Lead HR Consultant

Responsibilities:

People Lab Strategy and Leadership:

• Own the vision, service model, and day-to-day operations
• Translate the front office's business goals into scalable talent solutions
• Define service standards, SLAs, and quality benchmarks
• Build internal capability while managing third-party partners
• Serve as the internal authority on talent, employment models, and workforce trends

Recruitment and Talent Operations:

• Oversee end-to-end recruitment for client roles (permanent, contract, and freelance)
• Manage the ATS and recruitment workflows from sourcing to onboarding
• Ensure high-quality candidate screening, shortlisting, and placement
• Build and maintain a vetted talent pool across creative, marketing, and strategy roles
• Track key recruitment metrics including time-to-hire, candidate quality, and retention

Background Checks and Talent Quality Assurance:

• Implement portfolio authenticity verification processes
• Conduct employment history and reference checks
• Validate campaign involvement and creative credentials
• Maintain talent credibility scoring and risk flags
• Ensure consistent, defensible vetting standards across all placements

Freelance Compliance and Employer of Record (EOR) Oversight:

• Manage freelance and contractor compliance frameworks
• Oversee contracts, NDAs, IP ownership, and payment terms
• Coordinate with payroll and EOR partners
• Ensure compliance with local and cross-border labour regulations
• Serve as the compliance point of contact for clients

Client Advisory and Talent Strategy:

• Advise clients on workforce planning and team structure
• Support skills mapping for marketing and creative teams
• Coordinate audit and talent imbedding process
• Deliver salary benchmarking and hiring insights
• Guide clients on employment models: freelance, permanent, or EOR
• Act as a trusted talent partner to key accounts

Employer Branding and Talent Marketing:

• Support clients in strengthening their employer brand and job positioning
• Review and refine job descriptions and recruitment messaging
• Partner with the Front Office design team on recruitment marketing assets
• Help clients articulate culture, values, and employee value proposition (EVP)

Partnerships and Ecosystem Management:

• Manage relationships with recruitment agencies, background check providers, payroll vendors, and LMS partners
• Evaluate partner performance and cost-effectiveness
• Reduce reliance on external agencies as internal capability scales

Thought Leadership and Market Intelligence:

• Lead development of People Lab insights on talent trends, salary data, and skills demand
• Contribute to reports, articles, and speaking opportunities
• Position the Front Office as a credible authority in creative and marketing talent

Requirements:

• Minimum 8 years of experience in HR, talent management, recruitment, or workforce consulting
• At least 3 to 5 years in a client-facing or consulting environment, such as a recruitment agency, workforce solutions firm, or HR consulting practice
• Proven experience running recruitment operations or talent programs
• Strong exposure to creative, marketing, media, or agency environments (strongly preferred)
• Experience working with freelancers, contractors, and diverse employment models; cross-border experience is an advantage
• Familiarity with ATS platforms and recruitment technology
• Experience working directly with leaders and founders
• Entrepreneurial mindset with strong business acumen
• Able to operate as both a strategic thinker and a detail-oriented executor
• Knowledge of Nigerian employment law and international labour compliance is an advantage.