EMEA Talent Acquisition Lead (14 Month FTC)

Location: London, United Kingdom; hybrid, with 2–3 days in the office. This is a 14-month fixed-term contract, with interviews conducted virtually.

Company

Canva is redefining how the world experiences design and is expanding its operations across EMEA.

What you will do

• Act as a strategic talent partner to EMEA regional leadership and Country Managers, translating workforce and market-entry plans into practical hiring strategies.
• Shape the EMEA talent acquisition operating model, establishing repeatable approaches for new-market hiring while preserving local market nuance.
• Lead and develop a regional Talent Acquisition team of five through clear priorities, capacity alignment, trust, and coaching.
• Build talent strategies for new and evolving markets in partnership with People, Total Rewards, Legal, Contingent Workforce, and other teams.
• Coordinate regional leaders, Country Managers, and global specialty stakeholders to resolve competing priorities and reach pragmatic decisions.
• Lead hiring across Growth, Marketing, SEO, Content, Customer Service, leadership, and other emerging specialties while assessing talent availability, capacity, trade-offs, and investment.

Requirements

• Experience leading Talent Acquisition across multiple EMEA markets, ideally supporting international or new-market expansion in high-growth environments.
• Strong people leadership skills, including building high-performing teams through clear direction, trust, and coaching.
• Experience acting as a strategic partner to senior leaders, influencing decisions, challenging assumptions, and navigating competing priorities.
• Strong commercial and market judgment, balancing business ambition with talent availability, capacity, and hiring realities.
• Ability to work effectively with ambiguity and change, creating clarity and momentum as priorities shift.
• Ability to move between strategy and execution, stay close to the work, unblock challenges, and drive outcomes.
• Ability and motivation to build structure for new-market expansion while maintaining candidate experience and hiring quality.

Culture & Benefits

• Flexible hybrid working with choice in where and how work is performed, while this role is based in London with 2–3 office days.
• London campus in Shoreditch with varied workspaces, event spaces, front-of-house support, and meals prepared by an on-site Head Chef.
• Benefits designed to support success inside and outside work, with opportunities for connectivity and team experiences.
• Inclusive hiring that values different skills and backgrounds, with reasonable adjustments available during interviews.

Hiring process

• Interviews are conducted virtually.
• Applicants are asked to provide their pronouns and any reasonable adjustments required during the interview process.