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.
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.
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.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
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.
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
- 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)
- 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
- 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
- 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
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
