Candidate Acquisition & Business Development
- Conduct consistent, high-volume outbound prospecting to identify and engage qualified social workers.
- Develop relationships with new and existing candidates to understand their professional experience, career objectives and employment preferences.
- Proactively generate candidate opportunities through telephone outreach, job boards, CV databases, LinkedIn, referrals and other appropriate channels.
- Develop creative and commercially effective approaches to candidate acquisition.
- Maintain persistence through rejection and periods of limited immediate success.
- Continuously evaluate and improve the quality and effectiveness of candidate conversations.
- Candidate Qualification & Commercial Judgement
- Develop a detailed understanding of the Qualified Social Work sector, including different service areas, team structures and job requirements.
- Review CVs and assess candidates' relevant experience against live vacancies.
- Conduct thorough telephone qualification to establish suitability, availability, location preferences, rate expectations and career objectives.
- Understand market conditions, prevailing pay rates and client requirements to identify commercially
viable placement opportunities.
- Prioritise candidates and opportunities based on suitability, placement potential and commercial value.
- Work collaboratively with the Talent Support and Compliance teams to progress candidates through the recruitment process.
Pipeline Management & Commercial Delivery
- Build, maintain and develop a structured pipeline of qualified social workers.
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date CRM records, candidate information and follow-up actions.
- Manage daily activities effectively, balancing outbound prospecting, candidate management and live recruitment opportunities.
- Respond to changing desk priorities while maintaining ownership of existing commitments.
- Progress candidates through the recruitment process, from initial engagement to successful placement.
- Develop a sustainable book of business generating recurring weekly gross profit.
Candidate Experience & Professional Standards
- Deliver a premium, professional and consistent standard of service to all candidates.
- Maintain regular communication and provide timely updates throughout the recruitment process.
- Handle objections, difficult conversations and disappointment with professionalism and emotional
composure.
- Build long-term candidate relationships based on honesty, responsiveness and trust.
- Take ownership of candidate concerns and follow through on commitments.
- Represent Ardent Social's values and reputation in every professional interaction.
Learning, Development & Continuous Improvement
- Take personal responsibility for developing recruitment knowledge, sales capability and understanding of the Social Work sector.
- Actively participate in training, coaching, call reviews and performance discussions.
- Independently research unfamiliar areas, ask informed questions and apply learning to daily activities.
- Seek constructive feedback and demonstrate measurable improvement.
- Identify personal performance gaps and proactively develop improvement plans.
- Contribute ideas to improve candidate acquisition, recruitment processes and commercial performance.
Training
- Full training will be given leading to a recognised Level 3 Recruiter Apprenticeship Standard Qualification
- Full on-the-job training will be delivered
- Off-the-job training will be supported by our Training Provider, Davidson Training UK Ltd
- All training is carried out within the workplace during working hours
After the apprenticeship
The role offers structured development over 12 months, starting with intensive training in recruitment, candidate sourcing, business development and pipeline management. The aim is to build towards independent recruitment activity, with a target of £1,500 recurring weekly gross profit by month 12 and a longer-term ambition of £3,000+.Ardent Social offers a performance-led career pathway.
The initial objective is to become a successful, independent billing consultant.
As experience and commercial performance develop, opportunities may include progression into senior or
principal billing positions, or a future billing management pathway for those who demonstrate the required
capability and wish to pursue leadership.
Progression will be based on demonstrated performance, professional development and business requirements.
Things to consider
The ideal candidate is ambitious, resilient and commercially minded, with strong communication skills and a genuine desire to build a successful recruitment career. They should be disciplined, proactive, coachable and comfortable with targets, prospecting and rejection. Previous sales or customer service experience is beneficial but not essential. Attitude, initiative, accountability and a willingness to learn are key.