People Director, Otta
£90-110k
+ Meaningful equity
2+ days a week in office
The better way to find a job in tech
Job no longer available
The better way to find a job in tech
21-100 employees
Job no longer available
£90-110k
+ Meaningful equity
2+ days a week in office
21-100 employees
Company mission
Our mission is to become the best platform for candidates and companies to find each other. We’ve merged with Welcome to the Jungle, and share a common vision of the need to reinvent the candidate job search experience and make job search less soul-crushing.
Role
Who you are
- We are looking for someone who has owned the People function before (at Head of, or more senior) at a fast-growth startup — this is an essential requirement
- You are happy getting stuck-in with execution initially, before you’ve grown your team
- You are capable of thinking internationally. You don’t need to have worked abroad, but we’ll need you to think ahead to the challenges of growing our team in the US
- We like to hire people with clear strengths, so you should have an area that you clearly excel in (whether it’s HR, recruitment, leadership coaching etc)
- You want to make a meaningful difference to people’s lives and careers (On so many levels! For our potential hires, team members at Otta, and job seekers that use Otta)
What the job involves
- You’ll lead our People function, with two main missions: hire fantastic people to work for Otta & build the company to be a great place for great people
- Our plan is to 2-3x the team in 2022. As we scale, you’ll be central in ensuring we strike the right balance between preserving the best bits of our culture, and adopting new ways of working
- You’ll build out the People function. Kiran (our People & Hiring Partner) is a team of one and she’s currently handling all hiring, office and people matters
- As a senior leader, you’ll be supporting other leaders at Otta to develop their capabilities
- The organisation is set to get more complex in 2022: we have HQ in London, a part-time operations team working remote in the UK, and we will start hiring in the US
- This role reports directly to the CEO (Sam)
- Our goal is to build a special company. We can’t innovate on everything, so we choose the right areas to build an exceptional people experience. Our employee endorsements on Otta are a good introduction to what we care about. We’d love to tell you more about how we think throughout the interview process
Application process
- Submit an application on Otta
- Exploratory call with Sam (CEO) to discuss motivations for working at Otta, and go through your initial questions (30 mins)
- Take-home task to evaluate key skills for the role. We’ve worked had to keep it as short as possible to be respectful of your time (1 hour)
- Interview with Sam & Kiran (People & Hiring Partner) to discuss your experiences, approach to certain scenarios and working style (1 hour)
- Interview with Theo and Xav (Co-founders), where they’ll ask you questions around what you might bring to the role, and how you might embody our values at Otta (1 hour)
- Interview with Sian (Chief People Officer at Farfetch, and an investor in Otta) so we can get an outside perspective (30 minutes)
Salary benchmarks
Our take
Looking for a job is a frustrating experience. It’s incredibly hard to find a good match. Job adverts lack useful information like salary and diversity data. Companies sometimes never respond. Otta was created in 2019 to make finding a job in tech less soul crushing.
In January 2024, Otta merged with Welcome to the Jungle. Our ambition is to become a global leader in the world of work, and help candidates and companies find each other through our job matching, recruiter solutions including employer brand, and media.
Otta and Welcome to the Jungle both believe in a future of work based on the power of matching. Both companies share the same DNA that disrupts market conventions and are obsessed with helping people find exciting and meaningful work.
Caroline Fischer
UK Country Manager
Insights
Most candidates hear
back within 2 weeks
59% female employees
280% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Employee endorsements
Inspiring mission
"We've all had terrible experiences when trying to find a new role - it's at best tolerable and at worst utterly soul destroying. Because of Otta's..."
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Jan 2022
$20m
SERIES A
Aug 2020
$3m
SEED
Total funding: $24.1m
Company benefits
- 24 days of annual leave + bank holidays
- In addition, we have a winter break where the office closes from 25 December to 1 January, so everyone can recharge
- We are trialling a 4 day week from June to December 2024, so everyone gets every Friday off
- £1,000 self-care allowance to spend each year on your wellness or personal development
- Universal parental leave - 13 weeks' full pay, 13 weeks' half pay, 13 weeks' statutory pay (if you have been with us for at least 6 months), 13 weeks' unpaid (optional)
- Health insurance with AVIVA, including dental and optician cover
- Breakfast, snacks and drinks at the office every day
- Lunch at the office every second Wednesday
- Cycle-to-work scheme with GCI (no £1,000 limit)
Company values
- Candidates first — Otta was started to make job search less soul crushing. Our main focus is meticulously crafting the best experience for candidates
- There for each other — Startups are hard, but more enjoyable when working with great people. We are supportive and generous with our time, whether it's giving feedback or brightening up someone's day
- We challenge because we care — We believe challenge allows us to reach new heights. From personal development to product design, we challenge because we care about each other and Otta’s success
- What’s the return? — We like to make a lot happen with a little. Doing this requires an evaluation of return on investment, and discipline to work on the problems that will have the biggest impact
- What would it take to learn faster? — Speed of iteration typically beats quality of iteration. We move fast when it helps us learn faster - we feel safe taking risks, finding smart shortcuts, or shipping experiments
- What could exceptional look like? — Our standards are high, and there are moments where it's worth pushing them further. We're comfortable asking hard questions to explore how to make something exceptional
Company HQ
Finsbury, London, UK
Articles
Leadership
Jeremy Cledat
(CEO of Welcome to the Jungle)Previously worked in venture capital firms for 6 years, then created Welcome to the Jungle in 2015.
Caroline Fischer
(Country Manager of Otta)Grew her career in commercial, operational and leadership roles in big and small tech companies in London.
People progressing
Abby joined Otta as a Business Operations Associate and was promoted to Customer Success Lead after 7 months. She is now Head of Revenue Operations.
Sarah joined Otta as a Finance Lead and was promoted to Head of Finance after one year with the company.
People breakdown
11%
16%
9%
64%
Asian
Black or African American
Multiracial / Multiethnic
White
Last updated on 31 July 2024
Diversity & Inclusion at Otta
Claudia Gallon (People Partner)
- Though we’re quite early in our journey, our employees are starting to roll out initiatives that help us to better understand and empathise with each other and the world around us. We collect meaningful data in our onboarding survey, conduct privilege awareness workshops as part of employee onboarding, and anonymise tasks during interview processes to eliminate bias. Diverse employees make for an inclusive product.
- We’re committed to a feedback-driven and transparent culture, as we work to make Otta a workplace where everyone feels welcome and all voices are heard. An environment where conversations between socially different people are seen as opportunities to learn, anticipate alternative viewpoints, and generally grow our business.
- We’re continually iterating our product to do better. We collect meaningful diversity data from companies to inform candidates about gender split, we create transparency through sharing salary ranges, we donate to social mobility causes every time someone secures a new role through Otta. And there is so much more to come. We’re thankful for the opportunity to listen to and learn from our candidates.
- Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are integral to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. Our Women’s Group, LGBTQIA+ Group, Disability Group, and Black Employee Network provide vital support and advocacy, creating spaces for connection, growth, and empowerment. Through these ERGs, we celebrate diversity and ensure every employee can bring their whole self to work.
Share this job
View 1 more job at Otta