Talent Acquisition Manager

Apera; Santa Monica (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Apera is seeking a Head of Talent Acquisition to build and lead our recruitment function from our Santa Monica hub. You’ll own the strategy and execution for hiring across the U.S., ensuring we bring in exceptional people while preserving the culture that has fueled our growth so far.

This role is ideal for someone who has grown teams in high-velocity or agency recruitment environments and thrives in a hands-on, founder-led, fast-growth business.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in Talent Acquisition.
• Experience in fast-growth recruitment agencies or sales-focused environments.
• Proven success scaling a TA function.
• Experience hiring for sales, commercial, and customer-facing roles.
• Strong stakeholder management with senior leaders.
• Experience creating university/early-career recruiting programs.
• Data-driven mindset with recruiting metrics.
• On-site in Santa Monica 4 days per week.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead the end-to-end TA strategy for the USA, with focus on sales, growth, and operations roles.
• Manage full-cycle recruiting for key roles, from sourcing to offer and onboarding.
• Build, lead, and develop a small, high-performing TA team over time.
• Establish relationships with local universities and career fairs to build pipelines.
• Partner with Marketing and People/HR to refine employer brand across channels.
• Implement and optimize ATS and recruiting tools to drive efficiency and compliance.

Skills

Talent Acquisition

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Tools

ATS

Sourcing tools

Job description

Location: Santa Monica, CA (4 days on-site, 1 day remote)

Company: Apera

Apera is scaling fast in the U.S., and we’re looking for a Head of Talent Acquisition to build and lead our recruitment function from our Santa Monica hub. You’ll own the strategy and execution for hiring across the U.S., ensuring we bring in exceptional people while preserving the culture that has fueled our growth so far.

This role is ideal for someone who has grown teams in high-velocity, sales-focused or agency recruitment environments and thrives in a hands-on, founder-led, fast-growth business.

What You’ll Do

Build and Own Talent Strategy (USA)

• Design and lead the end-to-end TA strategy for all U.S. hiring, with a focus on sales, growth, and operations roles.
• Partner closely with the CEO and leadership team to understand headcount plans, business goals, and evolving talent needs.
• Create scalable hiring processes, playbooks, and metrics tailored to a fast-growth environment.

Hands-On Recruiting & Leadership

• Manage full-cycle recruiting for key roles, from sourcing to offer and onboarding.
• Build, lead, and develop a small, high-performing TA team over time as the business grows.

Pipeline Building & Community Outreach

• Establish and nurture relationships with local universities, colleges, and schools to build a steady pipeline of early-career and graduate talent.
• Represent Apera at career fairs, campus events, and community initiatives in the Los Angeles / Santa Monica area.
• Develop internship, graduate, and early talent programs that can scale as we grow.

Culture & Employer Brand

• Champion Apera’s values in every hiring decision to ensure we scale without losing the culture that makes us successful.
• Partner with Marketing and People/HR to build and refine our employer brand across careers pages, social media, and events.
• Train and coach hiring managers on interviewing best practices, inclusive hiring, and culture-add vs. culture-fit.

Process, Tools & Compliance

• Implement and optimize ATS, sourcing tools, and recruiting tech to drive efficiency and visibility.
• Ensure recruitment practices align with employment laws and internal policies across states in which we operate.
• Continuously refine our selection methods to improve candidate experience and quality of hire.

What We’re Looking For

• 4+ years of experience in Talent Acquisition, with significant time in:
• Fast-growth recruitment agencies, or
• Sales-focused/high-volume commercial environments.
• Proven success building or scaling a TA function in a growing business.
• Track record hiring for sales, commercial, and customer-facing roles at pace, without compromising quality.
• Strong stakeholder management skills; comfortable advising and challenging senior leaders.
• Experience creating or managing university/early-career recruiting programs.
• Deep understanding of what it takes to maintain and strengthen culture while rapidly increasing headcount.
• Data-driven mindset with experience using recruiting metrics to inform strategy and decisions.
• Comfortable working on-site in Santa Monica 4 days per week.

Why Join Apera

• Join at a pivotal time of rapid U.S. growth with real influence on how and who we hire.
• Direct partnership with the CEO and leadership team on all talent decisions.
• Opportunity to build something from the ground up: process, team, and programs.
• A culture that values ambition, accountability, and doing the right thing for people.
• Competitive compensation, benefits, and clear scope for progression as the business scales.