Principal Talent Acquisition Specialist - French speaker

Summary

The Principal Recruitment Specialist is a senior individual contributor based in our Barcelona office, responsible for delivering high‑impact recruitment across Europe, particularly in France, Spain, the UK and Portugal. The role blends hands‑on senior and executive hiring with strategic advisory work, market intelligence, and leadership support, while also playing a significant part in talent‑acquisition transformation. This includes driving adoption of new technologies, exploring innovative recruitment solutions, and ensuring strong alignment between organisational needs and the candidate market.

Key responsibilities

• Managing the full recruitment lifecycle for complex, senior roles, conducting intake meetings, competency‑based interviews, guiding hiring managers, and shaping the overall candidate journey.

• Building trusted relationships with leaders and candidates, advising on market trends, job architecture and strategic hiring decisions, and negotiating offers with sensitivity and credibility.

• Leading or supporting improvement initiatives across EMEA or global teams, influencing stakeholders to adopt better processes, ensuring consistent Workday utilisation, and making data‑driven recommendations.

• Mentoring and onboarding fellow recruiters, acting as a subject‑matter expert for complex hiring challenges, and strengthening hiring‑manager capability through coaching and workshops.

• Acting as an employer brand ambassador, maintaining long‑term candidate relationships, and representing the organisation externally when needed.

The ideal candidate

• Strong track record in senior and executive recruitment across multiple European markets, with excellent competency‑based interviewing and stakeholder‑management skills.

• High commercial awareness, strong communication skills, and the ability to influence senior leaders and navigate complex, ambiguous environments.

• Deep curiosity and passion for innovation, with proven experience identifying automation opportunities, working with recruitment tools, experimenting with new technologies, and helping deploy AI‑driven or automated solutions.

• Confident use of ATS systems (preferably Workday) and data insights, along with experience contributing to recruitment transformation, process optimisation, and continuous improvement.

• Fluency in English and French, with Spanish as a plus, and the ability to collaborate effectively across culturally diverse teams.

What We Can Offer You:

• 💰 A complete rewards offer - Amadeus provides attractive remuneration packages, covering all essential components of a competitive reward offer.

• 🌎 A truly global DNA - Everything at Amadeus is global, from our people to our business, which translates into our footprint, processes, and culture.

• 🎓 Great opportunities to learn - Learning happens all the time and in many ways at Amadeus, through on-the-job training, formal learning activities, and day-to-day interactions with colleagues.

• 🤗 A caring environment - Amadeus fosters a caring environment, nurturing both a fulfilling career and personal and family life. We care about our employees and strive to provide a supportive work environment.

• 🌟 A hybrid working model - We want our employees to do their best work, however the hybrid model works best for them.

• 🌈 A diverse and inclusive community - We are committed to leveraging our uniquely diverse population to drive innovation, creativity, and collaboration across our organization.

• 📈 A Reliable Company - Trust and reliability are fundamental values that drive our actions and shape long-lasting relationships with our customers, partners, and employees.

• 🎯 A critical mission and purpose - At Amadeus, you will be powering the future of travel and pursuing a critical mission and extraordinary purpose.

Diversity & Inclusion

Amadeus aspires to be a leader in Diversity and Inclusion in the tech industry, enabling every employee to reach their full potential by fostering a culture of belonging and fair treatment, attracting the best talent from all backgrounds, and as a role model for an inclusive employee experience. 

Amadeus is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, beliefs, disability or any other characteristics protected by law.