At OakNorth, we're on a mission to empower ambitious businesses and the communities they serve. Since 2015, we've lent over $21 billion across the UK and US, helped create more than 58,000 new homes and 36,000 new jobs, and supported hundreds of thousands of personal savers — all while driving economic growth in the markets we serve.
We are looking for a Junior People Partner to join our People Team at OakNorth. This role provides hands-on support to our Senior People Partners across UK and US employee populations across all business lines. The role is well-suited to someone who is early in their HR career, keen to develop across a broad generalist remit, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. You will get exposure to real partnering work, employee relations, performance processes, people projects, from day one
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
