Most Head of Talent roles hand you a function to run.
This one hands you a founder who sees talent as the single biggest lever for growth and asks you to build the function that proves it.The OpportunityOur client is an Australian based AI health tech scale-up founded in **** with a global presence and further ambitions.
The business has grown quickly and hiring has kept up.Now it needs to go further.
This role exists to move talent from filling roles to building long-term capability: a transparent talent strategy, a consistent way of assessing people, pipelines that exist before the vacancy does, and a reputation that makes the business a destination for the best engineering, product and commercial talent in the market.Reporting to the Head of People & Culture and working closely with the founder and CEO, you'll lead a team of two (one of those roles is open, so you'll hire into it) supporting hiring across Australia and the UK.
This isn't an arm's length Head of role.
You'll still source, engage and close critical hires yourself.What You'll Be DoingBuilding the talent strategy and operating rhythm for a business hiring across engineering, GTM and sales in Australia and the UKPersonally leading critical searches, particularly in product and engineering, while lifting the capability of your teamIntroducing interview rubrics, competency frameworks and assessment consistency so hiring quality holds as the business growsCoaching hiring managers to interview well and decide well, and partnering credibly with senior leadersOwning market mapping, proactive sourcing and talent pipelines, so the best people are known before a role opensBuilding talent communities through events, meetups, partnerships and networks,



and laying the foundations for internship, graduate and campus programmesUtilise reporting to track the funnel, understand candidate drop-off and declined offers, and act on what the data saysRaising the bar on candidate experience and stakeholder communication, and being a visible ambassador for the business in marketAbout YouYou've built talent capability somewhere that moved quickly, and you'd rather build than inherit.You'll likely bring:Talent acquisition leadership in a high-growth startup or scale-up, ideally in technology, software or health techA track record hiring product and engineering talent, with networks in those markets to matchExperience working closely with a founder or fast-moving CEO, including the confidence to push back when it mattersThe ability to bring structure and rigour to hiring without making it corporate or slowA data-driven approach, with confidence using ATS analytics (Ashby experience is a bonus, not a requirement)Strength in employer branding, market engagement and talent eventsCommercial urgency, high energy and comfort with ambiguity and shifting prioritiesAgency experience is valued here, particularly when it's paired with internal TA maturityWhy Join?
You'll build the talent function properly, from the ground up, for a founder who genuinely believes talent is critical and backs the team to deliver it.
The product is live, the impact on customers is real, and the business is on a steep growth trajectory with an Australia and UK remit and broader global exposure likely to follow.
You'll work three days a week from the Cremorne office and two from home, alongside an energetic, mission-led team, with room to grow into broader people and workforce planning as the business scales.
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📌 Head Of Talent (Melbourne)
🏢 Samuels Donegan
📍 Melbourne