Full job description
Urgent Hiring — Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The selection process may take up to 4 weeks, but early applicants are strongly encouraged.Ready to Empower a Growing Team and Shape Our Future?
At Hadley Designs, we believe that learning should be enjoyable, engaging, and screen-free. Millions of parents and teachers trust our beautifully designed, developmentally aligned educational tools to help children grow and thrive. As a fast-growing brand, we are on a mission to make learning meaningful for families around the world.
We are seeking a Director of Recruiting & People Strategy to join our team and build the systems that will drive our next phase of growth. If you are passionate about creating scalable people systems, empowering teams, and cultivating a culture that supports both personal and professional growth, this role offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact.
About Hadley Designs
Hadley Designs is redefining early education with creativity and purpose. Every product we create is hand-drawn and teacher-designed, crafted with care to build confidence and connection. Our screen-free tools help families and teachers make learning fun and meaningful, nurturing curiosity and creativity in children.
Our Mission:
We design screen-free products that parents can trust to help their children learn, grow, and reach their full potential. We create beautifully designed, developmentally sound tools that replace noise and distraction with connection, curiosity, and real learning.
Our Vision:
We aim to build the most trusted children’s brand in the world, present in millions of homes, reshaping how families learn, connect, and grow. Our products will be so widely used and passed down that generations of children will grow up learning from them and choose them again for their own families.
Role Overview
As the Director of Recruiting & People Strategy, you will own how Hadley Designs sources, vets, and closes top global talent, and you will own the broader people system that talent steps into. You will partner with leadership to design the recruiting engine that consistently delivers strong top-of-funnel for every open role, and you will scale the people systems that hold a remote, contractor-centric organization together as it grows toward $100M and beyond.
This is a leadership-tier role with 1 direct report (the People Operations Specialist) and end-to-end ownership of the talent and people functions. Your weeks will be heavier on recruiting in the near term, live pipelines, structured interviews, test projects, employer brand, and steady on People Operations throughout (onboarding, performance frameworks, contractor renewal, leadership enablement).
Key ResponsibilitiesTalent Acquisition (the #1 outcome of this role):
- Recruiting Pipeline Management: Source candidates across LinkedIn, job boards, freelancer platforms, and referrals; filter applicants for red flags, competency match, and scorecard alignment.
- Test Project & Interview Operations: Run test projects, review submissions, conduct first-round group interviews, and manage candidate experience end-to-end.
- Sourcing Channel Optimization: Manage and optimize sourcing channels based on performance; build "always hiring" shortlists for recurring high-leverage roles.
- Employer Brand & Glassdoor Defense: Monitor and manage Glassdoor reviews, organize team review drives, ask for feedback, flag issues, protect brand rating.
- Hiring Metrics & Funnel Reporting: Deliver weekly hiring pipeline reports broken down by channel and role; track funnel performance against KPIs.
People Operations:
- People Systems Leadership: Design and implement systems for engaging, onboarding, and retaining talent, align
ed with the company's growth objectives.
- Organizational Design and Capacity Planning: Collaborate with leadership to ensure that the organizational structure and workforce planning meet the evolving needs of the business.
- Performance and Development Frameworks: Establish performance expectations, evaluation frameworks, and development pathways that drive accountability and growth across the organization.
- Talent Experience and Retention: Build a consistent and professional experience for talent that reinforces employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention.
- Workforce Insights and Reporting: Provide insights and data-driven recommendations to leadership to guide decision-making and improve workforce effectiveness.
- External Partnerships: Partner with external service providers to enhance and support people operations as necessary.
How Success Is Measured (two bold sub-headers, each with bullets):Talent Acquisition KPIs:
- Average time to fill open roles: under 45 days.
- Weekly applicant volume per active role: 250+ qualified applicants.
- Weekly hiring pipeline report by sourcing channel: 100% completion, on time.
- Completed candidate case studies available for review per role per week: 15+.
- Glassdoor company rating: maintain 4.5+ average across the year.
People Operations KPIs:
- Successful implementation of people systems that directly support the business's ability to scale.
- Strong employee retention rates, with high performance and engagement.
- Improved leadership confidence in people systems, talent readiness, and organizational alignment.
- Predictable, scalable people operations that contribute to the company's growth and success.
Requirements
Who You Are
You are a recruiting-strong, systems-oriented leader. You have personally closed difficult hires, not just managed a team that did. You move fast in a sourcing pipeline, you can run a structured interview that lands the right read on a candidate in 30 minutes, and you are equally comfortable defending the company on Glassdoor as you are building a 90-day onboarding plan. You thrive in a fast-paced, remote-first, contractor-centric environment and have a track record of both filling open roles ahead of timeline and scaling the people systems that retain the talent you bring in.
Talent Acquisition / Recruiting (must-haves):
- 3-5+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience, ideally in remote or e-commerce organizations.
- Proven track record of hiring across marketing, ops, Amazon, product, and leadership roles.
- Experience running structured interviews, test projects, and group interviews.
- Familiarity with recruiting tech stacks: LinkedIn Recruiter, Workable, OnlineJobs.ph.
- Comfortable managing hiring systems using Notion, ClickUp, or lightweight ATS tools.
- Strong writing ability: clear job posts, compelling outreach, direct candidate comms.
- Ability to handle 5-10 active roles at a time with no drop-off in process.
- Experience defending brand reputation and responding to feedback (e.g. Glassdoor).
- Experience building and running reporting for hiring metrics.
People Operations (must-haves):
- 5+ years of progressive HR or people operations experience, with leadership responsibility.
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field.
- Direct experience operating contractor-centric or distributed teams.
- Demonstrated success building compliant, scalable people systems.
- Strong understanding of contractor classification, employment law, and risk mitigation.
Benefits
Why Join Hadley Designs?
- Build the people function as a true growth lever that directly supports execution and scale
- Partner closely with executive leadership on scaling the organization
- Operate in a high-ownership, execution-focused environment
- Remote flexibility with real responsibility and influence
- Help shape how a modern, fast-growing company builds and retains talent
Apply Today
Apply now and help make learning fun, engaging, and screen-free for families everywhere.
P.S: If you don’t hear from us within two weeks of your application, please consider that as our decision to move forward with other candidates, but we truly appreciate your interest in Hadley Designs.
Why You’ll Love Working Here
- Impact: Your work will directly impact how families experience learning through the Hadley Designs brand.
- Culture: Join a passionate, mission-driven team that values trust, creativity, and collaboration.
- Flexibility: Enjoy the freedom of a remote role with flexible working hours.
- Benefits:
- Remote-first work environment
- Paid time off and holidays
- Access to learning resources and professional development
- Free access to Hadley Designs products
- Regular interaction with leadership, including the CEO and CMO
- Stability from a decade as a family-founded, mission-driven brand
Apply Today
If you’re ready to make a meaningful impact in a growing company that’s shaping the future of learning, apply now to join the Hadley Designs team as our People Operations Director. Help us create a lasting impact on families, educators, and children worldwide.
P.S: If you don’t hear from us within four weeks of your application, please consider that as our decision to move forward with other candidates, but we truly appreciate your interest in Hadley Designs.
Is there a problem with this job?aThe Senior Officer – Talent Acquisition is responsible for managing the full recruitment cycle for assigned positions, from requisition to offer stage. This includes sourcing, screening, interviewing, coordinating assessments, and facilitating onboarding in alignment with organizational policies and UAE labor laws. The role collaborates closely with internal stakeholders and external recruitment partners to ensure hiring needs are fulfilled efficiently while maintaining a positive candidate experience and strong employer brand.
Responsibilities
The post holder will:
- Coordinate with hiring managers to understand manpower needs, develop job postings, and initiate recruitment plans in alignment with approved budgets and workforce planning.
- Post job vacancies on internal and external platforms, including company career portals, job boards, and social media, to attract qualified applicants.
- Source suitable candidates through various channels, including CV databases, referrals, recruitment agencies, and professional networks.
- Screen resumes, conduct initial interviews, and shortlist candidates based on job requirements, qualifications, and organizational fit.
- Schedule and coordinate interviews with line managers, managing logistics and ensuring timely communication with candidates.
- Administer assessments, psychometric tests, or technical evaluations where applicable, ensuring fair and standardized selection processes.
- Prepare offer letters, coordinate salary approvals, and facilitate the final offer process, ensuring alignment with internal compensation benchmarks.
- Support the pre-employment verification process, including reference checks, credential verification, and background screening.
- Liaise with the onboarding and medical licensing teams to ensure smooth and timely mobilization of selected candidates.
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date recruitment trackers, dashboards, and reports to monitor the progress of hiring activities and identify bottlenecks.
- Build and maintain a strong talent pipeline for critical roles through proactive networking and relationship-building strategies.
- Partner with recruitment agencies and external vendors to support large-scale hiring campaigns or specialized roles.
- Contribute to employer branding initiatives through content creation, events, and engagement with universities and talent communities.
- Ensure full compliance with UAE labor laws, healthcare authority licensing criteria, and internal recruitment policies during all recruitment stages.
- Participate in recruitment audits, process improvement initiatives, and policy updates to enhance the overall recruitment experience.
Qualifications
Education and Certification
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field
- Professional certification in HR or recruitment (CIPD, SHRM, LinkedIn Recruiter, etc.) is an advantage
Knowledge and Skills
- Strong knowledge of UAE labor law and healthcare sector regulations
- Proficiency in applicant tracking systems (ATS) and recruitment software
- Excellent sourcing and headhunting skills across various platforms
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities
- Ability to manage multiple requisitions simultaneously under tight deadlines
- High attention to detail and professionalism
- Knowledge of compensation benchmarking and offer structuring
Senior Officer - Talent Acquisition benefit from having experience/competency in:
- Mass recruitment and bulk hiring
- Clinical and non-clinical role hiring
- Employer branding
- Campus and graduate recruitment
- Vendor management
- Competency-based interviewing
- Recruitment data analysis and reporting
Experience
- 6+ years of experience in recruitment or talent acquisition, preferably in the UAE healthcare sector or a large corporate environment
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