Talent Acquisition Lead

About Directive Directive Consulting is the leading B2B marketing agency for brands that are serious about the metrics that matter most. With over a decade of expertise and 420+ B2B brands under our belt, we've earned our reputation on real outcomes. We run through 3 divisions: Performance, Communications, and Commerce, all wired to share intelligence and answer to revenue. That system spans everything from Paid Media and Content Marketing, to PR and Paid Social, to Marketplace and Lifecycle Marketing. Tying it all together is our methodology, DiscoverabilityOS™ , which aligns brand and demand to guide your ICP to choose you across every decision point. We move fast. We think boldly. We hire people who challenge the status quo, build campaigns worth talking about, and make bold brands impossible to ignore. If you live for performance, love solving hard problems, and want your work to actually mean something, you'll fit right in. Role Summary The Associate Director of Talent Acquisition is a strategic, hands-on leader responsible for building world-class teams across Directive while leading and developing a high-performing recruiting team. This is a player-coach role. You'll manage a small team of recruiters while carrying your own portfolio of critical and executive-level searches. You'll partner closely with leaders across the business to develop hiring strategies, improve recruiting operations and ensure an exceptional candidate and hiring manager experience from beginning to end. As the primary owner of our Applicant Tracking System (Ashby), you'll drive recruiting operations, reporting, process optimization, interview excellence, and data-driven decision making to continually improve how we hire. You are passionate about building exceptional teams, coaching recruiters, creating scalable hiring processes, and raising the bar for talent across the organization. This position reports to the Head of People Operations and works remotely. Key Responsibilities Talent Acquisition Leadership Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a team of Talent Acquisition Partners, creating a high-performance recruiting organization Conduct regular pipeline reviews, hiring strategy sessions, and recruiter coaching to improve performance and hiring outcomes Establish recruiting goals, priorities, and team performance metrics while ensuring consistent execution Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-accountability recruiting culture Full-Cycle Recruiting Personally manage a portfolio of high-impact and executive-level searches across the business Lead full-cycle recruiting from intake through offer negotiation and close Partner with senior leadership to define hiring strategies for critical and hard-to-fill roles Conduct structured interviews and assess candidates for technical capability, leadership potential, and alignment with Directive's values Build proactive talent pipelines for future hiring needs through networking, sourcing, referrals, and market mapping If the recruitment team is backed up on their roles, you are ready to jump in and help. Hiring Partnership Serve as a trusted advisor to hiring managers and executives on talent strategy, market trends, compensation insights, interview best practices, and hiring decisions Drive consistent communication with hiring managers regarding pipeline health, recruiting progress, market conditions, and challenges Lead intake meetings to align hiring expectations and create effective recruiting strategies Report to the executive team on a weekly basis on progress of roles. Recruiting Operations & Ashby Ownership Serve as the primary administrator and subject matter expert for Ashby ATS Own the full recruitment process from job posting to offer negotiation Continuously optimize recruiting workflows, interview processes, automations, templates, scorecards, and reporting Maintain recruiting data integrity and ensure accurate reporting across all hiring activity Develop dashboards and recruiting analytics to monitor KPIs, hiring funnel health, source effectiveness, diversity metrics, and recruiter performance Partner with People Operations and HR leadership to improve recruiting systems and processes Employer Brand & Candidate Experience Champion an exceptional candidate experience that reflects Directive's values and culture Ensure consistency across interview processes and candidate communications Partner with Marketing and People teams on employer branding initiatives to attract top global talent Drive inclusive recruiting practices and sourcing strategies across all hiring efforts Strategic Talent Planning Identify opportunities to improve recruiting efficiency, scalability, and quality of hire Stay informed on labor market trends, compensation benchmarks, competitive intelligence, and recruiting best practices Support workforce planning and hiring forecasts with business leaders Lead or participate in Talent Acquisition projects, process improvements, and strategic initiatives What You Offer / Qualifications 6+ years of Talent Acquisition experience in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, ideally within a digital marketing agency, technology company or professional services organization 2+ years of people leadership experience managing recruiters or talent acquisition teams Experience in recruiting for SEO, Paid Media, CRO, Programmatic, Content, Creative, Marketing Ops/Rev Ops, etc. is a must. Demonstrated success recruiting executive, leadership and highly specialized roles while maintaining ownership of full-cycle recruiting Proven ability to develop sophisticated sourcing strategies utilizing advanced Boolean searches, networking, referrals, market mapping and creative sourcing techniques A power user in an ATS and other recruitment tools, with the ability to leverage technology to increase efficiency and maximize output. Experience with Ashby and/or Juicebox is a plus Experience using recruiting analytics and data to drive hiring decisions and improve recruiting performance Experience recruiting across different global markets preferred Exceptional stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence senior leaders and hiring managers Highly organized with exceptional project management skills and the ability to manage competing priorities Self-motivated, competitive and driven to achieve both personal and team objectives Excellent written and verbal communication skills with strong executive presence Basic knowledge of compliance and legal requirements across multiple countries What Success Looks Like Builds and develops a high-performing recruiting team that consistently delivers exceptional hiring outcomes Consistently fills roles efficiently (meeting TTF expectations) while maintaining a high quality bar and outstanding candidate experience Successfully recruits executive and business-critical talent that drives company growth Optimizes Ashby and recruiting operations to improve efficiency, reporting, and scalability Serves as a trusted strategic partner to hiring managers and executive leadership Improves recruiting KPIs including Time to Fill, Quality of Hire, Candidate Experience, and Hiring Manager Satisfaction Creates scalable recruiting processes that support Directive's continued global growth Cultural Fit & Traits Trusted Advisor Mentality: Builds durable relationships with hiring managers grounded in integrity and impact. Collaborative: Works seamlessly across teams and disciplines. Resilient & Adaptable: Thrives in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment. Directive DNA: Operates with precision, ownership, and a bias toward action. Accountability: Thrives in a high accountability environment where people are asking for numbers, timelines, and commitments. Benefits: Medical, dental, vision plans, disability, and life insurance coverage for you and your family that fit your lifestyle Including a 100% employer-paid plan for you and a 50% employer contribution for your dependents Benefits to Support the Whole Person: Mental - Access to certified therapists through Spring Health, membership to Headspace Physical - Physical therapy through Omada, fertility support through Carrott, thousands of Aaptiv virtual workouts, complimentary One Medical membership for primary and virtual care Time Off - Unlimited PTO (2-week minimum), Paid Company Holidays, Your Birthday Off, End of Year Recharge (Closed December 24 - January 1), Paid Parental Leave Financial - Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 3% company match Bonus - Annual bonus based on tenure, which scales in total amount over time (after one full year of service) Work Environment Requirements As a remote-first company, you’ll have the ability to work from anywhere in the US where Directive operates.. For some positions, as posted, we will accommodate global opportunities where we have established businesses, including Canada, the UK, and Australia. For global locations, you must have established and current work authorization and permanently reside in that country. This role has the opportunity to operate 100% virtually from your home office. We primarily collaborate with our colleagues through virtual meetings (Zoom), and Slack. In this role, you will be required to operate a laptop computer (PC or Mac available), computer software platforms, and other office productivity tools as necessary. Due to the nature of this role, you must be able to remain stationary for extended periods, must be able to observe and interpret written and/or verbal communication, must have reliable internet access, and a professional background. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. If you require reasonable accommodations in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, direct your inquiries to View email address on click.appcast.io. Additional Information At Directive, one of our core values is People First. We’re committed to fostering a more diverse and inclusive culture in the digital landscape. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.