Partner Talent Acquisition Manager in London

Reporting To: Head of People

Location: 2/3 days in Azzurri Group HO or DHC restaurant with occasional travel to restaurants when required

Dave’s Hot Chicken started as a late-night parking lot pop-up—three friends, $900 and a portable fryer slinging hot chicken in East Hollywood. Known for its mind-blowing flavour and addictive heat, Dave’s is bringing the vibe to the UK—and they’re looking for bold, hype-driven people to join the team.

We are a high-growth premium quick-service restaurant brand entering an exciting phase of rapid expansion. We have 15 restaurants nationally with aggressive plans for more in the next 12 months plus European expansion…and we’re just getting started.

We’re looking for a proactive and experienced Talent Acquisition Partner to join our team, someone who is equal parts strategist and hustler. We are breaking our reliance on expensive recruitment agencies and taking total ownership of our talent pipeline to attract, select, and secure the absolute best talent in the QSR industry.

You will build and manage a direct-sourcing machine that slashes our agency spend, while simultaneously giving our managers the exact tools they need to hire elite crews from our applicant pools.

The Building:

• As part of our "Blueprint for Growth" strategy, you will take the lead on Talent Attraction & Acquisition.
• Launch an in-house headhunting strategy for General Managers (GMs) and Assistant Managers (AMs) to drastically reduce agency spend and cut down our time-to-hire.
• Shift our New Restaurant Openings from pure attraction to precision selection.
• Design standardised cultural-fit scorecards and high-energy assessment guides for our hiring managers to use.
• Introduce a rigorous, objective assessment process (stress-testing commercial acumen and cultural fit) for all external management hires before they get the keys to a store.
• Support the wider People Team with communicating our EVP to potential candidates and raising awareness of our employer branding.
• Manage our Applicant Tracking System (Talent Funnel), ensuring job postings are compelling, brand-aligned, and highly visible.
• Conduct initial screening for all management vacancies, acting as the ultimate gatekeeper for the Dave's culture.
• Build a talent pool of future external managers ready to be deployed when needed.
• Act as a true partner to Operations Director, Operations Development Director, Operations Managers and GMs, holding weekly recruitment check-ins to anticipate staffing needs before they become an emergency.
• Maintain our live recruitment data on the Central People Dashboard, focusing on time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and agency spend reduction.
• Proven background in fast-paced, high-volume recruitment, ideally within QSR, hospitality, or retail.
• Ability to balance a commercial approach with best practice.

You will be building the foundational talent structures of one of the most hyped QSR brands in the UK. We back ambition, reward performance, and will give you the platform to step up and build your career alongside the rapid growth of the brand.