Talent Manager

Airtree Ventures; Sydney; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5 weeks leave

Parental leave

Training budget

Health and wellness benefits

Job summary

Airtree Ventures is seeking a Talent Manager to join the People team and drive talent solutions across a portfolio of tech startups in Australia and New Zealand. You will advise founders on hiring, search for candidates, and support events that grow Airtree's talent brand.

Later, you will lead internal hiring for Airtree as well. Based in Sydney, you will partner with leadership to define role scopes, build interview processes, and close senior candidates, with a focus on tech and executive

Qualifications

• 4+ years' experience in talent acquisition, ideally from an executive search firm or a tech-focused internal role or recruitment agency.
• Keen interest and exposure to the Australian tech startup scene.
• Track record of building relationships with candidates and hiring managers.

Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted talent advisor to founders and leadership teams across Airtree's portfolio.
• Help portfolio companies build hiring processes, interview frameworks, and talent strategy as they scale.
• Get hands-on with hiring for portfolio companies from scoping to offer.
• Run the Airtree Engineering Community, a top engineers and CTOs event held every two months.
• Build warm introductions and maintain a pipeline of high-calibre talent for portfolio roles.
• Own end-to-end recruitment for Airtree's internal roles across investment, platform, and operations.

Skills

Talent acquisition

Executive search

Stakeholder management

Communication

Networking

Job description

About Airtree

Airtree is the reference investor for the iconic technology companies emerging from Australia and New Zealand. Our venture and growth portfolios comprise 140+ startups and including some most valuable private technology companies in the region — Canva, Airwallex, Employment Hero, Linktree, Go1, Mitti, Immutable and many more.

We manage over $2bn across five fund vintages. About two-thirds of our most recent $650m raise came from tier-one global institutional investors — many backing Australian venture for the first time.

We are committed to building a world-class VC platform for Australia and New Zealand startups with global ambitions. This is an opportunity to help shape Airtree and make an impact on our region's tech ecosystem.

The Opportunity

We're looking for a Talent Manager to join Airtree's People team and manage talent across our portfolio and once ramped hiring internally for Airtree. You will report to the Head of People & Talent who has been doing this role for the past 2 years.

This role sits at the centre of our Talent function. You will start learning about the portfolio and supporting them with a range of talent solutions: advising founders on how to hire well, getting hands-on with searches for companies that need the extra help, and running the events and networks that grow Airtree's talent brand. A few months in, you will take over internal hiring for Airtree too.

It's a broad remit for someone who wants variety and real ownership. You will work across dozens of companies at a range of different stages, build relationships with some of the best operators and investors in the country, and get a front-row seat to what's being built in Australian and New Zealand tech right now. Most roles are tech or exec hiring so it’s important you come from a background in hiring either.

This is a rare role. You will get direct exposure to Australia and New Zealand's best tech startups and scale-ups, work alongside some of the sharpest investors in the market, and build a reputation as the person founders call when they need to hire well. You will also get a real education in venture capital along the way, and a direct line into what early-stage founders are building before most people hear about it.

The Role

Portfolio talent support

• Act as a trusted talent advisor to founders and leadership teams across Airtree's portfolio
• Help portfolio companies build out their hiring processes, interview frameworks, and talent strategy as they scale
• Get hands-on with hiring for portfolio companies that need the extra support, from role scoping through to offer
• Run the Airtree Engineering Community, our invite-only event for the top engineers, CTO’s and technical founders held every two months
  

Building the talent network

• Make warm introductions between portfolio companies and strong candidates in the market
• Build and maintain a pipeline of high-calibre talent to funnel into open portfolio roles
• Find new ways of automating and sharing relevant candidates with the right portfolio companies
• Develop relationships with candidates, executive search contacts, and the broader Sydney and Australian tech talent market
  

Internal hiring

• Own end-to-end recruitment for Airtree's internal roles across investment, platform, and operations

• Partner with hiring managers to define role scope, run structured interview processes, and close candidates

Required background

• 4+ years' experience in talent acquisition, ideally from an executive search firm or a tech-focused internal role or recruitment agency
• Keen interest and exposure to the Australian tech startup scene
• A genuine track record of building relationships with candidates and hiring managers, not just filling roles
• Comfortable owning a search end to end, from scoping the brief through to offer and close
• Strong communication skills. You will be the face of Airtree's talent brand for a lot of founders and candidates
  

Nice to have

• Experience recruiting within a VC or PE firm, or for portfolio companies of one
• Experience running events or communities, even informally

Location, Flexibility & Support

Airtree's headquarters are based in Sydney, and this role will be required to be in-office on average three days a week.

We also offer:

• 5 weeks of leave: 4 weeks annual leave plus 1 bonus week of lifestyle and wellbeing leave.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave, plus a flexible return to work program.
• An annual budget for your training & self-development.
• A range of health and wellness benefits including EAP, mental health first aid training, skin checks, flu vaccines and more.

Diversity & Inclusion

We celebrate and value diversity and are committed to being equitable and inclusive in the way we hire and work together.