Senior Recruitment Consultant

Purpose of the Role

We are looking for an experienced, hands-on Senior Recruiter to take ownership of corporate recruitment across Core Group’s and iStores South African and African operations.

This role will focus on recruiting high-quality corporate, professional, specialist and leadership talent across a variety of business areas. You will work closely with hiring managers, executives and HR stakeholders to understand their requirements and deliver against the organisation’s current and future talent needs.

The successful candidate must be comfortable managing multiple vacancies simultaneously, building talent pipelines from scratch and recruiting for positions where the required skills may be scarce or difficult to find.

This is an opportunity for a strong recruiter who enjoys taking full ownership of the recruitment process, partnering closely with stakeholders and finding the right talent for complex and growing businesses.

Key Responsibilities

End-to-End Recruitment

• Manage the full recruitment lifecycle for corporate, professional, specialist and leadership positions across South Africa and selected African markets.
• Take full ownership of assigned vacancies, from receiving and understanding the brief through to sourcing, interviewing, assessments, pre-employment checks and offer management.
• Ensure positions are filled within agreed timelines and according to the required quality standards.
• Conduct detailed recruitment briefings with hiring managers to understand the role, team, business environment and ideal candidate profile.
• Screen, interview and assess candidates to determine their suitability for the position and the organisation.
• Provide a professional and engaging candidate experience throughout the recruitment process.
• Manage candidate communication and ensure that applicants are kept informed throughout each stage of the process.

Sourcing and Talent Pipelines

• Develop and implement effective sourcing strategies for different functions, industries and geographic markets.
• Proactively identify and engage talent rather than relying solely on inbound applications.
• Use a combination of direct sourcing, LinkedIn, referrals, professional networks, recruitment platforms and agencies where appropriate.
• Build and maintain strong talent pipelines for recurring, specialist and hard-to-fill positions.
• Conduct market mapping and talent research to identify potential candidates and understand competitor talent landscapes.
• Develop networks across key corporate and specialist talent markets in South Africa and Africa.
• Continuously identify new and creative ways to attract high-quality candidates.

Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with hiring managers, executives and HR stakeholders across Core Group.
• Act as a trusted recruitment partner by providing guidance on sourcing strategies, candidate availability, remuneration expectations and market conditions.
• Provide clear and regular updates on recruitment progress, challenges, risks and expected timelines.
• Manage stakeholder expectations and provide honest advice regarding the availability of talent within the market.
• Challenge and refine recruitment requirements where necessary to ensure that candidate expectations are realistic and aligned with business needs.
• Work closely with stakeholders across different businesses, functions and countries to ensure recruitment plans support operational priorities.

Recruitment Process and Governance

• Ensure all recruitment activities are aligned with internal policies, approval processes and local employment requirements.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date vacancy and candidate information on the applicant tracking system.
• Ensure recruitment documentation, interview feedback, approvals and candidate records are completed consistently.
• Coordinate all required assessments, reference checks, background checks and pre-employment documentation.
• Monitor recruitment timelines and proactively escalate delays or challenges.
• Maintain accurate recruitment reporting and provide insight into vacancy progress, recruitment trends and market challenges.
• Support improvements to recruitment processes, systems and the overall candidate experience.

Minimum Requirements

• Three to six years’ experience managing end-to-end corporate recruitment.
• Proven experience recruiting for professional, specialist and senior-level positions.
• Experience recruiting across multiple business functions or industries.
• Strong direct-sourcing and headhunting capability.
• Experience recruiting within South Africa is essential.
• Experience recruiting across African markets would be a strong advantage.
• Experience working with an applicant tracking system and recruitment reporting tools.
• A relevant qualification in Human Resources, Industrial Psychology, Business or a related field would be advantageous.
• Occasional travel may be required.

Experience and Skills

• Strong ability to understand complex corporate and specialist positions.
• Demonstrated success in sourcing candidates for scarce or difficult-to-fill roles.
• Ability to build talent pipelines from scratch and engage passive candidates.
• Strong interviewing, assessment and candidate-management skills.
• Excellent stakeholder-management and relationship-building capability.
• Confident engaging with senior leaders and executives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to understand different business environments.
• Ability to manage several vacancies, stakeholders and priorities simultaneously.
• Highly organised, accurate and attentive to detail.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment.
• Proactive, resilient and solutions-focused.
• Able to work independently while contributing to a collaborative recruitment team.
• An established network across corporate talent markets in South Africa or Africa would be advantageous.