[Hiring] Director of Talent Acquisition @NerdWallet

Role Description

NerdWallet is looking for a Director of Talent Acquisition to build and lead the operating engine behind how we hire and manage recruiting capacity. You'll own the full Talent Acquisition ecosystem: strategy, operating model, team leadership, Talent Operations, systems, and metrics, turning hiring into a predictable, scalable, and data-driven capability that keeps pace with our evolving business.

Talent Acquisition and Talent Operations will operate as one connected function under this role:

• Talent Acquisition owns hiring strategy, recruiter effectiveness, assessment quality, and business partnership.
• Talent Operations powers that work through systems, workflows, coordination, dashboards, and data integrity.

We're looking for an operator: someone as comfortable redesigning a recruiting funnel or standing up a new Ashby workflow as advising executives on headcount trade-offs. You bring a strong point of view, low ego, and a track record of building recruiting infrastructure (not just running what already exists), while navigating ambiguity and leading through change.

This role reports to the Chief Financial Officer.

What you'll do:

• Shape NerdWallet's Talent Acquisition strategy alongside business leaders.
• Assess and flex the operating model to match hiring demand.
• Own build-vs-buy decisions across in-house recruiting, contractors, RPO, and retained search.
• Lead capacity planning, funnel design, SLA targets, and process governance.
• Own recruiting workflows, dashboards, and ATS requirements.
• Drive adoption of new tools and standards across the team.
• Define and own the KPIs that measure Talent Acquisition (time-to-fill, pipeline health, conversion, quality of hire, and more).
• Build dashboards and a reporting cadence that keep the business aligned.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a multidisciplinary team of recruiters, sourcers, coordinators, and Talent Operations partners.
• Stay personally involved in a subset of critical and executive searches.
• Build structured interviewing and evaluation frameworks that reduce bias and improve decision quality.
• Create playbooks and enablement that raise the bar for hiring managers and interviewers.
• Partner closely with HRBPs, Finance, Compensation, Legal, and business leaders on workforce planning, prioritization, and hiring decisions.
• Own the recruiting technology roadmap (Ashby, sourcing, reporting, and scheduling tools).
• Identify where AI can be a genuine force multiplier in recruiting and Talent Operations.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of Talent Acquisition experience, including at least 5 years leading Talent Acquisition as a function in a player/coach capacity.
• Experience managing an integrated Talent Acquisition and Talent Operations model.
• A track record of building or redesigning a recruiting operating model, including process design, capacity planning, vendor strategy, metrics, systems, and governance.
• Experience managing a mixed recruiting-capacity model, which may include internal teams, contractors, RPOs, and retained search firms.
• Experience supporting a high-growth or rapidly evolving company, scaling hiring across several hundred employees.
• Strong understanding of recruiting operations: ATS design, workflows, coordination models, dashboards, data integrity, and reporting, with experience establishing and enforcing SLA-based metrics.
• Hands-on proficiency with Ashby or a comparable modern ATS, used to drive process and decision-making, not just track candidates.
• Experience hiring across a broad range of levels and functions, from early-career through executive search.
• Experience building employer brand and talent attraction programs, including referral programs, internal mobility, and recruiting events.
• Excellent communication skills and a proven ability to engage, influence, and motivate diverse audiences.
• Comfort operating as an executive partner with a strong point of view, sound judgment, and low ego.

Requirements

• Experience selecting, implementing, or modernizing recruiting technology and driving adoption across a team.
• Experience integrating AI or automation into recruiting and Talent Operations workflows.
• Experience building recruiting dashboards and operating reviews that directly influence business decisions.
• Familiarity with workforce management, contingent workforce programs, or vendor-governance models.
• Experience clarifying decision rights across Talent Acquisition, HR Operations, HRIS, and People Operations.
• Familiarity with recruiting practices across multiple regions or a distributed and remote workforce.
• Experience in fintech, consumer technology, or another regulated or fast-scaling consumer-facing industry.

Benefits

• Work Hard, Stay Balanced (Life’s a series of balancing acts, eh?)
• Industry-leading medical, dental, and vision health care plans for employees and their dependents.
• Rejuvenation Policy – Flexible Vacation Time Off + 11 holidays + holiday company shutdown.
• New Parent Leave for employees with a newborn child or a child placed with them for adoption or foster care.
• Mental health support.
• Paid sabbatical after 5 years for Nerds to recharge, gain knowledge, and pursue their interests.
• Health and Dependent Care FSA and HSA Plan with monthly NerdWallet contribution.
• Monthly Wellness Stipend, Cell Phone Stipend, and Wifi Stipend (Only remote Nerds are eligible for the Wifi Stipend).
• Work from home equipment stipend and co-working space subsidy (Only remote Nerds are eligible for these stipends).
• Nerd-led group initiatives – Employee Resource Groups for Parents, Diversity, and Inclusion, Women, LGBTQIA, and other communities.
• Hackathons and team events across all teams and departments.
• Company-wide events like NerdLove (employee appreciation) and our annual Charity Auction.
• Our Nerds love to make an impact by paying it forward – Take 8 hours of volunteer time off per quarter and donate to your favorite causes with a company match.
• 401K with 4% company match.
• Be the first to test and benefit from our new financial products and tools.
• Financial wellness, guidance, and unlimited access to a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) through Northstar.
• Disability and Life Insurance with employer-paid premiums.