TA Transformation
Build structure, consistency, and operating discipline across recruiting functions.
- TA operating model design
- Recruiting process redesign
- Recruiter enablement
- Hiring manager alignment
Current Focus
Talent Acquisition leadership for organizations that need structure, accountability, workforce planning, and execution.
My current focus is the intersection of Talent Acquisition leadership, recruiting operations, workforce planning, ATS optimization, talent intelligence, AI-enabled recruiting, and scalable hiring delivery.
About
Talent Acquisition Leader. Operator. Business Partner.
I am a Talent Acquisition leader experienced leading recruiting strategy, Talent Acquisition operations, workforce planning, recruiting technology, and hiring delivery across complex enterprise environments. I combine Talent Acquisition leadership with hands-on recruiting experience to improve hiring performance, operational effectiveness, workforce planning alignment, and business outcomes.
My work has centered on building stronger Talent Acquisition organizations, improving recruiting operations, optimizing ATS workflows, strengthening reporting and metrics, supporting workforce planning, improving stakeholder alignment, and reducing dependency on external search through stronger internal sourcing capability.
I am open to full-time, fractional, interim, and advisory opportunities where Talent Acquisition needs stronger leadership, better structure, clearer operating discipline, and closer connection to business priorities.
How I Help
Practical Talent Acquisition leadership for organizations scaling, transforming, or rebuilding hiring capability.
AI & Automation Enablement
Use AI and automation to improve productivity, sourcing, workflows, and reporting.
- AI-assisted sourcing workflows
- Recruiting automation strategy
- ATS optimization
- Metrics and reporting improvement
Scaling & Emerging Markets
Support organizations entering new markets, expanding hiring demand, or building local capability.
- Workforce planning alignment
- Leadership and professional hiring
- Market entry hiring support
- Recruiting infrastructure for scale
Hands-On Recruiting Execution
Step directly into critical recruiting needs while continuing to lead the function forward.
- Hard-to-fill requisitions
- Executive and professional hiring
- High-priority search support
- Delivery stabilization
Leadership Impact
Measurable results across complex enterprise recruiting environments.
29%
Faster Time-to-Hire through workflow improvements and sourcing strategy
12%
Faster Time-to-Fill by improving process structure and recruiter productivity
$60K+
Agency spend avoided per requisition through stronger internal pipeline development
20
TA team members led across recruiting, sourcing, onboarding, and operations
Head of Talent Acquisition – North America
Conduent Incorporated | $3B enterprise | 50,000 employees | U.S., Canada, Mexico, Guatemala
- Led North American Talent Acquisition across multiple business lines and countries.
- Directed and developed a 20-person TA team supporting recruiting, sourcing, onboarding, and operations.
- Partnered with HR and business leadership on workforce planning and hiring priorities.
- Led Oracle Recruiting Cloud optimization to improve reporting, system utilization, and recruiting workflows.
- Maintained hands-on involvement in executive, critical, and difficult-to-fill roles.
Industries & Environments
Built for complexity, growth, and regulated hiring environments.
Healthcare
BPO / Contact Center
Public Sector
Commercial Solutions
Financial Services
Telecommunications
Enterprise Shared Services
Growth / Transformation Environments
Multi-Country Recruiting
Technology & Enablement
Modern recruiting operations require better systems, cleaner workflows, and stronger adoption.
My background includes ATS optimization, recruiting operations, sourcing technology, workflow improvement, and adoption support across enterprise environments.
Oracle Recruiting Cloud
iCIMS
Taleo
Phenom
SeekOut
DRAUP
RoleMapper
SkillSurvey
Excel
PowerPoint
SharePoint
Microsoft Teams
Ways to Engage
Available for the right strategic opportunity.
Full-Time TA Leadership
Director, Senior Director, VP, Head of Talent Acquisition, or transformation leadership mandates.
Fractional / Interim Leadership
Hands-on leadership for organizations that need immediate structure, execution, and recruiting discipline.
Advisory & Consulting
Support for TA operating models, workforce planning, AI enablement, recruiting workflows, and scaling strategy.
Executive & Critical Hiring
Player-coach support for leadership, professional, hard-to-fill, and business-critical roles.
Leadership Reputation
Trusted for structure, delivery, and partnership.
“John brings the rare combination of strategic Talent Acquisition leadership and hands-on execution.” Talent Acquisition Executive
“He understands how to build structure, improve process, and keep hiring delivery moving.” Global Talent Leader
“A true player-coach who partners well with HR, business leaders, and recruiting teams.” Executive Stakeholder
Thought Leadership
People. Talent. Purpose.
Does the “Perfect Candidate” Exist, or Are We Letting AI and the Market Break Hiring?
A practical look at hiring complexity, AI-influenced screening, candidate evaluation, and the growing gap between what organizations say they need and how hiring systems actually operate.
AI in Talent Acquisition
Hiring Market Dynamics
Recruiting Operations
Workforce Strategy
Talent Intelligence
Executive Partnership
Contact
Let's talk about Talent Acquisition leadership, operations, workforce planning, or hiring transformation.
Open to full-time, fractional, interim, advisory, and consulting opportunities across enterprise, healthcare, BPO, public sector, business services, and transformation environments.
johnaobrien27@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/johnaobrien
johnaobrienta.com