Head of Talent/Talent Director

Head of Talent/Talent Director

Hands-On | Scale-Up Operator | Hiring, Organisation & Performance

Company Overview

We are a growing data technology business in the Customer Data Platform (CDP),

analytics & data activation space. We have 55+ staff and partner with leading UK and

international brands to transform how they understand and monetise their data.

Our proprietary CDP platform, Horizon, enables clients to gain deep customer insight

and activate data to drive measurable commercial outcomes. XCM delivers a full solution

across data, technology, people and partnership, offering a high-touch, “white glove”

service that differentiates us in the market.

Following recent investment, we are entering a critical phase of growth and scaling the

business significantly across product, platform, delivery and commercial functions.

Reporting to: CEO

Works closely with: CTO, Leadership Team

Location: Hybrid 50/50 home and Leeds Office

Role Purpose

This is a critical leadership hire for XCM and will play a central role in determining how

successfully we scale.

The primary purpose of this role is to build the organisation required to support XCM’s

next phase of growth ensuring we attract, hire and develop high-quality talent whilst also

developing a high-performance, accountable culture.

This role is fundamental to embedding and scaling XCM’s three strategic pillars across

the organisation:

• World-Class Technology through high-quality technical hiring
• Deep Expertise through building exceptional talent and capability
• Exceptional Relationships through hiring and developing the right behaviours and

culture

Core Focus

• Build and deliver a high-quality hiring engine across all functions
• Translate growth plans into a clear, prioritised hiring roadmap
• Define and enforce a high talent bar aligned to XCM’s strategic pillars
• Support leadership in designing a scalable organisational structure
• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability
• Partner with internal HR manager & recruiter to deliver hiring at pace and quality

Key Responsibilities

Hiring & Talent (Primary Focus)

• Build and execute the hiring plan across product, platform, sales and delivery
• Ensure hiring supports the three strategic pillars
• Introduce structure, consistency and pace into hiring processes
• Ensure high-quality hiring decisions
• Challenge hiring decisions where standards are not met

Organisation Design & Leadership Support

• Partner with CEO and CTO on team structure and role definitions
• Ensure organisation design supports delivery against the pillars
• Support hiring and development of leadership roles
• Identify gaps and inefficiencies

Performance & Standards

• Define what “great” looks like at XCM for the staff base
• Align performance expectations to strategic pillars
• Support managers in setting expectations
• Introduce simple performance frameworks

Onboarding & Development

• Build onboarding processes for fast productivity
• Ensure new hires understand strategic pillars
• Support ongoing development

Culture & Ways of Working

• Embed a high-performance, collaborative culture aligned to the pillars
• Ensure culture scales effectively

Essential Experience (Non-Negotiable)

• Experience scaling a business (50 → 120+ employees)
• Proven hiring across engineering, commercial and delivery
• Experience in client-facing, supplier-led tech/services business
• Experience with ARR-based business models
• Experience working with founders and leadership

Strongly Desired

• Experience in CDP, data, martech or SaaS
• Experience with tech + services models
• Experience building recruitment functions
• Experience in client delivery environments
• Experience scaling multi-location teams

What Success Looks Like (First 6–18 Months)

• Scales from circa 60 to 85+ employees with high-quality hires
• Structured, predictable hiring process
• Strong pipelines across roles
• Fast productivity of new hires
• Clear organisation structure
• Strengthened leadership team
• Reduced founder dependency

Why This Role Matters at XCM

• Critical to scaling following investment
• Hiring quality directly impacts success
• Supports delivery of all three strategic pillars
• Enables sustainable, structured growth

Closing Statement

This is an opportunity to build a high-performing organisation from the ground up in a

scaling, investor-backed technology business.