Talent Acquisition Lead - Operations

At Carma, we're more than just a car company-we're on a mission to shake up the Australian automotive industry! As a digital pre-owned car dealership, we're turning the car buying (and selling!) experience into a hassle-free, seamless journey that customers can truly enjoy. With our diverse and collaborative team managing everything from engineering to marketing and buying to reconditioning in-house, we're powered by the best people-and we'd love for you to come along for the ride!

As a Talent Acquisition Lead, you'll play a critical role in leading and delivering recruitment across Carma's high-pace operational environments.

You'll work closely with stakeholders across our production facilities to understand workforce requirements and build practical recruitment strategies that attract and retain top talent.

This is a hands-on TA leadership role, with a strong focus on frontline, skilled trades, automotive and operational hiring. You'll balance high-volume recruitment with targeted sourcing for hard-to-find technical talent, while coaching the TA team, improving recruitment processes and helping Carma scale its operational workforce.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead recruitment across Carma’s operational workforce, partnering closely with production and operational leaders to understand workforce requirements and deliver against hiring plans.
• Build and execute practical sourcing strategies across high-volume frontline roles and hard-to-fill skilled positions, using direct sourcing, referrals, job boards, agencies and non-traditional talent channels.
• Own high-volume recruitment campaigns when operational demand changes, quickly scaling attraction and selection activity to ensure critical vacancies are filled.
• Personally recruit key and difficult-to-fill positions, particularly across automotive, skilled trades, production, logistics and operational functions.
• Support and coach the TA team, setting priorities, allocating workloads, removing roadblocks and creating accountability for delivery, candidate experience and quality of hire.
• Partner with operational leaders on workforce planning, translating headcount requirements, turnover, productivity and operational demand into clear recruitment plans.
• Build strong talent pipelines for recurring and specialist roles, reducing reliance on reactive recruitment and creating sustainable talent pools for Carma’s growing operational workforce.
• Use recruitment data to drive decisions, tracking vacancy levels, time-to-fill, source effectiveness, conversion, offer acceptance, quality of hire and other key metrics to identify bottlenecks and improve outcomes.
• Improve the way Carma recruits, identifying opportunities to simplify processes, improve candidate experience, increase hiring manager capability and introduce greater consistency across sites.
• Leverage technology, automation and AI to reduce recruitment administration, improve candidate engagement and make the TA team more efficient and data-driven.
• Act as a trusted recruitment partner to senior stakeholders, providing market insight, challenging assumptions where needed and ensuring hiring decisions balance speed, quality and operational requirements.
• Help shape Carma’s employer brand and attraction strategy for frontline and skilled talent, ensuring we stand out in competitive automotive and operational talent markets.
• Be hands-on when required-jumping into sourcing, screening, interviewing, stakeholder meetings and recruitment campaigns when priorities or hiring volumes demand it.

About you:

• Proven experience successfully delivering full-cycle recruitment in complex, fast-paced environments
• Demonstrated experience leading, managing, or mentoring a Talent Acquisition team, with a strong ability to coach and set direction
• Proven track record in high-volume recruitment as well as targeted sourcing for difficult-to-fill technical, skilled, and frontline roles
• Strong understanding of technical and operational talent markets, with the ability to quickly grasp specialist capabilities
• Experience partnering with executive stakeholders and business leaders to develop attraction strategies and workforce plans
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at all levels
• Strong commercial awareness with a highly organized approach to managing competing priorities
• A continuous improvement mindset, comfortable working in fast-paced or ambiguous environments to build structure and better ways of working
• Tech-savvy with a passion for adopting new recruitment tools, systems, and technologies
• A true ambassador for Carma who brings their personality, perspective, energy, and values to work every day

What's in it for you?

• Join one of Australia's fastest-growing automotive businesses and lead how we attract, hire, and develop top talent
• Drive strategic recruitment initiatives that directly shape our teams and company growth
• Work alongside passionate teams in a collaborative, high-growth environment where your ideas genuinely make an impact
• Our open-plan office comes fuelled with fresh coffee, a snack stash for any craving, and Friday rooftop drinks to keep your energy in the fast lane!
• Sweet perks because, well, we're a car business-enjoy discounts on Carma cars, parts, and NRMA cover to rev up your ride!

At Carma, we're all about fostering an amazing culture where you can bring your best self to work. We value collaboration, innovation and having a laugh along the way. We're committed to diversity, inclusion and safe work practices, so no matter your background or experience (or car brand of choice!), we'd love to hear from you. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process.