Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition (12 Month FTC)

Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition (12 Month FTC)

Final date to receive applications: 10 September 2026

Department: People & Culture

Employment Type: Contract / Temp

Location: London, UK

Reporting To: Tom Holliss

Compensation: £70,000 - £75,000 / year

We’re looking for an experienced Senior Talent Acquisition professional to lead day-to-day Talent Acquisition delivery at Zappi for a 12-month maternity cover contract while our current Director is on leave.

This is a senior individual contributor role with a high degree of autonomy and ownership. You’ll be a key TA partner to the business, working directly with hiring managers, senior leaders and Executives to shape and deliver our recruitment priorities across the UK, US and South Africa.

You’ll be responsible for the full recruitment lifecycle, combining strategic thinking with hands‑on delivery. That means partnering with leaders to understand hiring needs and advise on the right approach, while also personally managing searches, sourcing candidates, navigating challenges and ensuring a high-quality candidate experience.

We’re looking for someone who is comfortable operating with limited day-to-day supervision, can quickly build credibility with senior stakeholders and is confident making decisions about how best to approach a search. You’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact from day one and play an important role in how we attract and hire talent during a period of continued growth.

We’re particularly interested in people who have built their careers in high-growth technology or SaaS businesses, scale-ups or embedded RPO environments, where recruiters are expected to take real ownership and operate as trusted partners to the business

• Take ownership of recruitment across our core markets: UK, US and South Africa, from role definition and sourcing strategy through to offer and onboarding.
• Personally manage a portfolio of vacancies across GTM, Product, Engineering and Operations, covering roles from early career through to senior hires.
• Determine the right recruitment approach for each search, using a combination of direct sourcing, networks, referrals and external partners where appropriate.
• Maintain a high bar for quality, pace and candidate experience throughout the recruitment process.

• Build trusted relationships with hiring managers, Executives and senior stakeholders across Zappi.
• Act as a trusted advisor on hiring strategy, talent availability, market conditions, compensation and recruitment best practice.
• Confidently challenge hiring assumptions and provide constructive guidance where appropriate.
• Partner closely with Finance and other relevant teams to ensure recruitment activity is aligned with business priorities.
• Bring market insight and talent data into conversations with hiring managers to help shape effective hiring decisions.

• Contribute to the development and delivery of our TA priorities in line with Zappi's business goals.
• Identify opportunities to improve our recruitment processes, tooling and ways of working, and take ownership of implementing improvements.
• Use recruitment data and insight to understand what's working, identify challenges and make informed recommendations.
• Help ensure our recruitment approach continues to evolve as the organisation and hiring requirements change.

• Help strengthen Zappi's employer proposition and ensure we communicate effectively with prospective talent.
• Identify opportunities to improve the candidate journey and turn feedback into meaningful improvements.
• Support employer-brand initiatives and recruitment campaigns where appropriate.
• Ensure candidates receive a consistent, engaging and high-quality experience throughout the process.

• Embed inclusive and equitable practices throughout the recruitment process.
• Challenge bias and help hiring teams make fair, consistent and evidence-based decisions.
• Contribute to building diverse talent pipelines across our markets.

We’re looking for an experienced in-house…