People & Talent Experience Lead

People & Talent Experience Lead

• Application Deadline: 23 November 2026
• Department: People, Finance and Technology
• Employment Type: Permanent
• Location: Manchester - Carrington Training Complex & Old Trafford

Description

At Manchester United, we believe that excellence on the pitch starts with excellence off the pitch. Our team thrives in a high-performance environment, united by a shared passion for success. We aim to elevate the standard of performance through collaboration and continuous growth, creating a space where everyone can contribute their best to our common goals.

We work together at our iconic Manchester United offices, enabling connection and innovation as we look ahead to what we can achieve as a global football club. We are excited to bring in passionate people who share our vision and drive for success.

A great opportunity for someone early in their People career who wants to broaden their experience across Talent, People Partnering and Recruitment, take ownership of meaningful projects and continue to develop.

Reporting to the Head of People Partnering & Talent, you’ll help deliver priorities across organisational effectiveness, future skills, succession planning, early talent, talent development, inclusive hiring and internal mobility.

You’ll primarily focus on Talent and People Partnering projects, while flexing across the wider People agenda. Recruitment activity will be delivered through a dotted-line relationship with the Head of Talent, alongside support for our Early Talent Programme, employee relations during busy periods, and talent data and reporting.

You’ll work closely with colleagues across the People Team to deliver well-coordinated projects, inclusive people practices and a great experience for our people and candidates.

Key Responsibilities

Talent & People Partnering Projects

• Translate strategic Talent and People Partnering priorities into clear project plans, coordinated activity and measurable outcomes.
• Support organisational effectiveness reviews through coordination, insight gathering and implementation activity.
• Contribute to future-skills and workforce-planning activity, helping identify emerging capability needs and associated people actions.
• Support succession-planning processes by coordinating talent information, tracking actions and enabling effective review discussions.
• Coordinate and enhance Talent Development Programmes, including the Early Talent Programme, from a Talent Experience perspective.
• Support inclusive hiring across projects and recruitment activity by reviewing processes, broadening access and improving the candidate and hiring-manager experience.
• Support internal mobility and secondments by coordinating opportunities, processes and activity tracking.

Recruitment & Talent Partnership

• Partner with hiring managers to clarify recruitment needs, agree role requirements and develop practical talent plans. Deliver recruitment activity through the dotted-line relationship with the Head of Talent.
• Provide responsive, well-informed recruitment advice, using market insight and data to support hiring decisions and an inclusive, high-quality candidate experience.
• Use a broad range of search techniques and channels to identify high-calibre passive and active talent.
• Develop thoughtful, personalised approaches that communicate the Club opportunity and build credible, long-term candidate relationships.
• Screen and assess prospective candidates against the agreed role brief, sharing clear shortlisting insight with hiring teams.
• Help create and nurture talent communities for recurring and hard-to-fill capability areas.

Research, Mapping, Market Insight & Tracking

• Support priority, specialist and harder-to-fill recruitment campaigns by producing focused talent maps, market research and candidate intelligence.
• Contribute to inclusive market maps by identifying relevant organisations, talent pools, adjacent sectors and transferable skill sets.
• Gather and summarise benchmarking and market insight on talent availability, competitor activity, role profiles and candidate expectations.
• Use research findings to support practical recommendations on sourcing and search activity.
• Maintain accurate talent intelligence and candidate records. Work with People Services to track recruitment and wider talent activity and produce timely, reliable updates.

Employee Relations Support

• Provide employee-relations support during periods of high volume or as otherwise required, working within agreed processes and escalating appropriately.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Experience of delivering Talent or People Partnering projects and supporting wider People priorities.
• Some recruitment experience is desirable, including exposure to supporting hiring managers, candidate engagement or recruitment delivery.
• Strong project coordination skills, with the ability to translate priorities into practical plans, manage actions and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Strong relationship-building, communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the confidence to clarify needs and provide constructive advice.
• Sound judgement and the ability to gather information, identify themes and communicate clear findings and recommendations.
• Well organised and able to manage multiple projects and operational activities while maintaining quality and attention to detail.
• A practical understanding of organisational effectiveness, future skills, succession planning, talent development, inclusive hiring and internal mobility.
• Comfortable using People and recruitment technology, data and automation to improve efficiency and support informed decisions.
• The confidence to provide proportionate employee-relations support when required, following agreed guidance and recognising when to escalate.
• A collaborative, curious and flexible working style, with commercial awareness and the ability to adapt as priorities evolve.
• A strong commitment to EDI and inclusive People practices, with a focus on delivering an excellent experience for candidates, employees and hiring managers.

What we offer

At Manchester United, we recognise that our people are at the heart of our success. That’s why we offer a range of rewards designed to support your professional and personal well-being:

• Annual Incentive Scheme to reward your dedication and hard work
• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) and an opportunity to purchase additional holiday days
• Electric Vehicle scheme via Octopus and cycle to work scheme
• Health Cash Plan: Supporting you with your everyday healthcare needs
• Wellness Support with access to mental health resources, digital health checks, and & nutritionists through Aviva Digicare+ Workplace
• Exclusive Discounts through our United Rewards platform, giving you access to exclusive deals from the club and partners
• Gym Facilities in our onsite locations and opportunities for regular social events and team-building activities
• Enhanced family Leave Benefits and policies
• Enhanced Career Development with access to professional learning platforms like LinkedIn Learning, and internal training programs
• A Supportive Work Environment that values diversity, equity and inclusion, and individual growth