Senior Specialist Talent: External Pipel

Job Description

Role purpose

The Senior Specialist, Talent – External Pipeline is responsible for building and managing external talent pipelines to meet the company’s hiring needs in line with its vision.
Key duties include organizing talent fairs to support technology, diversity, and youth initiatives, headhunting top candidates through networks like LinkedIn and industry job boards, and fostering relationships with passive talent to ensure a robust, diverse talent pool. This role helps realize the Employer Value Proposition by attracting and developing future talent aligned with our commitment to growth, inclusion, and meaningful impact.

Key accountabilities

Youth Integration & Early Talent Programs
Manage youth integration programs from recruitment to placement.
Work with HRBPs for successful graduate and intern placements.
Review and advise on assessment and placement guidelines aligned with EHOD Talent strategy.
Support talent projects and implement assessment tools and selection processes.

Talent Sourcing, Headhunting & Market Mapping

Source specialized talent using LinkedIn, industry networks, job boards, and professional associations.
Map the market to engage passive candidates for future needs.
Build a diverse talent pipeline by fostering ongoing relationships.
Track records and statistics to monitor sourcing performance.

Engagement & Community Development

Establish and maintain connections with talent communities, alumni groups, and external networks.
Develop engagement initiatives—such as training refreshers, alumni gatherings, and social media campaigns—to enhance continual involvement.
Introduce well-defined incentive programs to promote sustained engagement among community trainers.
Oversee the administration of the external student research program to ensure all processes remain rigorous and effective.

Employer Value Proposition (EVP) Activation

Integrate Vodacom’s EVP pillars—growth, innovation, belonging, purpose—into all external talent interactions.
Make the candidate journey consistent, inspiring, and aligned with EVP.
Promote initiatives that strengthen Vodacom’s reputation as an employer of choice for youth, tech talent, women, and diverse groups.

Stakeholder & Partnership Management

Build strong internal partnerships with Group, Foundation, Marketing, HRBPs, and business units.
Develop and maintain external partnerships with universities, schools, government bodies, and associations (youth, women, disability).
Collaborate with stakeholders to share impact stories and communicate talent activities through media and comms channels.

Field Activities & Talent Outreach

Organize and lead field activities including the Women Forum, International Women’s Week, Open Doors, and school/university tours.
Execute talent fairs and outreach campaigns to maximize employer brand visibility and attract quality candidates.

Onboarding & Induction

Deliver customized, innovative onboarding and digital induction programs for external hires.
Ensure content is engaging, relevant, and aligned with organizational culture and expectations.

Diversity, Inclusion & Youth Advocacy

Drive Vodacom’s diversity agenda across gender equality, disability inclusion, and youth empowerment.
Ensure pipeline programs reflect inclusive development and leadership priorities.

Budget & Supplier Management

Manage the Talent budget with disciplined planning, cost efficiency, and timely financial processes.
Oversee payments and relationships with external talent suppliers.

Reporting & Compliance

Produce accurate monthly reports capturing key activities and performance indicators.
Maintain compliant, audit ready records across all pipeline initiatives.
Safeguard all talent related tools, platforms, and assets used in sourcing, assessment, and community initiatives, ensuring secure and compliant usage.

Core competencies, knowledge and experience

• Strong understanding of employer branding and the dynamics of Employee Value Proposition activation.
• Ability to translate EVP concepts into practical talent engagement activities.
• Planning, organizing and co‑ordination; project management skills (very high).
• Ability to work independently (very high) and under pressure.
• Energetic, resilient, self‑driven and result‑orientated (very high).
• Customer obsession; innovation and creativity.
• Assessment and potential evaluation methodology.
• Very good communication skills, including presentation skills.
• Experience working within complex multinational and/or multicultural environments.
  Willing to travel when needed.

Preferred qualifications/experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Development, or a qualification related to Business Administration.
• At least 2–3 years’ experience in a similar position; supervisory or managerial experience is essential.
• Excellent English communication in writing and speaking (a must).
• Computer literacy in Microsoft Office 365 suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.) (a must).
• Talent pipeline management (desired).

Key performance indicators

• Number of active talent pipelines maintained within the organization.
• Engagement index: Level of alumni engagement, measured by quantity and quality of testimonials and achievement of set community targets.
• Conversion rate: Percentage of alumni integrated through internships, graduate programs, bursaries, and meaningful placements.
• Achievement rates for gender, youth, and other diversity-related key performance metrics.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS) from stakeholder satisfaction surveys reflecting effectiveness of onboarding and talent programs.
• Employer brand visibility index and degree of alignment with Employer Value Proposition (EVP) across external pipeline initiatives.
• Attraction & Conversion: Effective attraction and conversion of high-potential candidates aligned with EVP priorities.
• Pipeline Effectiveness Rate: Percentage of sourced candidates for key roles who reach the interview stage within set timelines, reflecting sourcing impact and efficiency.
• Pipeline Growth & Engagement: Counts vetted, engaged passive candidates added quarterly for priority roles, indicating ongoing pipeline strength and organizational readiness.