Principal, Strategic Talent & Market Intelligence – US Lending

Help Build the Team Behind One of the Most Ambitious Commercial Lenders

At OakNorth, we don't just hire talent—we build the teams that help ambitious businesses grow.

Since launching in 2015, OakNorth has become one of the UK's leading commercial banks, deploying billions in lending to entrepreneurs and mid-market businesses. As we continue to expand our presence in the United States, we're looking for someone to build a market-leading talent intelligence capability that will help shape the future of our US Lending business.

We're hiring a Principal, Strategic Talent & Market Intelligence to partner with our US Lending leadership team and become our expert on the US commercial lending talent market.

This is not a traditional Talent Acquisition role.

You'll be embedded within our US Lending business, partnering closely with senior leaders to shape hiring strategy, provide market intelligence and build long-term relationships with exceptional talent across the industry.

At the same time, you'll be part of OakNorth's Global Talent Acquisition organization, collaborating with Talent Partners across the UK and US to share market intelligence, best practices and innovative sourcing strategies. This unique model combines the influence of an embedded business partner with the support and collaboration of a high-performing global team.

Using strategic talent advisory, competitive intelligence, AI-powered research and relationship management, you'll help OakNorth attract and retain exceptional lending professionals while building a sustainable competitive advantage.

The Opportunity

You'll build a strategic talent intelligence capability that supports the continued growth of OakNorth's US Lending business.

Rather than reacting to hiring needs, you'll identify market trends before they emerge, develop relationships long before vacancies exist and provide intelligence that informs workforce planning, succession planning and business strategy.

Using Ashby as your strategic Talent CRM, you'll build a living ecosystem of market intelligence, executive relationships and talent insights that enable smarter hiring decisions across the business.

What You'll Do

Strategic Talent Partner

Partner with US Lending leadership to develop long-term talent strategies aligned to business growth.

You'll:

Translate business objectives into strategic hiring plans.

Advise on organizational design and build versus buy decisions.

Support succession planning and workforce planning.

Provide market insight to inform strategic hiring decisions.

Partner with leaders to identify future capability needs.

Market Intelligence

Become OakNorth's expert on the US lending talent market.

You'll build and maintain live intelligence across:

Organizational structures

Team moves

Promotions

Compensation trends

Reporting lines

Team stability

Succession risk

Market expansion

Office openings

Emerging talent

Our ambition is simple: build one of the industry's most comprehensive talent intelligence capabilities.

Competitive Intelligence

Develop real-time insight into the competitive landscape.

You'll understand:

Which firms are hiring

Leadership movements

Growing and shrinking lending platforms

Compensation trends

Team stability

Market expansion

Emerging competitors

Industry trends

You'll translate market intelligence into actionable recommendations for business leaders.

Relationship Management

Build one of the strongest professional networks in the US lending market.

Develop trusted relationships across:

Commercial Banking

Middle Market Banking

Specialty Finance

Direct Lending

Private Credit

Asset-Based Lending

Sponsor Finance

Corporate Banking

These aren't recruitment conversations.

They're long-term career relationships built through networking, market insight, industry events and trusted advice.

Talent Intelligence & Ashby

You'll use Ashby as far more than an applicant tracking system.

You'll build a strategic Talent CRM that captures:

Executive relationships

Talent communities

Market intelligence

Competitor insights

Career history

Talent engagement

Pipeline health

Hiring trends

You'll develop dashboards and reporting that enable leaders to make informed talent decisions while ensuring valuable market intelligence is continually enriched.

AI & Innovation

You'll embrace AI to redefine how talent intelligence is delivered.

You'll leverage AI and modern talent technology to improve:

Talent mapping

Research

Market intelligence

Relationship management

Workflow automation

Reporting

Productivity

You'll continually explore new technologies that help OakNorth stay ahead of the market.

Talent Brand

Help position OakNorth as a destination employer for ambitious lending professionals.

Working alongside Marketing and business leaders, you'll help develop:

Lending market insights

Deal case studies

Leadership interviews

Videos and podcasts

Thought leadership

Industry events

Employer branding initiatives

Non-Obvious Talent Discovery

Exceptional talent isn't always visible through traditional sourcing.

You'll identify future leaders through:

Industry conferences

Speaking engagements

Professional associations

Market transactions

Advisory firms

Industry awards

Emerging leaders programs

Market referrals

Industry publications

Your curiosity and market knowledge will uncover talent long before competitors identify them.

What Success Looks Like

You'll build intelligence that drives better business decisions.

Your outputs will include:

US Lending Talent Heatmaps

Competitor Intelligence Dashboards

Quarterly Opportunity Reports

Emerging Talent Reviews

Compensation Benchmarking

Succession Risk Analysis

Executive Relationship Mapping

Ashby Talent Dashboards

What We're Looking For

This role is ideal for someone who already understands the US lending market and has built a strong network across it.

You may come from executive search, talent intelligence, commercial banking, private credit, strategy consulting, market intelligence or another commercially focused environment where understanding markets, talent and competitive dynamics is critical.