Talent Acquisition Lead

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: Shoreditch, London

Reporting into: Group HR Director

Hybrid/ Remote: WFH Monday & Friday. In the office Tuesday-Thursday

Salary: £45,000 - £50,000 (DOE)

About us

The Captivate Group is a collective of four industry-leading creative agencies (Seen Connects, Seen Studios, Seen Presents and Stir), united by a shared belief in bold ideas, diverse thinking, and meaningful work. From experiential events to retail design, PR and influencer campaigns, our teams bring ideas to life in exciting and innovative ways.

Role Overview

Reporting to the Group HR Director, the Talent Acquisition Manager will lead the full recruitment lifecycle across The Captivate Group — designing and delivering hiring strategies that attract brilliant, diverse, and values‑driven talent. This role combines strategic foresight with hands‑on recruitment delivery, and requires someone who thrives in fast‑paced, creative environments. The successful candidate will also play a key role in training and upskilling managers on effective hiring, interviewing, and candidate experience — ensuring consistency and excellence across all four agencies. You’ll act as a trusted advisor to business leaders, shaping the group’s employer brand, developing proactive talent pipelines, and ensuring our recruitment practices reflect our values and ambition. This is an opportunity to shape the talent strategy of a growing collective of creative agencies — influencing how we attract, hire, and retain the people who make our work exceptional. You’ll work closely with the Group HR Director and agency leadership teams to future‑proof our talent pipelines, strengthen our employer brand, and ensure every hire contributes to our shared culture of creativity, collaboration, and excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Talent Acquisition: Partner with agency leadership and the Group HR Director to create workforce plans aligned to future growth. Build and execute sourcing strategies to attract top talent across social media, influencer marketing, PR, retail design, and experiential events. Use market insight and data to advise on talent availability, competitor activity, and salary benchmarks. Champion DEI through inclusive job design, sourcing, and interview practices. Continuously improve recruitment processes to enhance efficiency and candidate experience.
• End‑to‑End Delivery: Manage the full recruitment lifecycle — briefing, sourcing, screening, interviews and offer management. Conduct competency‑based interviews and guide hiring managers through assessment best practices.
• Manager Training & Capability Building: Design and deliver training for hiring managers on inclusive interviewing, candidate assessment, and unconscious bias awareness. Equip managers with the skills to identify, evaluate, and onboard talent effectively. Develop toolkits, interview guides, and best‑practice templates to support consistent hiring standards across all agencies. Provide constructive feedback and coaching to hiring managers to continuously improve their approach.
• Employer Brand & Candidate Experience: Curate a seamless candidate experience, ensuring communication is warm, transparent, and timely. Represent The Captivate Group at career events, university fairs, and industry panels to promote our employer brand.
• Recruitment Partnerships & Market Engagement: Manage relationships with external recruitment agencies, negotiating terms, assessing performance, and ensuring alignment with internal standards. Develop preferred supplier lists (PSLs) to ensure consistent, cost‑effective delivery. Stay ahead of recruitment trends, technology, and tools to continually innovate our approach.
• Talent Insights & Reporting: Produce regular metrics and insights on recruitment performance, time‑to‑hire, source effectiveness, and diversity outcomes. Present data‑driven insights to senior stakeholders to inform hiring strategy and workforce planning.
• Collaboration & Culture: Partner cross‑functionally with HR, Operations, Finance, and Department Heads to ensure a joined‑up approach to people planning.

Experience & Skills Required

• Proven experience as a Talent Acquisition Manager or Senior Recruiter within an in‑house environment, across multiple creative disciplines, is a must.
• Experience working across social media, influencer marketing, PR, retail design, and experiential events.
• Strong understanding of creative‑agency structures and cross‑departmental collaboration.
• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing, and relationship‑building skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high‑quality outcomes at pace.
• Demonstrable commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in hiring.
• Experience managing recruitment agency PSLs and negotiating commercial terms.
• Experience using various platforms and job sites to attract a diverse pool of candidates.
• Strong understanding of UK employment and data protection law.
• Possesses strong communication skills.
• Sees the big picture and builds scalable talent solutions.
• Balances creativity with business acumen.
• Embodies and promotes our group values.
• Works cross‑functionally and builds trust quickly.

The Interview Process

1. If you are shortlisted, we will invite you to join a 30 minute virtual call for us to get to know you better and for us to tell you more about the role and group of agencies, and answer any initial questions.
2. If we think you’d be a great addition, we will then invite you to do a task relevant to the role you’ve applied for, which we wouldn’t expect to take more than one hour. This will include competency based questions.
3. The final next stage will involve meeting a senior leader from one of the agencies.

Benefits

• Salary reflective of your experience and in line with internal benchmarks.
• Hybrid working, working from our Shoreditch HQ on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and from home on Mondays and Fridays.
• 24 days of annual leave, increasing to 25 after one year and 26 after two years of service.
• 3 personal days a year which are days that you can take to give yourself a break and support your wellness and mental health.
• Work from anywhere for up to one month each year, as long as you can work on UK timezones and have a strong internet connection.
• Snacks and drinks in the office.
• Private healthcare cover and life insurance.
• Cycle to work scheme and annual season ticket loan available.
• Regular team and company socials.
• Plus more.

We are committed to providing an inclusive environment where everyone feels seen, heard and celebrated. We welcome applications from everyone. If you are invited to an interview, please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to best accommodate your needs.