Early & Emerging Talent Program Recruiter (Contract)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals•Boston, MA

21h•Hybrid

About The Position

Vertex is seeking a strategic, relationship-driven, and highly organized Early & Emerging Talent Program Recruiter to lead recruitment and program support for its MBA Associate Program and priority flagship talent programs. The recruiter will serve as a trusted talent advisor to business leaders, HR partners, executive sponsors, and university stakeholders, helping shape Vertex's future talent and leadership pipelines. Reporting to the Early & Emerging Talent team, the role covers full lifecycle recruitment, recruitment strategy, university engagement, participant experience, conversion planning, executive communications, and program measurement. This is a W2 role, with hybrid work required. The position is a temporary assignment at Vertex through a third-party agency partner; the selected individual will be an employee of that agency. The stated pay range is $55–$60 per hour, and the role is eligible for overtime pay. The recruiter will lead end-to-end recruitment for the MBA Associate Program, including workforce and headcount planning, candidate attraction and assessment, interview coordination, offers, acceptance strategy, and conversion forecasting. The role also develops university relationships and represents Vertex at campus events and other recruiting engagements. Program responsibilities include supporting managers and participants through kickoff, onboarding, orientation, check-ins, events, offboarding, and continuous improvement. The recruiter will also support PharmD Fellowships, Regulatory Affairs PhD Fellowships, and other strategic graduate-talent initiatives. The role maintains program trackers and dashboards, analyzes recruiting and program outcomes, and prepares executive-ready updates and recommendations. The recruiter is expected to build scalable processes, strengthen talent pipelines and academic partnerships, and improve candidate acceptance, participant engagement, and full-time conversion outcomes. Travel to target schools, conferences, and recruiting events may be needed, as well as commuting to the Boston area for business needs and on-site support during peak periods.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
At least 6 years of experience in talent acquisition, campus recruiting, MBA or graduate recruiting, program management, or a related function.
Proven experience managing high-visibility talent programs and building strong partnerships with business leaders and cross-functional stakeholders.
Experience recruiting and assessing graduate-level or early-career talent.
Excellent communication, presentation, relationship-building, and executive stakeholder-management skills.
Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and seasonal deadlines.
Experience using data and metrics to inform recruiting strategies and program decisions.
Proficiency with applicant tracking systems, recruiting technologies, and Microsoft Office applications.
Knowledge of applicable employment laws and recruiting practices.
Ability to travel to target schools, conferences, and recruiting events as needed.
Ability to commute to the Boston area as business and program needs require, including on-site support during peak recruitment and program periods.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting MBA, fellowship, leadership development, rotational, or other flagship talent programs.
Experience partnering with executive sponsors, steering committees, and senior business leaders.
Knowledge of workforce planning, talent-pipeline development, and conversion-focused recruiting strategies.
Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, or life sciences industry experience.
Experience developing university partnerships, campus engagement, and employer-brand strategies.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end recruitment strategy and execution for the Vertex MBA Associate Program.
Partner with executive sponsors, HR Business Partners, and hiring managers to understand workforce needs and develop targeted talent acquisition strategies.
Drive annual headcount planning, project intake, role alignment, and conversion forecasting with the Early & Emerging Talent team, HR Business Partners, business leaders, and other stakeholders.
Manage candidate attraction, screening, assessment, interview coordination, offer delivery, and acceptance strategy.
Monitor and communicate recruiting progress, talent-market insights, pipeline health, and conversion forecasts to program stakeholders.
Build talent pipelines through university partnerships, conferences, referrals, networking events, and targeted engagement.
Develop and maintain relationships with MBA programs, universities, career centers, faculty, student organizations, and external partners.
Represent Vertex at campus events, conferences, treks, career fairs, and networking engagements.
Identify emerging talent trends and recommend sourcing channels, partnerships, and year-round engagement opportunities.
Lead manager kickoff and readiness activities, including buddy assignments, onboarding, orientation, first-day support, welcome materials, program communications, and offboarding.
Plan and execute manager and participant check-ins, capstone office hours, and presentations; participate in summer event planning with the Early & Emerging Talent team.
Serve as a point of contact for participants, managers, HR stakeholders, and executive sponsors throughout program experiences.
Coordinate offboarding and communicate timelines so participants and business teams are prepared.
Drive continuous improvement based on participant, manager, and stakeholder feedback.
Support recruitment and delivery for PharmD Fellowships, Regulatory Affairs PhD Fellowships, and other strategic graduate-talent initiatives.
Partner with academic institutions and internal steering committees to coordinate job postings, candidate review, screening, panel interviews, selection, offers, onboarding, and orientation.
Guide eligible participants through internal networking and full-time recruitment processes.
Build scalable and consistent processes across the Early & Emerging Talent portfolio while tailoring delivery to individual program needs.
Maintain trackers and dashboards covering pipeline health, offer status, university contacts, recruiting events, participant milestones, and conversion outcomes.
Analyze recruiting effectiveness, acceptance and conversion outcomes, participant feedback, and program performance.
Produce executive-ready updates and recommendations for Early & Emerging Talent leaders, business stakeholders, steering committees, and executive sponsors.
Use data and stakeholder feedback to improve recruiting strategies, program experiences, and operational effectiveness.