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With 317 entries from organisations across the UK, earning a British Recruitment Award was an exceptional achievement. And last night, the British Recruitment Awards Judging panel was proud to reveal its 2026 Winners!
Powered by employee insight platform, New Possible, the British Recruitment Awards sets out to discover and celebrate the individuals and teams who are truly passionate about recruitment’s role in building a thriving organisation. Organisations taking part this year ranged from start-up pioneers to public sector heroes, tech trailblazers, global titans and everything in between. Irrespective of organisation size, industry or resources, all Winners and Finalists shared how their initiatives are transforming recruitment and delivering tangible value for their organisations.
A huge thanks to the British Recruitment Awards 2026 all-star judging panel for reviewing the entries and sharing their expertise:
Paul Bowles, VP, Talent Acquisition & Development at Nokia | Lauren Bradley, Head of Talent Acquisition at Warburtons | Laura Callaghan, Global Talent Acquisition Leader at Western Union | Rob Davies, Head of Recruitment at Grant Thornton | Liz Dowling, Chief People Officer at VIOOH | Kiran Fraser-Neve, Head of Talent Acquisition (UK) at The HEINEKEN Company | Tom Hadley, Independent Workforce Consultant and Future of Work Activist | Claire Hamilton, UK Head of Talent Acquisition at Capgemini | Martin Haywood, Head of Talent Acquisition - EMEA at Digital Realty | Steve Jacobs, Managing Director at Alderson James Group | Sharlene John, Head of DE&I, Recruitment & Onboarding at Selfridges | Saqib Khan, Senior Director Global Talent Acquisition at Paramount International | Mark Kunaseelan, Head of Resourcing at University of the Arts London | Gordon Macfarlane, Head of Resourcing at SSE | Ben Murphy-Ryan, Talent Acquisition Director at evoke | Liz Oldridge, Head of TA EU Consumer and Retail at Amazon | Professor Emma Parry, Director, People, Skills & Leadership Theme at Cranfield School of Management | Ross Swan, Partner – Strategic Resourcing Solutions at BDO LLP | Oli Urpi, Head of Talent Acquisition and Employer Brand at Southern Water
And so, without any further ado, the full list of Winners and those awarded Highly Commended are:
Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year (Sponsored by K.A.G Recruitment): Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland (Winner) | Tetra Tech Europe (Highly Commended)
Talent Acquisition Strategy of the Year: Oviva (Winner) | NHS Property Services (Highly Commended)
Executive Search Strategy of the Year: La Fosse (Winner)
Fast Growth Hiring Strategy of the Year: Arch Insurance International (Winner)
Recruitment Campaign of the Year: Wiltshire Council (Winner) | Circet (Highly Commended)
Innovation of the Year: Village Hotel Club (Winner) | Candid Hospitality (Highly Commended)
AI in Recruitment Initiative of the Year: Alfa AI (Winner) | Dovetail & Slate (Highly Commended)
Technology Partner of the Year: Panther (Winner) | Happydance (Highly Commended)
Candidate Experience of the Year: K.A.G. Recruitment Consultancy (Winner) | Oakley Recruitment (Winner)
People Awards
Leader of the Year (In-House) (Sponsored by Workable): Charlotte Pattison, Global Talent Acquisition Director at Reckitt (Winner) | Alex Walker, Head of Recruitment at Tandem Bank (Highly Commended) | Alicia Zarandi, Head of Talent Acquisition at Crowe UK (Highly Commended) | Debbie Cole, Head of Resourcing UK at MBDA UK (Highly Commended)
Rising Star of the Year (In-House) (Presented by The Talent Community): Jonah Philpott, Senior Recruitment Advisor at Browne Jacobson (Winner)
Leader of the Year (Agency): Maryna Stiahailo, CEO and Owner at NextGenHR (Winner) | Natasha Makhijani, CEO at Oliver Sanderson Group (Highly Commended)
Rising Star of the Year (Agency) (Presented by The Talent Community): Bella Howell, Trainee Recruitment Consultant at Oakley Recruitment (Winner) | Luke Boatman, Managing Consultant at Connect2Kent (Highly Commended)
In-House Awards
In-House Recruitment Team of the Year (<1,000 employees): Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (Winner)
In-House Recruitment Team of the Year (1,000-5,000 employees): British Heart Foundation (Winner) | Oviva (Winner)
In-House Recruitment Team of the Year (>5,000 employees) (Sponsored by Workable): Sanctuary Care (Winner) | Octopus Energy (Highly Commended)
Employer Brand of the Year: Workday (Winner) | Sanctuary Care (Highly Commended)
Career Site of the Year: TFY (Transformify) (Winner)
Early Careers Employer of the Year: Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland (Winner)
Agency Awards
Best Place to Work in Recruitment: Edison Smart (Winner) | New Star Care (Highly Commended)
Agency Recruitment Team of the Year (<10 employees): DISH Hospitality UK (Winner)
Agency Recruitment Team of the Year (10+ employees): Corecom Consulting (Winner) | Aspiron Search (Highly Commended)
Best New Recruitment Agency of the Year: moira" (Winner) | Committed Support (Highly Commended)
Executive Recruitment Agency of the Year: H&P Executive Search (Winner) | RedLaw (Highly Commended)
Specialist Recruitment Agency of the Year: VHR (Winner) | Emérique & Partners (Highly Commended)
Temporary Recruitment Agency of the Year: VHR (Winner) | HRGO Recruitment (Highly Commended)
Technology Recruitment Agency of the Year: La Fosse (Winner) | Pracyva (Highly Commended)
Public/Third Sector Recruitment Agency of the Year: Connect2Hackney (Winner)
Hosted by comedian Zoe Lyons, Winners were revealed at the iconic Grand Hall of the Grand Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden, London.
Nate Harwood, Founder of New Possible and the British Recruitment Awards, said: "Recruitment has a vital role to play in helping organisations navigate a rapidly evolving world. It was a privilege to learn how teams and individuals across the UK are responding with exceptional passion, innovation and hard work. Congratulations to all the Winners, Highly Commended and Finalists."
Sharing Success
Village Hotel Club took home Innovation of the Year. On a mission to evolve candidate assessment and the recruitment experience, while bringing hospitality into the process, Village Hotel Club launched ‘Chemistry Hub’, a new app designed and built entirely by its internal HR team. Providing managers with a clear interview structure and guidance, Chemistry Hub uses a consistent assessment framework to evaluate candidates based on their answers while supporting human judgement. It also encourages managers to enhance the wider candidate experience, from simply offering a coffee to showing candidates around the hotel.
Developed in-house using Figma Make, the first phase successfully focused on executive and central management recruitment and the app is now being rolled out across the organisation. Costing just £250 to develop, the app has already delivered £250,000 in cost savings. The result is a more consistent, data-led recruitment process that supports strong hiring decisions, reduces external recruitment costs and puts hospitality at the heart of the candidate experience.
Judges praised how ‘lots of simple things collectively make a big difference to the experience’, its focus on Village Hotel Club’s ‘brand values’, and its ‘insane ROI’.
VHR were double Winners, taking home both Specialist Recruitment Agency of the Year and Temporary Recruitment Agency of the Year for helping to tackle critical aviation and engineering skills shortages. Its Talent Creation Programme identifies people with transferable skills and provides tailored assessments, technical training, mobilisation and onboarding aligned with client requirements, replacing competition for a limited talent pool with the creation of new, job-ready technicians. The programme has already successfully recruited, trained and placed more than 1,000 people into technical careers, achieving a 95% employment placement rate.
A standout example is VHR’s partnership with two major global airlines to develop a six-week Aircraft Cabin Technician programme, using genuine aircraft components to provide practical, client-specific training. VHR managed recruitment, training, visas, relocation, payroll, onboarding and ongoing welfare support, deploying 140 technicians within six months. The initiative reduced inoperative aircraft seats by 76%, generating estimated annual savings of $30 million. Diversity and inclusion are also embedded in VHR’s workforce strategy; female-focused aviation engineering programmes increased female representation within technical teams to 21%, compared with an industry average of 5%.
Judges praised a ‘really impressive overview of the projects it has designed and run’, the ‘clear impact on customers, candidates and their business’, and VHR’s success in ‘solving a genuine aviation talent shortage’.
Jonah Philpott, Senior Recruitment Advisor at Browne Jacobson, was awarded Rising Star of the Year (In-House). After transitioning from agency recruitment, Jonah has made a notable impact through his ‘relentless’ and ‘passionate’ approach to improving diversity and inclusion. Changes he introduced contributed to a 27% increase in hires from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in 2026, alongside a 41% increase in Black, Asian and UK ethnic minority hires. Direct hiring also increased by 29%, avoiding £1.7m in spend.
Jonah has collaborated with more than 80 consultants across 54 agencies, proactively promoting inclusive hiring practices across the wider legal sector and helping to raise industry standards. His impact has extended to onboarding, where he refreshed and developed a more inclusive integration programme for new joiners, resulting in a 99% ‘excellent’ rating from new starters after their first month.
Described as a genuine ‘catalyst’ by Browne Jacobson, judges praised an ‘excellent submission with clear impact and deliverables’.
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Over the next few months, New Possible will be profiling Winners and Highly Commended in a 'Sharing Success' series. Keep updated by following the British Recruitment Awards on X, LinkedIn, or by signing up for email updates.
Workable: Built for modern recruiting, Workable fuses AI, automation, and ease-of-use, empowering recruiters and hiring managers to collaborate seamlessly and hire faster.
The Talent Community: The Talent Community is an inclusive global recruitment community for In-House, Agency, RPO and Talent Vendors.
K.A.G. Recruitment Consultancy: K.A.G. Recruitment is a female-led consultancy on a mission to make Recruitment more inclusive, personal and effective. Specialists in Food Manufacturing, FMCG, Engineering, IT and Logistics, K.A.G. combines sector expertise with a people-first, diversity-driven approach. Through tailored recruitment and training solutions, they challenge outdated hiring practices, champion diversity, support retention and help businesses build stronger, more inclusive teams where great talent can truly thrive.
The British Recruitment Awards is powered by New Possible. New Possible helps leaders build healthier organisations by providing meaningful insight that can drive real change. Find out more about our mission or book a demo.
