John A. O’Brien headshot
John A. O’Brien
Senior TA Leader · AI & Automation
Open to Full-Time · Fractional · Consulting

Senior Talent Acquisition Leader | AI & Automation Strategist | Workforce Planning Advisor

Led North American TA for a $3B / 50,000-employee enterprise • 29% faster hiring • $60K+/req savings • ATS: ORC, iCIMS, Taleo

John A. O’Brien headshot large
Download Resume (PDF) Executive Summary (PDF) Contact Me

About John

I’m John A. O’Brien, a Senior Talent Acquisition Leader, AI & Automation Strategist, and Workforce Planning Advisor with 20+ years of experience transforming recruiting into agile, data-powered functions that fuel enterprise growth.

Most recently, I served as Head of Talent Acquisition – North America for Conduent ($3B, ~50,000 employees), where I directed a 20-member TA team across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala. I delivered faster hiring, reduced costs, improved diversity, and scalable workforce planning.

Open to full-time, fractional, and consulting engagements

Core Expertise

  • Enterprise TA Strategy & Workforce Planning
  • AI-Driven Recruitment & Workflow Automation
  • ATS Implementation & Optimization (Oracle Recruiting Cloud, iCIMS, Taleo)
  • Candidate Experience, Employer Branding & DEI Strategy
  • Executive Stakeholder Engagement & Change Leadership

Impact Highlights

29% faster Time-to-Hire & 12% faster Time-to-Fill via AI, automation & analytics
$60K+ per requisition saved by eliminating agency dependency (healthcare & public sector)
Directed & scaled a 20-member TA team across 4 countries
Implemented Oracle Recruiting Cloud (ORC) across North America
Delivered 750+ hires (2022), 598 (2023), 392 (2024) with workforce planning agility
Built DEI scorecards, interview guides & sourcing campaigns that improved representation

Transforming TA with AI & Automation

Rolled out Oracle Recruiting Cloud and AI sourcing tools (Phenom, SeekOut), trained recruiters, and standardized DEI-aligned interview guides.

Result: 29% faster TTH, 12% faster TTF, stronger candidate experience.

Reducing Agency Spend

Replaced agency reliance with internal pipelines in healthcare, Medicaid, and public health divisions.

Result: $60K+ saved per hire, more equitable candidate slates.

Leading Global Teams

Directed TA across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala with SOPs and dashboards.

Result: Consistent compliance, quality, and delivery across geographies.

Specialized & Leadership Hiring

Partnered with executives to fill leadership & niche roles using market intelligence & competency mapping.

Result: Faster time-to-fill for critical positions; stronger trust in TA.

Services

  • Full-Time TA Leadership (Head/Director/VP)
  • Fractional / Interim TA Leadership
  • Consulting: ATS optimization, AI & automation strategy, workforce planning
“John transformed our TA function into a data-driven, tech-enabled engine. His leadership gave us measurable speed and cost improvements while elevating candidate experience.”
— Sr. Director of Global TA
“A trusted advisor with deep TA knowledge. John builds scalable strategies that align with business needs and deliver results across complex, regulated environments.”
— VP of Global TA

Get in Touch

Email: johnaobrien27@gmail.com   •   Phone: 201-400-5725

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnaobrien

Download Resume (PDF) Executive Summary (PDF)