Sathya John Fractional Talent Acquisition Director

EXECUTIVE POSITIONING

I work with founder-led and scaling businesses across multilingual, multi-channel environments, BPO / outsourcing & contact centres, recruitment, travel & leisure, digital & eCommerce and fintech, to build the talent engines growth depends on full-cycle recruitment strategy, high-performance hiring teams, executive search and employer brands that attract in-demand candidates.

Twenty plus years designing and implementing full-cycle recruitment strategies, building high-performance teams and driving efficiency across the UK, Spain and Europe in large-scale in-house leadership and founder-built agencies, delivering from entry level to executive search.

Specialist in:

  • Full-cycle recruitment strategy and high-performance TA team builds (in-house and agency)

  • Executive search and headhunting, C-suite and senior placements across contact centre / BPO and beyond

  • ATS and recruitment technology implementation with process re-engineering (50% faster time-to-hire)

  • Recruitment marketing, social media and employer brand / EVP development (70% engagement uplift)

  • Large-scale multilingual hiring ramps - 1,100 to 2,349 hires a year; 1,800+ annually across all profile types

  • Data and analytics-driven TA operations with commercial governance, contracts, SLAs and Monthly Business Reviews

I operate on a fractional basis (typically 2–4 days per month) or through defined transformation mandates / project scopes, Barcelona-based, working across the UK, Spain and wider Europe.

WHAT I DO FOR FOUNDERS

Revenue Acceleration

  • Build the hiring engine behind revenue growth - delivered 1,100 multilingual hires (2017) and c.2,349 (2018) through the Airbnb ramp, shifting to 80% direct / 20% agency recruitment within 18 months

  • Lead recruitment delivery at scale - 1,800+ hires annually across executives, support services, mid-senior, customer support, sales and tech profiles, consistently achieving targets under tight deadlines

  • Build and mentor high-performing TA teams

  • Open talent partnerships that expand reach - strategic vendor, job-board and LinkedIn talent-solutions partnerships, renegotiated for equal conditions and better funnel quality

Cost & Margin Expansion

  • Re-engineer recruitment processes and implement ATS platforms, 50% reduction in time-to-hire and 60% improvement in workflow and team productivity

  • Leverage data analytics and reporting to streamline TA operations and shift agency spend to direct hiring (20/80 to 80/20)

  • Renegotiate agency agreements, job boards and tooling licences for equal contract conditions and lower cost-per-hire

  • Structure the insource / outsource decision, built CPM's in-house multilingual recruitment department (talent acquisition manager, two leads, twenty international recruiters) from scratch

  • Govern commercial frameworks, compliant agreements, SLAs and Monthly Business Reviews that keep service delivery on target

Exit / Scale Preparation

  • Build TA infrastructure that scales and is due-diligence ready - hiring plans, org structures and processes designed for growth (CMR Iberia from inception; two agencies co-founded)

  • Elevate EVP and employer brand to attract and keep the workforce you need, compelling campaigns, optimised job descriptions and strategic digital platform engagement

  • Secure the leadership bench - executive headhunting for critical roles, plus leadership development and team capability programmes

  • Professionalise governance, performance metrics, MBRs and stakeholder alignment across 30+ business units and senior leaders

  • Manage workforce risk during scale and restructure - personnel / ER support, DEI and employee engagement initiatives

SELECTED IMPACT

  • Cut time-to-hire by 50% through ATS implementation and recruitment process re-engineering, improving candidate sourcing efficiency across a diverse portfolio of clients and complex requirements

  • Delivered large-scale hiring of 1,800+ people annually, executives to entry level, customer support, sales and tech within global networks, consistently achieving targets under tight deadlines

  • Drove a 70% increase in social media engagement through innovative recruitment marketing campaigns, significantly enhancing employer brand visibility to attract in-demand candidates

  • Achieved a 60% improvement in recruitment workflow and team productivity by leveraging data analytics and reporting to streamline operations

  • Delivered 1,100 multilingual hires (2017) and c.2,349 (2018) in the Airbnb ramp, 80% direct / 20% agency within 18 months for 40+ clients including Airbnb, Dyson, Intel, Travelodge, Harley-Davidson and New Balance

  • Launched a Recrutment agency from a standing start and grew it across Iberia and the EU, building the executive search proposition with C-suite and executive placements across the contact centre and BPO sector

CURRENT & RECENT ENGAGEMENTS

  • Talent Hiring Experts – Managing Director, Talent Acquisition, Nov 2024 – Present (Barcelona)

    Designs and implements comprehensive talent acquisition frameworks; reviews and refines hiring processes to attract exceptional talent. Elevates employer brands through 15+ years of recruitment marketing expertise. Oversees commercial and contracting responsibilities, compliant agreements and service delivery frameworks; runs Monthly Business Reviews; sources and places sought-after leaders through executive headhunting; EVP advisory positioning clients as employers of choice

  • Pronto Recruitment – European Talent Acquisition Director (Co-Founder), Feb 2023 – Jan 2025 (London & Barcelona)

    Co-founded Pronto Travel Recruitment, developed and executed the go-to-market strategy to establish leadership in travel & leisure recruitment; secured strategic partnerships to expand the global network; negotiated high-value contracts; built and mentored high-performing sales teams

  • Customer Management Resourcing Group (CMR) – Regional Talent Acquisition Director, BPO, Outsourcing & Contact Centres, Apr 2019 – Jan 2023

    Set up CMR Iberia's proposition out of Barcelona and grew it across Iberia and the EU, Netherlands, Germany and Eastern Europe with a multilingual recruitment team, EU service delivery, strategic client relationships across major BPOs, and leadership of the executive search proposition with C-suite placements

  • Held senior roles with CPM ICC (Head of EU Talent & Development - built the in-house multilingual recruitment department behind the Airbnb ramp), The Travel Corporation (Contiki & Tracoin - London services and supplier relationship management) and Thomas Cook Group PLC - resort operations (six resorts, 18 direct reports, 29,954 UK holidaymakers per season) and UK&I / North America recruitment, training and placements

BOARD & GOVERNANCE / CREDENTIALS

  • CIPD Level 5 Diploma in Human Resource Management

  • Insights Discovery Practitioner

  • Best Talent & Development Team - UK Customer Experience Awards (UKCXA) 2019

  • ECCCSA Judge 2020, 2021 · 15+ years of recruitment marketing expertise · Data-driven TA operations and reporting

Available for:

  • Fractional Talent Acquisition Director / Head of Talent / Executive Search mandates

  • Recruitment transformation projects - ATS & process re-engineering, hiring-engine builds, employer brand & EVP development

  • NED / advisory roles within recruitment, BPO & contact centre, travel-tech and multilingual service businesses

Work With Us