Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition (12 Month FTC)

We’re looking for an experienced Senior Talent Acquisition professional to lead day-to-day Talent Acquisition delivery at Zappi for a 12-month maternity cover contract while our current Director is on leave. This is a senior individual contributor role with a high degree of autonomy and ownership. You’ll be a key TA partner to the business, working directly with hiring managers, senior leaders and Executives to shape and deliver our recruitment priorities across the UK, US and South Africa. You’ll be responsible for the full recruitment lifecycle, combining strategic thinking with hands-on delivery. That means partnering with leaders to understand hiring needs and advise on the right approach, while also personally managing searches, sourcing candidates, navigating challenges and ensuring a high-quality candidate experience. We’re looking for someone who is comfortable operating with limited day-to-day supervision, can quickly build credibility with senior stakeholders and is confident making decisions about how best to approach a search. You’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact from day one and play an important role in how we attract and hire talent during a period of continued growth. We’re particularly interested in people who have built their careers in high-growth technology or SaaS businesses, scale-ups or embedded RPO environments, where recruiters are expected to take real ownership and operate as trusted partners to the business What you'll do: Own recruitment end-to-end Take ownership of recruitment across our core markets: UK, US and South Africa, from role definition and sourcing strategy through to offer and onboarding. Personally manage a portfolio of vacancies across GTM, Product, Engineering and Operations, covering roles from early career through to senior hires. Determine the right recruitment approach for each search, using a combination of direct sourcing, networks, referrals and external partners where appropriate. Maintain a high bar for quality, pace and candidate experience throughout the recruitment process. Be a senior TA partner to the business Build trusted relationships with hiring managers, Executives and senior stakeholders across Zappi. Act as a trusted advisor on hiring strategy, talent availability, market conditions, compensation and recruitment best practice. Confidently challenge hiring assumptions and provide constructive guidance where appropriate. Partner closely with Finance and other relevant teams to ensure recruitment activity is aligned with business priorities. Bring market insight and talent data into conversations with hiring managers to help shape effective hiring decisions. Help evolve our TA approach Contribute to the development and delivery of our TA priorities in line with Zappi’s business goals. Identify opportunities to improve our recruitment processes, tooling and ways of working, and take ownership of implementing improvements. Use recruitment data and insight to understand what's working, identify challenges and make informed recommendations. Help ensure our recruitment approach continues to evolve as the organisation and hiring requirements change. Candidate experience and employer brand Help strengthen Zappi’s employer proposition and ensure we communicate effectively with prospective talent. Identify opportunities to improve the candidate journey and turn feedback into meaningful improvements. Support employer-brand initiatives and recruitment campaigns where appropriate. Ensure candidates receive a consistent, engaging and high-quality experience throughout the process. Champion inclusive hiring Embed inclusive and equitable practices throughout the recruitment process. Challenge bias and help hiring teams make fair, consistent and evidence-based decisions. Contribute to building diverse talent pipelines across our markets. What we're looking for: We’re looking for an experienced in-house TA professional who thrives on ownership, autonomy and being close to the business. You’ll ideally have: Significant experience in Talent Acquisition, with substantial experience operating in-house. Experience working within a high-growth technology, SaaS or scale-up environment, or in a senior embedded RPO role. A track record of operating as a senior individual contributor or TA lead, with the autonomy to set priorities, advise senior stakeholders and deliver recruitment with limited operational support. Experience recruiting across a broad range of functions, ideally including GTM, Product, Engineering and Operations. Experience hiring across multiple levels, including senior and leadership positions. Experience recruiting across international markets, ideally including the UK and US. Strong stakeholder-management skills and the confidence to build credibility with senior leaders and Executives quickly. The ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery — you’re just as comfortable discussing a hiring strategy with an Exec as you are sourcing a candidate yourself. A data-driven approach, with the ability to use recruitment metrics and market insight to influence decisions. Strong knowledge of modern recruitment practices, tools and sourcing techniques. Experience improving candidate experience and/or employer brand. Excellent judgement, organisation and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities independently. We’re particularly interested in people who are used to working in environments where recruiters have significant ownership of their searches, strong relationships with hiring managers and the autonomy to determine how best to deliver a hire. Benefits Three company-paid mental health days of rest per year (these are pre-scheduled, so the entire company can take the same days off regularly to reset) Generous PTO policy - Minimum of 20 days of paid time off per year, plus national holidays. Leave over 30 days requires manager and People team approval. Private medical healthcare cover Group risk, life & disability contributions Flexible working arrangements, including remote (unless otherwise specified) Thoughtfully designed offices to support both individual work and collaboration without interrupting others Wellbeing benefits such as free yoga and access to trained therapists / counsellors Enhanced parental leave policies Free lunch in the office Tuesday-Thursday Tax efficient pension contributions via salary sacrifice scheme Salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme Salary sacrifice nursery scheme Tailored personal development through training allowances, coaching, mentorship and career frameworks Why join us? We’ve been recognized as one of the hottest martech companies in 2022 by Business Insider and named Best Place to Work by Quirk’s Media for our engaging and inclusive workplace culture. We’re committed to both people and the planet . Our belief in inclusion means we’re building an organisation of diverse individuals and helping brands eliminate cultural presumptions in their research. Read our Diversity Manifesto here. We are a values and behaviours driven business and believe that Trust, Truth, Ownership, Ambition and Humility describe Zappi employees on our best day. This is how we strive to show up for our customers, for each other and for our communities. Earning B Corp certification assures us we’re on the right track and have structures in place to become the business we want to be. Our commitment to minimise our impact on the environment means being honest with ourselves and transparent with you—about everything from carbon emissions to tree-planting initiatives. We achieved our goal of becoming Net Zero in 2021! Zappi Company Culture Highlights Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Women 2022 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Work-Life Balance 2022 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Compensation 2022 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO for Women 2022 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Diversity 2022 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Culture 2022 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO 2022 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Happiness 2022 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Leadership Teams 2023 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEOs for Diversity 2023 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Engineering Teams 2023 Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Outlook 2023 Winner of Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in the UK 2022 & 2023 Recognised by Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators 2023 Winner of Best Marketing Insights Platform in the MarTech Breakthrough Awards 2023 & 2024 Equal Opportunity Zappi is an equal opportunity employer; our diversity is a major strength. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce fosters innovation, creativity, and success. Our hiring decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, and abilities, ensuring fairness and equity throughout our recruitment process. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. Join our team and contribute to an inclusive environment where everyone's unique perspectives and talents are valued and respected.