Head of Talent Acquisition (New York City Metropolitan Area)

A fast-growing strategic communications and public affairs consultancy is seeking a Head of Talent Acquisition to lead hiring across its US business. The firm advises leading organisations on their most consequential reputational and policy challenges, and has built a strong reputation for the calibre of its people. With the US team scaling quickly, this hire will own the hiring agenda end to end, raising the bar on quality while building the infrastructure to support sustained growth. Managing a US-based recruiter and working closely with senior leadership, it is a hands-on role for a specialist recruiter who knows the communications and public affairs market and wants to shape how a high-performing firm hires.

Role

• Own the end-to-end US hiring agenda, staying close to delivery by running introductory calls, managing candidate liaison and coordinating interview schedules for your own roles
• Partner with US business leaders to scope each hire through structured kick-off sessions, then brief and prepare interview panels accordingly
• Lead and develop a US-based Talent Acquisition Manager, dividing live briefs between you, acting as their day-to-day point of contact and coaching their growth through stretch opportunities and clear feedback
• Design and run sourcing strategy across advertising, direct outreach and agency partnerships, with deliberate attention to broadening the diversity of the pipeline
• Deliver a consistently excellent candidate experience from first approach through to offer acceptance
• Build a long-term pipeline of communications and policy talent through an active network of candidates, market contacts and peers across the US advisory landscape
• Use market intelligence to understand where the strongest talent sits, what motivates it and how the firm competes, feeding insight on compensation, availability and competitor activity back to the global People & Talent function
• Set recruitment priorities with the US COO, global talent leadership and People team, flagging risks or misalignment early alongside a recommended way forward
• Track pipeline conversion and the quality of assessment at each stage, using the data to sharpen hiring decisions over time
• Apply AI tools and streamlined workflows to lift the quality and efficiency of talent delivery, and contribute to a shared toolkit of templates and team materials
• Train US interviewers, coach them to use the ATS effectively and keep all hiring records accurate and current
• Work across the wider People & Talent team to connect recruitment with DEI, marketing and employee experience priorities

Requirements

• A strong grasp of the US communications, public affairs or professional services talent market
• Substantial recruitment experience focused on communications, PR or public affairs talent, whether in-house at a consultancy, within an RPO or at a specialist search firm
• A proven ability to manage several live searches end to end in a demanding, quality-focused setting
• Practical, critical and responsible use of LLMs such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini in daily work, ideally alongside experimentation with AI tools built specifically for talent functions
• The credibility to push back with senior stakeholders, manage expectations and earn trust quickly
• Strong written and facilitation skills, from crafting compelling adverts and candidate materials to running kick-offs and prioritisation discussions with senior leaders
• Fluency with LinkedIn Recruiter and an applicant tracking system, with Lever experience an advantage
• Experience operating within a scaling business
• Intellectual curiosity and an appetite to build expertise in unfamiliar subject areas, then share it with colleagues
• Collaborative instincts and a genuine commitment to fostering an inclusive culture

Here at Sapio Consulting we are not only proud to be equal opportunity employers in our own right but are also committed to and in the privileged position of being able to support each and every one of our clients and partners in their Diversity & Inclusion objectives and initiatives.

Our clients are equal opportunity employers and on their behalf we welcome candidates, applicants or prospective applicants regardless Age, Disability, Neurodiversity, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender identity or expression, Marriage or Civil Partnership or Partnership status, Pregnancy and Maternity or Parental status, Race, Religion or Beliefs, and Political Opinion.