Founding recruitment lead (growth / startup)

📍 East Sussex / Hybrid (flexible)

💰 £competitive base + commission + profit share / future equity potential


We’re an early-stage recruitment business with strong commercial foundations, looking for a Founding Recruitment Lead to work closely with the Founder to build, shape, and scale the business from the ground up.


In the early stages, you will partner directly with the Founder on strategy, positioning, and go-to-market approach. As the business grows, you will take increasing ownership of the day-to-day running and overall growth of the business.


This is not a plug-and-play desk. This is an opportunity to take real ownership of delivery, growth, and strategy and play a key role in building something meaningful.


The role


You will be responsible for both:

* Developing the foundations of the business alongside the Founder, and
* Leading the day-to-day recruitment operations and growth of the business


This role combines:

* Hands-on recruitment delivery
* Business building
* Commercial strategy


What you'll be doing


0-6 months 🚀

* Work closely with the Founder to develop and refine the go-to-market strategy (target sectors, clients, positioning)
* Build initial candidate and client pipelines from scratch
* Define and implement recruitment processes, CRM workflows, and delivery models
* Contribute to brand positioning, outreach strategy, and messaging
* Support key decisions around market entry and growth priorities


Ongoing / Growth Phase 📈

* Take ownership of the day-to-day running of the recruitment business
* Drive business development and client acquisition
* Run end-to-end recruitment processes (360)
* Build and manage a high-quality candidate network
* Optimise conversion rates, time-to-hire, and delivery performance
* Identify and execute opportunities to scale the business (people, process, niche expansion)


What were looking for


* 3–7+ years’ experience in recruitment (agency or in-house with commercial exposure)
* Proven ability to build a desk, pipeline, or function from scratch
* Strong business development and relationship-building skills
* Comfortable operating in a startup / low-structure environment
* Commercially minded with an interest in strategy and growth
* Self-sufficient, proactive, and accountable


Desirable:

* Experience in sectors such as MedTech, diagnostics, life sciences, AI, or education
* Exposure to building or scaling a new market / niche


What you'll get


* Competitive base salary
* Commission structure with strong earning potential
* Profit share, with the potential for equity participation as the business grows
* Direct access to the Founder and real influence over strategy
* Clear pathway to senior leadership (Head of / Director level)


Why this role?


This is a rare opportunity.

This is your opportunity to:

* Work closely with a Founder in the early stages of building a business
* Take ownership of both operations and growth
* Shape strategy while delivering commercially
* Build long-term value, with potential upside beyond salary and commission


Important

This role will suit someone who wants to build something, not someone looking to step into an established desk with inbound flow.


If you’re interested in playing a key role in building a high-quality, modern recruitment business, then we’d like to hear from you.