Senior Talent Acquisition Partner | Defence Tech & Aerospace Scale-Up

Hawkwood; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Hawkwood is partnering with a profitable, high-growth defence technology and aerospace company that develops mission-critical technology to address security challenges. Location: London. Hybrid (3 days per week in office).

Full-time, permanent. You’ll join a Talent Acquisition team in its early stages, shaping processes and introducing scalable hiring practices. You’ll work directly with senior leaders as a trusted talent partner, owning searches across multiple functions and levels of

Qualifications

• In-house Talent Acquisition experience within a fast-growing tech business or scale-up.
• Ability to advise, influence and challenge senior leaders.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and turning needs into a clear search strategy.
• Strong proactive sourcing with a track record of high-quality talent.
• Collaborative, low-ego approach across teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead full-cycle recruitment across corporate and commercial functions.
• Partner with senior leaders and hiring managers to develop hiring strategies.
• Create clarity for unclear hiring requirements and define success metrics.
• Proactively source and engage high-quality talent across markets.
• Build pipelines for current and future hiring needs and improve processes.

Skills

In-house TA

Stakeholder mgmt

Ambiguity handling

Proactive sourcing

Collaboration

Greenhouse

Tools

Greenhouse

Job description

Location: London, Hybrid (3 days per week in office)

Employment: Full-time, permanent

Hawkwood is partnering with a profitable, high-growth defence technology and aerospace company that is developing mission-critical technology to address some of the world's most complex security challenges.

Operating at the intersection of software, AI, advanced engineering and aerospace, the company is building technology that has a tangible impact on some of the most pressing challenges facing governments and societies today.

From helping governments identify and respond to security threats in real time, to developing technology that enables safer airspace, more effective military operations and faster responses to natural disasters, the business is solving complex, real-world problems where the consequences of getting things wrong can be significant.

With offices across the UK, EMEA, USA and Asia, the business is scaling quickly, creating an opportunity for an experienced recruiter to join a highly visible Talent Acquisition function and partner directly with senior leaders across the business.

The Opportunity

You’ll be joining a Talent Acquisition team that’s still in the early stages of being built, creating a huge opportunity to have a genuine impact on its development. From shaping recruitment processes and ways of working to introducing new ideas and building more scalable hiring practices, you’ll have the autonomy to influence how the function evolves as the business continues to grow.

You’ll also have direct exposure to senior leadership, working closely with key stakeholders across the business as a trusted talent partner. This is an opportunity to influence hiring decisions, challenge thinking and play a meaningful role in how the organisation attracts and builds its teams.

The role offers plenty of variety, with ownership of searches across different functions and levels of seniority. It’s an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys the pace and ambiguity of a scale-up environment, wants to remain hands-on with recruitment, but is equally motivated by the opportunity to build something and leave their mark.

Key Priorities:

• Lead full-cycle recruitment across a broad range of corporate and commercial functions including People, Finance, Legal, Operations, Strategy, and related areas.
• Partner closely with senior leaders and hiring managers to develop effective hiring strategies.
• Bring structure and clarity to new or ambiguous hiring requirements, helping stakeholders define what good looks like.
• Proactively source and engage high-quality talent across different functions and markets.
• Build strong candidate pipelines for current and future hiring needs.
• Bring market insight and recruiting expertise to help stakeholders make informed hiring decisions.
• Manage multiple searches and complex interview processes across distributed teams.
• Identify opportunities to improve recruitment processes, sourcing strategies and overall hiring effectiveness.
• Contribute to the development of a best-in-class Talent Acquisition function as the business continues to scale.
• Deliver an excellent candidate experience whilst maintaining a high bar for talent.

What We're Looking For:

• In-house Talent Acquisition experience, ideally gained within a fast-growing technology business, startup, scale-up or similarly complex environment.
• Experience recruiting across corporate, commercial or specialist functions, with the versatility to adapt to unfamiliar roles and talent markets.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to advise, influence and challenge senior leaders.
• Someone comfortable operating in ambiguity, who can take an undefined hiring need, create clarity and develop an effective search strategy.
• Experience working in an environment where recruitment processes and infrastructure are still being developed, with examples of having built or improved something from scratch.
• A proactive approach to sourcing, with a strong track record of identifying and engaging high-quality talent.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the curiosity to understand the root cause of hiring challenges rather than simply working through vacancies.
• A collaborative, low-ego approach, with the ability to work effectively across teams and share knowledge.
• Experience with Greenhouse or a comparable applicant tracking system is advantageous.
• Previous aerospace, defence or national security recruiting experience is not required. The business is particularly interested in individuals who can bring fresh thinking, adaptability and experience solving difficult hiring challenges.