Location: Croydon, UK (hybrid — 3 days in office, 2 days WFH)
Reports to: CEO
Target start: ASAP — no fixed start date set
About Us
Hozah is a tech-led, award-winning company driving change in the parking industry and reimagining urban mobility. Our platform automates parking operations end-to-end enforcement, payments, signage, and customer experience for landowners, operators, and local authorities, replacing manual, paper-based processes with software. Our mission is simple but powerful: to transform parking into a seamless, automated experience, paving the way for smarter, more sustainable cities. With recent recognition as PayTech Company of the Year, a place among Deloitte's Top 50 Fastest Growing Tech Companies in the UK, and significant VC/PE investment, we're scaling rapidly.
Role Overview
You will own recruitment at Hozah in its entirety. You’ll choose and own the ATS, set the interview standard across the business and hold every hiring manager to it, regardless of seniority. You’ll build the hiring plan, take it to the exec team and own our ability to deliver against it.
Hozah has around 50 employees today. Our forecast suggests we will grow to between 100 and 150 employees over the next four years. We know the path there will not be perfectly linear, but we do know that achieving that growth will require us to find and hire a significant number of exceptional people. You will own that challenge.
This is a newly created role with real autonomy, authority and accountability. You’ll work directly with the CEO and alongside the Head of People and Development as a peer, with each role owning its respective area of the People function. You will have clear ownership of recruitment across the business, from defining vacancies and getting them to market, through direct sourcing, CV screening and initial interviews, to offer management and a smooth transition into onboarding.
You’ll be the driving force behind Hozah’s recruitment activity. You’ll know where every vacancy stands, keep hiring managers moving, challenge delays or weak decision making and make sure candidates experience a process that is fast, consistent and representative of Hozah.
You’ll also own our recruitment platforms, processes and data. Every live role should have a clear, accurate and current pipeline, giving the CEO, Head of People and hiring managers a view they can trust at a glance.
This is not a role where you simply pick up requisitions and fill them. You will build the recruitment function, determine how Hozah hires and set the standard that the rest of the business follows. You will be accountable not only for delivering the people Hozah needs to grow, but for helping shape the business we become through the people we choose to bring into it. Every hire has an impact on our standards, our culture and our ability to perform, and you will play a central role in getting those decisions right.
Key Responsibilities
• Own recruitment across Hozah, taking accountability for the full hiring lifecycle, from headcount planning and role definition through to sourcing, selection, offer and successful handover into onboarding.
• Build and deliver the company hiring plan, working directly with the CEO, Head of People and hiring managers to understand future requirements, prioritise vacancies and ensure the business has the people it needs to grow.
• Set the standard for how Hozah hires, establishing consistent, high-quality interview and assessment practices and holding hiring managers at every level accountable for following them. We have a high bar for the people we bring into Hozah, and you will own protecting that bar, even when there is pressure to compromise.
• Lead candidate attraction and direct sourcing, proactively identifying and engaging high-quality candidates through networking, LinkedIn and other relevant channels, rather than relying on applications.
• Own the candidate selection process, including CV screening and initial interviews, ensuring candidates meet the required capability and performance standards before progressing through the business.
• Own our recruitment technology, processes and data, including selecting and managing the ATS and ensuring every vacancy has a clear, accurate and current pipeline that leadership can trust.
• Drive every live recruitment process forward, coordinating hiring managers, interviews, feedback and decisions, challenging unnecessary delays and ensuring candidates receive a responsive and professional experience.
• Help shape the business Hozah becomes through the people we hire, recognising the impact every appointment has on our culture, standards and performance, and bringing judgement and challenge to every hiring decision.
Who we're looking for
• Demonstrable experience owning full-cycle recruitment in-house, ideally within a high-growth scale-up.
• You've carried 12 or more live roles at once, across more than one function.
• You can build credibility quickly with candidates and hiring managers at every level, and you are comfortable challenging senior people when a hiring decision or process is not good enough.
• Highly organised, with experience managing multiple open roles simultaneously and keeping an ATS accurate and up to date.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced SME environment where priorities can shift quickly.
• Confident sourcing candidates directly via LinkedIn, job boards, and networking.
• You've hired salespeople and you can explain how you assess them beyond "good energy".
• You know your own KPIs, including reply rates, stage conversion, offer acceptance and time to offer, without opening a spreadsheet.
• Experience recruiting across a mix of commercial, technical/operational, and support roles.
What we offer
• Hybrid working — 3 days in the office, 2 days from home.
• A newly created role with real ownership and autonomy, reporting directly to the CEO.
• The chance to build and shape our recruitment processes and employer brand from first principles as Hozah scales.
• A strong, high performing culture, with genuine influence over how that culture develops as Hozah grows.
• A fully refurbished, modern office, with a fully stocked kitchen, offering free breakfast and lunch, right next to East Croydon Station.
Why Hozah?
At Hozah, you'll play a pivotal role in a purpose-driven company at the forefront of urban mobility innovation. We foster a culture of collaboration, creativity, and positive impact, where your contributions help shape the future of smarter cities. If you're looking to make a real difference in transforming the future of mobility (and enjoy our friendly office dogs), we'd love to hear from you. Join us and be part of this exciting journey!