Recruitment Specialist

About Cognita: Cognita is a global leader in independent education. Founded in 2004, we are a growing community of 90 schools in 20 countries - in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East - serving more than 100,000 students. Each of our schools are proudly unique, however our collective purpose is to create an environment where everyone can, "Thrive in a rapidly evolving world". We now have an exciting opportunity for an experienced JOB.TITLE to join our fantastic team to support the schools in our Madrid cluster in Spain. About the Role: As a Recruitment Specialist, you will play a key role in delivering end-to-end recruitment across our Madrid cluster schools, ensuring a seamless and high-quality hiring experience from vacancy approval through to a successful first day. Working closely with HR Business Partners, school leaders and central teams, you will manage the full recruitment lifecycle, including sourcing, interviewing, offer management, pre-employment checks and onboarding coordination. You will take ownership of urgent hiring requirements, building and maintaining talent pipelines to support both planned and last-minute staffing needs, while driving proactive sourcing strategies for hard-to-fill teaching and specialist positions. With a strong focus on candidate experience, stakeholder partnership and continuous improvement, you will ensure schools are staffed with exceptional talent at the right time, adapting recruitment approaches to meet the unique needs and culture of each school while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and consistency across the recruitment process. This is a permanent, full-time role with an immediate start date. To view our Role Profile, click here. Who We Are Looking For: We are looking for a proactive and highly organised recruitment professional with proven experience managing end-to-end recruitment processes, ideally within education or a multi-site organisation. You will be confident managing multiple vacancies simultaneously, balancing competing priorities and responding quickly to urgent hiring needs without compromising quality. With strong stakeholder management skills, you will be comfortable partnering with school leaders, HR teams and candidates in a fast-paced environment. You will have experience using Applicant Tracking Systems, LinkedIn Recruiter and direct sourcing techniques to attract top talent, including international candidates, and will be fluent in both English and Spanish. A keen eye for detail, a strong sense of ownership and a commitment to delivering an exceptional candidate experience are essential. Experience within international schools, knowledge of safeguarding requirements and familiarity with platforms such as TES would be advantageous. How to Apply: Complete this application before the closing date: 30 November 2026. Cognita Schools are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, volunteers and other third parties to share this commitment. Safer recruitment practice and pre-employment background checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. We are an equal opportunities employer committed to diversity and treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of background. Early applications are encouraged, we reserve the right to interview and appoint prior to closing date for the right applicant.