Senior Sourcing Specialist: Executive Hiring

Absa is seeking a seasoned Senior Sourcing Specialist to spearhead the development and nurturing of its executive talent pipeline across Africa. This pivotal role is integral to Absa's long-term vision of empowering the continent's future, focusing on proactive talent identification and strategic engagement rather than the full recruitment cycle. The successful candidate will be instrumental in building robust networks, gathering critical market intelligence, and ensuring Absa has access to the calibre of leadership required for its ongoing growth and transformation.

Strategic Talent Acquisition and Intelligence

This role sits at the forefront of Absa's executive talent strategy, requiring a deep understanding of pan-African markets and leadership dynamics. You will be responsible for meticulously mapping executive talent across diverse sectors and competitor organisations, staying ahead of market trends, and anticipating future leadership needs. This involves not just identifying potential candidates, but also understanding the intricate movements within leadership landscapes and the evolving requirements for executive capabilities. Your insights will directly inform workforce planning and succession discussions, ensuring Absa is well-equipped to meet its strategic objectives.

Your responsibilities in this area will include:

• Conducting in-depth market mapping to identify top-tier executive talent within key industries and geographies.
• Developing and maintaining a comprehensive understanding of leadership talent trends, competitor movements, and emerging skill demands.
• Providing strategic talent landscape insights to support proactive workforce planning and succession initiatives.
• Monitoring competitor hiring activities, organisational shifts, and executive mobility to inform talent strategies.
• Producing insightful market intelligence reports to guide sourcing approaches and leadership talent acquisition.
• Identifying emerging executive talent and future-fit leadership capabilities crucial for Absa's strategic direction.

Building and Engaging High-Calibre Talent Pools

A core component of this position is the strategic sourcing and engagement of executive talent. You will design and implement targeted strategies to identify, approach, and cultivate relationships with passive candidates who possess the skills and experience Absa needs. This is about building long-term connections and nurturing a pipeline of exceptional leaders, with a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion. You will actively seek out talent from underrepresented groups, embedding these principles into all sourcing methodologies.

Key aspects of this function involve:

• Designing and executing sophisticated sourcing strategies for niche and executive leadership roles.
• Proactively engaging passive executive candidates through direct search, networking, and relationship-building.
• Establishing and maintaining diverse executive talent pools aligned with critical leadership competencies and future business needs.
• Ensuring talent pools reflect Absa's commitment to transformation, diversity, and pan-African talent objectives.
• Building and nurturing robust talent communities within priority leadership disciplines and markets.
• Maintaining ongoing dialogue and engagement with prospective executive talent.
• Strengthening Absa's employer brand and presence within relevant executive talent networks.
• Conducting thorough executive search research to create detailed candidate longlists aligned with success profiles.
• Validating candidate suitability through desk research, market referencing, and intelligence gathering.

Furthermore, you will leverage data analytics to continuously refine sourcing effectiveness and pipeline conversion. Collaborating with employer branding teams, you will champion Absa's executive value proposition, positioning the organisation as an employer of choice. This role requires advanced knowledge of executive search methodologies, leadership capability frameworks, market dynamics, and pan-African talent considerations. Strong stakeholder engagement, strategic thinking, and commercial acumen are essential for success.

In South Africa, a Senior Sourcing Specialist role, particularly one focused on executive hiring within a large financial institution like Absa, would typically command a competitive salary, reflecting the specialised skills and strategic importance of the position. Such roles are often found within large corporate organisations, particularly in the financial services, telecommunications, and mining sectors, which have a significant presence in Gauteng. Career progression could lead to management roles within talent acquisition or broader human capital leadership positions.

 

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

 

Education / Qualification:

• Bachelor’s Degree, Advanced Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate or B Tech (NQF Level 7) in Human Resources, Industrial/Organisational Psychology, Business Administration, or a related field.

 

Work Experience:

• 5-12 years’ experience in talent acquisition or executive search, including 3 years of exposure to executive-level hiring across multiple business capabilities and geographies across Africa and global markets.
• Exposure to process design, optimisation, quality management, customer centricity, technology and data-driven decision-making is preferred.

 

COMPETENCIES:

 

Technical Competencies:

• Executive search strategy design and advanced sourcing methodologies
• Talent analytics, market intelligence, and insight generation
• Governance frameworks and process optimisation
• Advanced assessment and selection methodologies
• Offer strategy and executive value proposition design

 

Behavioural Competencies:

• Strategic decision making and initiative
• Advanced critical thinking and complex problem solving
• Strong commercial and business acumen
• Impactful and persuasive communication
• Relationship building and organisational influence
• Planning, organising, and executing at scale
• Adaptability in complex and changing environments
• Customer and stakeholder value focus

 

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Thinking
• Business Acumen
• Communication
• Influence
• Leadership
• Delivering Results
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Decision-Making

Education

Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Human and Social Studies (Required)

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised