Talent Acquisition Lead, Creative & Media

About this role

DEPT® is a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, our 4,000+ specialists deliver growth invention services across Brand & Media, Experience, Commerce, CRM, and Technology & Data. We’re 50|50 tech and marketing, partner-led, and first to move. Clients include Google, Lufthansa, Meta, eBay, and OpenAI. We have been certified B Corp and Climate Neutral since 2021.

JOB PURPOSE

As the Talent Acquisition Lead, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our agency by developing and implementing strategic talent acquisition initiatives for our Creative & Media service teams across EMEA.

You will embody DEPT®'s culture as the initial ambassador for candidates, ensuring a seamless and positive experience throughout their recruitment journey. By collaborating closely with leadership teams, you will gain a deep understanding of role requirements, deliver regular updates on hiring progress, and offer valuable market insights and drive informed decision-making together with the leadership team.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Alongside the Head of, develop and implement the talent strategy for our Creative & Media services across key EMEA markets. You're shaping how we hire at the senior and strategic end, not just running the searches.

• Operates as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, managing expectations, challenging the brief when the ask doesn't match reality, and turning "unicorn" requests into searchable, fillable mandates.

• Use data to lead, not just report; turn hiring intelligence into the insight that shapes leadership decisions and unblocks them before they stall.

• Drive innovation across the function; pioneer new sourcing channels, AI-enabled tooling and assessment approaches, and set the standard for how DEPT® hunts rather than inheriting it.

• Build and own proactive talent pipelines and market maps so we're never starting a search cold; you know where the A-players sit, and why they'd move, before the role even opens.

• Headhunt directly at the top end. You live in LinkedIn Recruiter and your own network, going after passive senior talent at rival networks and boutiques rather than waiting on inbound.

• Be the face of DEPT® in the market; represent us at industry events, on panels and in the talent community, building our employer brand and a network that pays off long before we have a vacancy to fill.

• Champion candidate experience across EMEA, making sure every future Depster feels the "small enough to care" side of us from first touch.

• Raise the bar across the recruiting team; share playbooks, mentor, and lift how we hunt as a function.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• Significant in-house talent acquisition experience, ideally inside a creative, media, digital or integrated agency. You understand billability, utilisation, and agency life.

• A track record hiring across multiple EMEA markets; you know the difference between running a search in London, Amsterdam and Berlin, and you adapt accordingly.

• Comfortable managing senior stakeholders in a matrix organisation, with the confidence to push back and lead hiring strategies.

• Real direct-sourcing; Boolean, market mapping, pedigree mapping across rivals

• Data fluency; you're comfortable building and defending a hiring story with metrics, not just gut feel.

• Navigational Intelligence; the instinct for how to actually get things done inside a global, fast-moving, partner-led organisation.

• A proactive and autonomous mindset, balanced with the relentless curiosity to keep reinventing how we hire.

WHAT YOU'll GET

• Social and Cultural Events, plenty of opportunities to connect with colleagues through organised activities and celebrations.

• Inspirational Talks, bringing the outside in with regular guest speakers and events.

• Learning and Development, supporting your growth with continuous opportunities to learn and advance.

• Buddy Programme: You will be paired with a ‘Buddy’ to help you through your first weeks’ at DEPT®.

• A reputation for doing good. DEPT® has been a Certified B Corp® since 2021 and named ‘Agency of the Year’ at both The Lovies and The Webby Awards.

• Awesome clients. Whether big or small, local or global — at DEPT® you’ll get the opportunity to work with clients of all sizes and across all industries. And we celebrate all of our successes together!

WE OFFER

• A flexible, hybrid working policy (2-3 days from the office, depending on location) and the opportunity to work from abroad for 13 weeks a year.

• 24 vacation days per year and the possibility to buy an unlimited number of extra vacation days.

• DEPT®/YOU Learning Menu and DEPT®/YOU Special Programs. Develop your skills with courses and programs tailored to your needs.

• Stay happy and healthy with a contribution to your health through the OpenUp platform,…