Head of Staffing

DNA Recruit; Normanton on Trent; Hybrid; GBP 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading recruitment agency is seeking a Head of Staffing to drive excellence in staffing strategy and talent management. You will oversee recruitment, training, and staffing operations while working closely with clients and internal teams. The ideal candidate has proven leadership experience in experiential staffing and is ready to lead in a dynamic environment, ensuring campaign success across the UK.

Benefits

Bonus and benefits

Referral vouchers

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience in experiential staffing is essential.
• Strong operational mindset with experience managing budgets.
• Confident managing senior-level stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute an annual recruitment plan.
• Oversee end-to-end recruitment for various roles.
• Design and deliver training programmes for staff.
• Manage departmental budgets and track campaign profitability.

Skills

Leadership in staffing

Operational and commercial mindset

Exceptional communication

Experience in large-scale campaigns

Job description

Overview

Head of Staffing - Experiential & Brand Experience Agency - London/Hybrid

DNA Recruit are thrilled to be partnering with a leading Brand Experience & Experiential agency to find their next Head of Staffing. A pivotal leadership position driving excellence across promotional staffing and talent strategy. This agency is renowned for producing creative, impactful campaigns across the UK and globally, and this role sits at the very heart of their delivery success.

About the Role

As Head of Staffing, you will be a key member of the senior management team, responsible for shaping and executing a best-in-class staffing strategy. You’ll lead all aspects of talent acquisition, staff training and motivation, database management, and campaign staffing operations. You’ll work cross-functionally with client service teams, creatives, and leadership to uphold the agency’s reputation for outstanding field teams. This is a strategic and hands-on role ideal for someone who lives and breathes experiential staffing and thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute an annual recruitment plan ensuring national talent coverage.
• Oversee end-to-end recruitment for field and internal roles.
• Continuously source high-calibre talent aligned to campaign briefs.
• Lead and evolve interview processes, candidate profiling, and legal compliance.
• Utilise digital tools, video assets, and social recruitment methods to attract top talent.
• Manage and maintain a high-performing staffing database with rigorous data integrity.
• Provide training on database tools and oversee access control.
• Design and deliver induction and training programmes for field and event staff.
• Oversee field staff communications, including a motivational newsletter.
• Nurture and manage a high-performing internal talent team with regular 1:1s and PDPs.
• Interpret client briefs, advise on ideal staffing profiles, and own end-to-end talent delivery.
• Ensure all campaign staff are booked, briefed, and managed in alignment with client expectations and budgets.
• Oversee staffing project documentation, reports, and internal communication processes.
• Act as the expert advisor for all things staffing—internally and externally.
• Attend client meetings, support new business pitches, and provide insights to senior stakeholders.
• Build strong relationships with client stakeholders and identify business growth opportunities.
• Manage departmental budgets and track campaign profitability.
• Maximise staffing margin and ensure PO/invoicing processes are followed.
• Monitor field staff payroll and campaign reconciliation in line with internal policies.
• Mentor junior team members and contribute to a positive, productive working environment.

Key Requirements

• Proven leadership experience in experiential staffing or brand experience agency environments - essential.
• A clear understanding of how to deliver complex, large-scale campaigns from a staffing perspective, not just candidate sourcing.
• Strong operational and commercial mindset with experience managing budgets, payroll, resourcing, and profitability.
• Confident managing senior-level stakeholders, internal teams, and freelance talent pools.
• Strategic thinker who’s also hands-on — you’ll lead from the front and aren’t afraid to get stuck in.
• Exceptional communicator and motivator, with experience mentoring internal team members and building a performance-driven culture.
• Solid knowledge of employment law relating to temp and freelance workers in the UK.
• Must have agency-side experience — recruitment agency or in-house talent acquisition backgrounds will not be suitable for this role.

This is a unique opportunity to lead a vital function within a highly creative, people-first agency that values innovation, autonomy, and growth. If you thrive in high-energy environments, love working with people, and are ready to shape the future of experiential staffing, this is for you.

Location: London/Hybrid (Reading)

Salary: £60K plus bonus and benefits

Job Reference: AW 11762

DNA is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community and welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds.

Although we try to respond to all applications, unfortunately, due to the high number we receive, we are unable to respond to all of those who are unsuccessful.

Additional information

• We offer up to £250 in vouchers for any referrals who pass their probationary period, so if you know anyone who might be interested please forward the link to the job advert to them.
• Be the first to know about our latest roles by following us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

DNA Recruit deliver dynamic recruitment, search and talent solutions and provide insight, knowledge, and credible introductions necessary for client-side and agency roles. Areas we specialise in include New Business, Account and Project Management, Strategy and Planning, Events, Experiential, Creative and User Experience Design, Technology, Product, Marketing and Data roles in permanent, contract and freelance recruitment, search and selection, talent advisory and consulting across the UK and globally.