Founding Head of Talent

Role: Head of Talent & People | Company: MarTech platform

Location: NYC | Onsite 5 days/week (sorry no relo)

Compensation: $200K–$225K base + performance bonus + equity

The Opportunity

We are partnering with a fast-growing marketing technology platform to hire a Founding Head of Talent & People who will take ownership of how the organization identifies, attracts, hires and develops exceptional people.

Talent is viewed as a critical competitive advantage, and this role will work closely with senior leadership to build a more proactive and scalable approach to finding and landing outstanding people.

This is not a traditional recruiting leadership role where you primarily manage a team or oversee open requisitions. The right person is a hands-on talent leader, exceptional recruiter and creative builder who loves the hunt, knows how to engage people who aren't actively looking, and thinks about talent well before a position officially opens.

The role will begin with a strong emphasis on Talent Acquisition and talent strategy, with the opportunity to broaden your impact across culture, employee experience and the broader People function over time.

Note: this is primarily a talent acquisition role not an HR-only role. Seeking a candidate who is currently embedded in a tech company vs. a recruiting firm/advisory.

What You’ll Do

• Own Talent Acquisition strategy and execution across commercial, technical and leadership functions.
• Personally identify, source, engage and close high-caliber talent, including senior-level hires.
• Build proactive talent pipelines and relationships with exceptional people before there is an immediate hiring need.
• Develop creative sourcing, networking and referral strategies that go well beyond inbound applicants and traditional job boards.
• Partner closely with senior leadership to define what exceptional talent looks like and maintain a consistently high hiring bar.
• Build thoughtful, structured approaches to candidate evaluation and interviewing.
• Own senior searches through offer negotiation and close, including navigating competitive offers and other candidate considerations.
• Strengthen how the company positions itself to prospective talent and help build a compelling employer brand.
• Use recruiting data to understand pipeline health, identify bottlenecks and continuously improve results.
• Leverage AI and emerging technology to make talent research, sourcing, screening and recruiting workflows more effective.
• Improve the onboarding experience so exceptional hires are positioned to succeed quickly.
• Help shape programs that strengthen culture, employee engagement and connection.
• Over time, expand your impact across additional areas of the Talent and People function as the organization grows.

What We’re Looking For

• Significant Talent Acquisition experience within high-growth technology environments, with experience leading or taking meaningful ownership of the recruiting function.
• A strong foundation in hands-on recruiting and a track record of personally identifying and landing exceptional talent.
• Experience recruiting across multiple disciplines, ideally including both commercial and technical talent.
• Demonstrated success recruiting senior-level candidates in highly competitive talent markets.
• Strong direct sourcing, talent mapping and networking skills — you don't wait for great candidates to apply.
• Experience partnering directly with founders, executives and senior hiring leaders.
• A strategic mindset around talent — you think beyond today's open roles and continuously develop relationships with people the organization may want to hire in the future.
• An understanding of employer brand and how to position a growing company compellingly to highly sought-after talent.
• Strong analytical instincts and comfort using recruiting data to improve outcomes.
• Practical experience using AI and emerging technology to improve recruiting or talent workflows.
• Exposure to broader People, culture or employee experience initiatives, with an interest in expanding into these areas over time.
• A consistent track record of high achievement — academically and professionally — and experience succeeding in demanding, high-performance environments.
• Strong judgment, influence and the confidence to provide a point of view to senior leadership.
• Comfortable operating as a hands-on leader without a large team or extensive infrastructure around you.
• Excited to work collaboratively and in person in New York City five days per week.

You’ll Likely Thrive Here If

You genuinely love recruiting - not just specific roles but the way the company is represented and appeals to prospective candidates. You're naturally curious about exceptional people and build relationships whether or not you have an immediate opening for them. You can point to difficult hires you've personally landed and explain exactly what you did to make them happen.

You're also a builder. You enjoy creating better ways to identify, evaluate and attract talent rather than simply operating an established recruiting process. You are comfortable in a fast-moving growth environment where priorities evolve and leaders are expected to roll up their sleeves.

And you think beyond the hire. You're energized by helping build a company where exceptional people want to join, do their best work, feel connected to the organization and continue to grow.