring demand, priorities, pipelines, risks and talent-market insights.

This is a highly influential role in a complex, global matrix environment. You will lead through partnership and orchestration rather than direct line authority, ensuring

that Talent Acquisition delivery is connected, consistent, insight-led and focused on business impact.

Key responsibilities

Strategic partnership and decision-making

• Act as a senior Talent Acquisition point of contact for the Enabling Functions portfolio and their leadership teams.
• Partner with business leaders, HR Vice Presidents, HR Directors, Finance, Talent Acquisition Business Partners, Centres of Excellence and Talent Scouts.
• Translate business and workforce priorities into practical hiring strategies, plans and priorities.
• Provide constructive challenge and sound judgement on business-critical hiring decisions, delivery risks and trade-offs.
• Escalate material risks, enterprise dependencies and cross-functional issues appropriately.

Employer brand and recruitment marketing

• Own and oversee employer branding and recruitment marketing strategies for Enabling talent.
• Lead targeted, multi-channel campaigns aligned with priority talent builds and hiring waves.
• Develop compelling and credible market narratives for specialist and scarce-skill talent.
• Use data, market feedback and outcomes to optimise recruitment marketing activity and demonstrate impact.

Talent insights and data-led decisions

• Generate and use talent-market intelligence, including pipeline health, skills supply and demand, competitor activity and external talent trends.
• Translate complex data into clear, executive-ready insights that inform prioritisation, sequencing and risk management.
• Provide forward-looking advice on hiring waves, location strategy and capability-build phasing.
• Identify emerging bottlenecks, opportunities and risks associated with specialist and high-impact hiring.

Innovation and Talent Acquisition impact

• Champion the responsible use of AI and digital tools to improve Talent Acquisition workflows, productivity, decision-making and candidate experience.
• Test and scale new digital approaches based on evidence, user feedback and measurable outcomes.
• Help evolve Talent Acquisition measures beyond activity and speed, including talent quality, hiring for potential, skills outcomes and pipeline health.
• Use insight to demonstrate value, guide investment and drive continuous improvement.

Enterprise hiring and global orchestration

• Lead Enabling hiring builds, with accountability for pace, quality, outcomes and risk.
• Support rapid-scale hiring, specialist capability builds and evolving organisational structures.
• Coordinate delivery across regions to promote consistency, quality and effective execution.
• Mobilise priorities across HR and Talent Acquisition communities with clarity and discipline.
• Support adoption of global Talent Acquisition standards, processes and systems across markets.

What you’ll bring

• Significant senior-level experience in global Talent Acquisition, talent strategy or a comparable complex, matrixed environment.
• A strong track record of translating business and workforce priorities into effective Talent Acquisition strategies and delivery plans.
• Experience leading through influence across multiple functions, geographies and delivery teams.
• Credibility with senior executives and HR leaders, with the confidence to provide constructive challenge and make informed trade-off decisions.
• Strong knowledge of workforce planning, demand planning, workforce analytics, talent-market intelligence and insight-led decision-making.
• Experience delivering executive, critical, specialist and high-impact hiring, including confidential recruitment activity.
• Experience shaping employer brand, recruitment marketing, skills-based hiring, assessment or talent-pipeline strategies.
• The ability to manage ambiguity and competing priorities while maintaining ownership, pace and momentum.
• Excellent executive communication, storytelling and stakeholder-engagement skills.
• A clear commitment to inclusive hiring, candidate experience, global consistency and the responsible use of data and technology.
• Strong digital literacy, including confident and responsible use of AI-enabled tools.
• A demonstrable record of innovation, experimentation and continuous improvement in Talent Acquisition services, workflows or operating models.
• Experience defining or using outcome-based measures of Talent Acquisition impact, such as talent quality, hiring for potential, skills outcomes or pipeline health.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to shape Talent Acquisition across a strategically important global portfolio. You will work with senior leaders and expert colleagues across functions and markets, helping to build the capabilities needed for the organisation’s future.

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity.  We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills.  We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.  We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics.  We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.