Director, Talent Acquisition

About Valence We're the only company pioneering leadership coaching for large enterprises in an AI-first way. Our mission is to transform how the world's biggest companies approach learning and development, helping teams work better together through AI-powered personalization that adapts to individual goals and organisational culture using the latest advances in machine learning and natural language processing. Learn more about our work with Microsoft: Valence Brings AI Coaching More Deeply Into the Flow of Work with Microsoft 365 We've been featured in Harvard Business Review, TIME, World Economic Forum, Financial Times, Forbes and an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America. Our clients represent the most diverse and sophisticated enterprise AI implementations globally, including Coca-Cola, Delta, Nestlé, General Mills, Schneider Electric, Deutsche Telekom, AstraZeneca, Prudential, CVS and Bristol Myers Squibb. Working at Valence means building the team behind one of the fastest-growing companies in enterprise AI. You'll lead how we hire across GTM and technical roles, work directly with the executive team on where we invest in talent, and still run searches yourself. The bar is high, and you'll set it. The Role We're hiring a Director of Talent Acquisition to lead recruiting at Valence through our next stage of growth. You'll report to the VP of People & Talent and own hiring strategy, and the systems and team that deliver it. You will partner closely with our leadership team and our VP People to ensure strong talent planning throughout the year. This is a player-coach role. You'll lead and develop the recruiting team, its strategies and goals, and you'll also carry your own searches, especially senior and business-critical hires. You'll be a thought partner to executives and hiring managers on org design, role scope, leveling and how we decide who to hire. You'll also build a recruiting function that fits how an AI-native company should work. What You'll Do - Own Valence's talent acquisition strategy and hiring plan, working with the executive team on headcount priorities, sequencing and tradeoffs - Lead, coach and grow the recruiting team, setting expectations for search quality, speed and candidate experience - Run a personal portfolio of searches end to end, with a focus on senior, leadership and hard-to-fill roles across GTM and technical teams - Set and hold the hiring bar: design our interview frameworks, train interviewers and run calibration so hiring decisions are consistent across the company - Own recruiting operations and Ashby as the source of truth, including process design, reporting and the team's SLAs - Report on funnel health, hiring velocity and source quality to leadership, and act on what the data shows - Partner with People & Talent leadership on compensation benchmarking, leveling and offer strategy - Build our employer brand and talent marketing so we attract strong candidates before roles open - Bring market intelligence on talent supply, comp and competitor hiring into leadership decisions - Find where AI can make recruiting faster and higher-signal, and build it into how the team works What We're Looking For - 10+ years of in-house recruiting experience in high-growth B2B SaaS or AI companies, across both GTM and technical hiring - 3+ years leading recruiters or a recruiting function, including hiring and developing the team - A track record of building or substantially rebuilding a recruiting function at a scaling company - Still hands-on: you enjoy running searches yourself and have recently closed senior hires in competitive markets - A clear point of view on assessing talent, structuring interview processes and holding a high bar - Experience influencing executives on headcount, org design and hiring decisions, including pushing back when needed - Strong data fluency; you run recruiting off metrics and hold the team accountable to outcomes - Real AI fluency and a bias toward building it into recruiting workflows - Deep Ashby experience (or a comparable ATS), with ownership of system design and data quality Nice to have - Experience as a founding or first TA leader at an early-stage company - Hiring for the "consulting / professional services → tech" profile, or recruiting in NYC's AI/tech market - Experience owning employer brand or talent marketing programs - Experience designing compensation and leveling frameworks - Experience hiring internationally (US, Canada, UK) What you'll get Ownership & Rapid Growth - Outsized missions from day one, with direct responsibility for company-defining projects - Work alongside the executive team with transparency into strategy and decision-making - Influence on direction through real-time customer feedback and market insights AI-First Operator - Work directly with cutting-edge AI models and next-generation platforms - Build expertise in enterprise AI implementation across Fortune 500 companies and multiple industries - Establish yourself as a recognized leader among peers in shaping how AI transforms work at a global scale Compensation - Competitive salary including base + bonuses - Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision) from day one - Generous PTO, company-wide R&R shutdowns, and paid parental leave - Retirement plan support for US and global employees Equity - Meaningful ownership in a venture-backed company at a growth inflection point - Financial upside that comes from scaling fast - Top-up grants as we scale and you deliver exceptional performance — your compensation grows alongside your impact Top-Performing Culture - A culture built for top talent: intensity to win, growth without limits, and a team that solves hard problems and celebrates big wins together Learn more about us and meet our team here Valence takes candidate fraud seriously. We verify identity, LinkedIn profiles, employment history, and references; any misrepresentation during the hiring process is grounds for withdrawing an offer or ending employment. All offers are contingent on successful completion of these checks. #LI-HYBRID #J-18808-Ljbffr