Head of Talent Acquisition

About Allica Bank

Allica is the UK’s fastest growing company - and the fastest-growing financial technology (Fintech) firm ever. Our purpose is to help established SMEs, one of the last major underserved opportunities in Fintech.

Established SMEs are the backbone of local communities - representing over a third of our economy - yet have been largely neglected both by traditional high street banks and modern fintech providers.

Department

People & Talent is a hands-on team helping Allica and its colleagues reach ambitious business goals. We partner across the bank to build the capability, culture and employee experience needed to support growth, while keeping our ways of working simple, practical and focused on outcomes.

With a new VP of People recently joining Allica, we're putting renewed focus behind our People and Talent agenda. We're looking for a Head of Talent Acquisition who can help shape this next chapter - bringing fresh thinking, strong execution and a clear focus on building a high-performing, proactive TA function.

Role Description

The Head of Talent Acquisition will lead Allica’s Talent Acquisition function at an important stage of growth.

You will own the recruitment strategy and operating model across the UK and India, lead a team of four with three direct reports, and partner closely with senior leaders and hiring managers across the bank. You will also provide ad hoc Talent Acquisition support for our recent expansion into Sweden.

This is a hands-on leadership role: setting the strategy, improving the operating model, coaching the team, using data to drive decisions and ensuring we hire great people at pace without compromising quality, candidate experience or governance. Reporting directly to the VP of People, you will help shape how Allica attracts and secures the talent needed for the next stage of the bank’s growth.

Principal Accountabilities

• Own the end-to-end Talent Acquisition strategy and annual hiring plan across the UK and India, translating business growth plans into clear recruitment priorities, capacity and delivery plans.

• Lead a team of four, with three direct reports. Set clear standards, coach and develop the team, allocate work effectively and build a high-performing, accountable recruitment function.

• Oversee end-to-end recruitment across the bank, ensuring strong execution from intake and market mapping through sourcing, assessment, offer and onboarding. Maintain a high bar for quality, pace, diversity and candidate experience.

• Move TA further towards pipeline-led recruitment, strengthening direct sourcing and talent pooling across technology, banking, risk, commercial and operational hiring. Use agencies selectively and manage external spend with discipline.

• Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and hiring managers, challenging constructively where required and improving capability in role definition, interviewing, calibration and decision-making.

• Establish clear recruitment MI and regular reporting across measures such as hiring demand, time to hire, source effectiveness, offer acceptance, funnel conversion, agency usage and recruiter productivity. Use insight to shape decisions and improve outcomes. You will be supported by the Ashby system, LinkedIn recruiter and we are upgrading our HRIS to Sage People by EoY.

• Own continuous improvement of recruitment processes, ATS/HR technology and supplier governance, ensuring the function operates efficiently and in line with Allica’s control environment.

• Identify and embed practical AI and automation opportunities that improve sourcing, screening, candidate engagement, recruiter productivity and reporting while maintaining appropriate human judgement and governance.

• Partner with People, Marketing and business leaders to strengthen employer brand and candidate experience, making Allica easier to discover, understand and choose for critical talent.

Personal Attributes & Experience

• Proven experience leading Talent Acquisition in a high-growth technology, fintech or financial services organisation, ideally in an in-house environment.

• Experience leading a recruitment team through growth and change, with evidence of developing capability, raising standards and improving performance.

• Strong end-to-end recruitment expertise across multiple disciplines, including technology and other specialist or hard-to-hire roles.

• Proven direct sourcing and talent-pipeline capability, with a pragmatic approach to agency use and supplier management.

• Strong data and commercial fluency, able to turn recruitment data into clear insight, decisions and recommendations for senior stakeholders.

• Experience improving recruitment operating models, processes, governance and ATS/technology enabled ways of working.

• Confident, credible stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence and constructively challenge senior hiring managers.

• Experience using AI or automation to improve recruitment activity, with good judgement around appropriate use and governance.

• Ability to operate across geographies and cultures, with experience of UK and international recruitment environments.

Working at Allica Bank

At Allica Bank we want to ensure our employees have the right tools and environment in which to succeed in their role and in support of our customers.

Our employees are at the heart of everything we do, so our benefits are designed with you in mind:

• Full onboarding support and continued development opportunities

• Options for flexible working

• Regular social activities

• Pension contributions

• Discretionary bonus scheme

• Private health cover

• Life assurance

• Family friendly policies including enhanced Maternity & Paternity leave

Don’t tick every box?

Don’t worry if you don’t have all the skills or requirements listed on the job description. If you think you’ll be a good fit, we’d still love to hear from you!

Flexible working

We know the ‘9-to-5’ isn’t right for everyone. That’s why Allica Bank is fully committed to flexible and hybrid working. Please let us know what is best for you and, if we can, we will do our best to accommodate.

Diversity

We’re a diverse bunch here at Allica, with all kinds of experiences, backgrounds and lifestyles. Our openness and differences make us stronger, and we want everybody to feel comfortable bringing as much of themselves to work with them as they like.