Job Description

We’re becoming an AI-native business in how we work, build, and grow. This means hiring high-quality interns and graduates who are energised by AI and motivated by the pace, ownership, and exposure that comes with a founder-led business.

Early careers is a core pipeline into the roles that matter most at OakNorth. This role is about building that pipeline — with a clear focus on quality, retention, and long-term impact, not just hiring volume.

The opportunity

This is a builder role, not a maintainer.

You will design and run OakNorth’s global early careers programme — spanning internships and graduate hiring across London, New York, Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Manchester.

Embedded within the wider Talent function, you’ll connect early careers to experienced hiring, workforce planning, and long-term talent development.

There is no finished playbook. You’ll define it — building a programme that is structured, scalable, and aligned to real business demand.

What success looks like (Year 1)

• A clear, scalable internship and graduate programme designed

• Internships established as the primary feeder into high-quality hires

• Strong, engaged hiring manager base — aligned on bar and actively participating

• A forward workforce plan in place, with hiring driven by real business demand

• Measurable quality of hire: strong conversion, retention, and early performance.

What you’ll own

🏗️ Programme design & delivery

• Own a two-track early careers programme: internships, Apprecnticeships, Insight week and a 1-year graduate scheme
• Define rotations, learning pathways, mentoring, and conversion frameworks
• Set clear standards and success metrics from entry through to post-programme performance
• Build internships as the primary feeder into graduate hiring
• Own the full lifecycle: Attraction → Assessment → Offer → Onboarding → Programme → Conversion → Retention
• Track performance, conversion rates, and long-term outcomes

🔗 Talent & business alignment

• Translate business hiring needs into structured early careers pipelines across:
  • Debt Finance
  • Engineering
  • Product
  • Finance & Legal
  • Operations
• Partner with hiring managers to define what good looks like
• Build a forward-looking workforce plan based on real demand
• Continuously improve pipeline quality using data and insight
• Connect Talent, People Partners, L&D, and business leadership

🎓 Attraction & university strategy

• Build a focused university strategy across the UK, US, and India
• Prioritise depth over breadth in relationships
• Represent OakNorth on campus through events, partnerships, and societies
• Develop a compelling early careers narrative against banks, Big Tech, and startups
• Partner with Talent and Marketing to ensure consistent messaging

📋 Selection & assessment

• Design a rigorous, fair, and scalable selection process
• Assess for potential, not polish
• Implement high-signal, low-bias assessment methods
• Train hiring managers to assess consistently
• Define and track quality of hire (performance, progression, retention)
• Ensure strong outcomes beyond hiring — retention and development

🌍 Global coordination

• Align programme structure and standards across UK, US, and India
• Partner with local teams to adapt programmes to each market
• Coordinate hiring cycles, budgets, and reporting
• Maintain a clear global view of pipeline health

🤝 Stakeholder partnership

• Operate as part of the core Talent team
• Align early careers with experienced hiring and broader people strategy
• Influence hiring plans and talent investment decisions
• Provide clear, data-led insights on pipeline quality and ROI

Priority pipelines

You will build reliable, high-quality feeder pipelines into critical junior roles across the business, includding Debt Finance, Engineering, Product, Finance. legal and operations.

Build a clear pathway from intern → graduate → junior role, particularly for hiring where consistency, quality, and retention are critical.

AI & the future of work

OakNorth is becoming an AI-native business — and how we hire should reflect that.

• Use AI tools to improve sourcing, assessment, and programme delivery
• Apply data and insight to continuously improve hiring quality
• Build modern, high-signal candidate experiences
• Engage with AI-curious and high-potential talent communities

What we’re looking for

Core experience

• A recruiter with 4+ years in early careers / campus recruiting
• Track record of building programmes end-to-end
• Experience operating within a broader Talent function
• Exposure to global hiring (UK, US, India preferred)

Capabilities

• Strong instinct for quality over volume
• Experience measuring outcomes (performance, retention, conversion)
• Builder mindset — comfortable creating and iterating
• Able to operate at pace in a high-growth environment
• Credible with both students and senior stakeholders
• Data-driven and outcome-focused
• Curious about AI and its impact on hiring

Culture fit

• Focused on long-term talent value, not short-term hiring
• Holds a high bar and owns outcomes
• Connects the dots across teams
• Brings energy and authenticity

What this role isn’t

• A standalone campus role disconnected from Talent
• A coordination-heavy or purely operational role
• A people management role (initially)
• A role with a fixed playbook