I did have to hire people and in the current market that was a very hard task. Especially so when the company in question is not a sexy startup, nor is the stuff they’re working on amazeballs, nor is the market that they’re in one that attracts a lot of people. It took me a lot of time interviewing people and even offering them a job (with a pretty good offer, mind you) only for them to choose another company.
I totally agree that the role seems like way more of a manager than a developer, so "lead developer" is a strange title. Of course titles are pretty strange and generally not very "portable" to begin with.