Lead Recruiter

Job description - Lead Recruiter

Company Description

Novo is a venture-backed fintech that simplifies banking for small businesses. Since our initial launch in Fall 2018, we’ve expanded our offerings from free checking accounts and debit cards to lending products and powerful business tools and integrations.

Our vision is to be the go-to-platform that small businesses turn to – from launch to day-to-day – so business owners can focus on growing, while Novo streamlines their finances and operations. We’d like to look back 5-10 years from now and know that we helped new generations of small businesses succeed – because of the work we did at Novo.

Role Summary

Our NYC headquarters is the nerve center of Novo’s growth plans, and talent is the lifeblood that makes it all run. As Lead Recruiter, you’ll be both architect and operator: filling today’s mission-critical roles while building a data-rich recruiting engine that scales effortlessly as we expand.

Impact-Driven Responsibilities

Design a hiring engine that scales, then run it at full throttle

You’ll weave structured, competency-based interviews, scorecards, and AI-powered sourcing into a single flow that anyone at Novo can operate with confidence. While that engine hums, you’ll personally pilot multiple searches—from intake to close—so every critical seat is filled on time and spec.

Turn insight into action—every single week

Dashboards you build in Ashby will spotlight time-to-fill, pass-through rates, offer acceptance, quality of hire, pipeline health, and candidate NPS. Instead of admiring the data, you’ll translate patterns into concrete moves: reallocating sourcing effort, adjusting interview panels, or fine-tuning messaging to keep velocity high.

Coach the business to hire better than it thought possible

Product leaders need a different hiring muscle than Marketing or Finance. You’ll run crisp intake meetings, mid-search calibrations, and decisive debriefs that teach every stakeholder how to separate signal from noise. Over time, executives will view you not as a transaction partner but as a strategic advisor whose counsel shapes team design and head-count planning.

Make every candidate touchpoint a brand lesson

Novo’s values and principles will show up in the little things—personalized outreach, transparent timelines, thoughtful feedback—so even declined candidates become ambassadors. In parallel, you’ll partner with People and Marketing on storytelling campaigns that broadcast our mission to new talent pools.

Relentlessly remove friction before anyone else feels it

Whether it’s an interview loop stalled by calendar chaos or a funnel clogged by duplicate leads, you’ll spot bottlenecks early and fix them with automation, process tweaks, or gentle nudges—freeing hiring managers to focus on evaluating talent, not chasing logistics.

What Success Looks Like

Time-to-hire mastery. Critical roles close within target turnaround—without compromising quality or fit.

Funnel efficiency gains. Outreach and conversion rates climb thanks to sharper targeting and messaging.

Strategic intake alignment. Up-front meetings nail hiring criteria, eliminating mid-search pivots.

Pass-through lift. Higher screen-to-offer ratios prove stronger curation at the top of the funnel.

Candidate-experience excellence. Applicants leave impressed and advocate for Novo, regardless of outcome.

Advisor-level trust. Hiring managers proactively seek—and act on—your guidance.

Continuous system improvement. The recruiting engine gets measurably better every quarter, not just every req.

Qualifications

Full-cycle recruiting mastery. 7 years leading in-house searches at high-growth startups or scale-ups.

Cross-function versatility. Consistent wins hiring for Product, Engineering, GTM, and G&A roles.

Sourcing craft. Advanced use of LinkedIn Recruiter, Gem, GitHub, CRMs, and creative channels to surface hidden talent.

ATS & analytics fluency. Ashby, Greenhouse, Lever, or similar—plus self-serve dashboards that turn data into action.

Operational rigor. Hyper-organized, outcome-obsessed, and able to juggle multiple requisitions without quality loss.

Executive-level presence. Confident communicator who influences C-suite decisions with data and integrity.

Culture carrier mindset. Models Novo’s values into process design, and elevates candidate experience.

Builder’s DNA. Proven record of installing scalable systems and continuously improving them quarter after quarter.

What This Role Offers

A seat at the strategy table. Shape Novo’s talent roadmap alongside the Chief People Officer and leadership team.

Ownership of the recruiting engine. Design, test, and iterate on systems that will power Novo’s growth for years.

Direct, visible impact. See the line from every hire you make to the small businesses Novo empowers.

Hybrid flexibility with HQ energy. Split your week between focused remote work and high-collaboration days in our NYC hub.

Competitive rewards. $150 K base salary, meaningful equity, premium health benefits, 401(k), generous PTO, and wellness perks.

Growth in every direction. Professional-development stipends, cross-functional projects, and mentorship from senior leaders.