Kirsty Townley — Global Talent Acquisition Leader
Available for Freelance & Contract

Kirsty
Townley

Global Talent Acquisition Leader and hands-on 360 Recruitment Expert. 15+ years building and scaling teams that drive commercial results.

Headhunting & Direct Sourcing GTM, Corporate & Niche Roles Junior to Senior Hiring Large-Scale Recruitment Projects TA & Recruitment Team Management Global TA Strategy Fully Remote US · UK · EU · APAC
Get in touch → or call 0034 622 330 967
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15+
Years' experience
80
Hires in 4 months
$3M
Revenue generated
9
Countries covered
About

Senior recruitment expertise, without the permanent overhead.

I'm a Global Talent Acquisition Leader and hands-on 360 recruiter — meaning I don't just run teams, I get into the work. I brief, source, assess, negotiate, and close. Whether you need one critical hire or a full programme delivered, I bring the same rigour to each.

My career has taken me from specialist headhunting to leading distributed global recruitment functions at Pearson — the world's leading learning company — where I built teams across the US, UK, India and Australia and personally recruited from graduate level through to VP. I have particular depth in Sales, Product, Marketing, Technology and Corporate Functions.

I work remotely from Spain and take on freelance and contract engagements globally — ideal for businesses that need senior recruitment expertise at pace, without committing to a permanent hire.

Featured Achievement — Pearson
Global Sales Hiring Programme

Designed and delivered a new global sales team from scratch across the US and international markets — 80 hires in under four months, managing a team of five recruiters and reporting weekly to the SLT.

80
hires delivered
<4 months
end to end
$3M
revenue in 2 months vs $1.5M target
Under budget
+ spot bonus awarded
Services

Contracting & consulting services.

I work with businesses on a freelance or contract basis — embedding quickly, delivering from day one, and leaving your hiring in better shape than I found it.

01
360 Recruitment
End-to-end hiring, fully managed
I take full ownership of the recruitment cycle — from role briefing and job design through direct sourcing, candidate assessment, stakeholder management, offer negotiation and onboarding handover. No briefing an agency and hoping for the best. I'm in the work alongside you, bringing senior judgement to every hire.
Sales teams Product & Tech Marketing Corporate Functions Manager to VP
02
Hiring Programme Design & Delivery
High-volume, high-stakes hiring at pace
When you need to hire fast and get it right — a new team, a market expansion, a product launch — I design and run the programme from scratch. This includes building the hiring strategy, setting up the process, managing recruiters and keeping leadership informed with clear data throughout. I've delivered 80 hires in under four months. I know how to move quickly without cutting corners.
Volume hiring New market entry Team builds Time-critical delivery
03
Interim TA Leadership
Senior recruitment leadership on a contract basis
If your recruitment function needs steadying — whether you're between permanent hires, scaling faster than your team can handle, or entering a new market — I can step in as an experienced interim TA lead. I'll manage your recruiters, partner with your leadership team, implement governance and reporting, and leave a function that's set up to perform.
Interim Head of TA Team management Process & governance Stakeholder reporting
What I do

How I can help your business.

🎯
360 Recruitment
Full lifecycle delivery — briefing, direct sourcing, assessment, offer and onboarding. Hands-on from day one.
📈
Sales & Product Team Building
Proven track record scaling commercial and product functions in the US, UK and international markets.
🌍
Global TA Strategy
Workforce planning, hiring governance and recruitment strategy aligned to business growth across multiple regions.
🔍
Headhunting & Direct Sourcing
Finds the people who aren't looking. Direct headhunting and market mapping to surface top talent at every level — graduate to VP.
⚡
Hiring Programmes
Designed and delivered large-scale, time-critical hiring campaigns from scratch, on time and under budget.
🤖
AI & Data-Driven Hiring
Daily use of AI-enabled sourcing tools, LinkedIn Talent Insights and recruitment analytics to sharpen strategy.
Career Snapshot

15+ years across global organisations.

  • Global Talent Manager / TA Programme Lead
    Pearson · 2022–2025 · Remote
    Led global recruitment function; built and scaled Sales and Product teams; delivered 80-hire programme generating $3M revenue; led a team of 9 across 5 countries.
  • Senior Global Talent Partner
    Pearson · 2021–2022 · Remote
    Full 360 recruitment across UK & EU: Product, Sales, Marketing, Technology and specialist Education, junior to VP.
  • Resourcing Business Partner
    Capita · 2020–2021 · Remote
    Managed 100 concurrent roles; delivered 35 hires in 8 weeks to meet contractual requirements.
  • Recruitment Manager → Talent Sourcing Specialist
    Coty Inc · 2014–2017 · London
    Led recruitment for the Coty/P&G global merger integration; recruited and relocated the global SLT. Reduced costs by $200K+ and cut time-to-hire by 1.5 weeks.
  • Talent Advisor
    Pearson · 2018–2020 · London
    Full 360 UK recruitment across Sales, Product, Marketing, Apprenticeships and PM, junior to director level.

Let's talk.

Available for freelance and contract recruitment engagements globally. Remote from Spain, with deep experience leading and delivering across international markets and distributed global teams.

✉ townleykirsty@gmail.com 📞 0034 622 330 967
Pricing

Transparent, flexible pricing.

Senior recruitment expertise at a fraction of traditional agency cost — no hidden fees, no markups, just experienced delivery from day one.

Day Rate
Flexible Engagement
£450–£550 / day
Dependent on scope and assignment. Ideal for ongoing partnerships, interim TA cover, or hiring programmes where scope is evolving. You pay for the days worked, nothing more.
  • Full 360 recruitment delivery
  • Interim TA leadership
  • Hiring programme management
  • Weekly reporting included
  • Flexible start & end dates
Project Fee
Fixed-Fee Hiring
POA / hire
Dependent on volume and seniority — get in touch for a tailored quote. Predictable costs, no surprises, and significantly less than a traditional agency fee.
  • Full briefing & job design
  • Direct headhunting & sourcing
  • Candidate assessment & shortlist
  • Offer management & onboarding support
  • Multi-hire packages available
Retainer
Embedded TA Partner
POA / month
For businesses that need ongoing recruitment support without a permanent hire. A set number of days per month, fully flexible to your hiring peaks.
  • Dedicated days per month
  • Priority availability
  • TA strategy & workforce planning
  • Hiring manager coaching
  • Scales up or down as needed
A note on expenses

Any third-party costs incurred on your behalf — such as LinkedIn Recruiter access, job board postings, or assessment tools — are agreed in advance and recharged at cost. There are no markups on expenses.

Why freelance over agency?

You get the senior person
With an agency, your fee often funds layers of overhead before it reaches the recruiter. With me, 15+ years of experience is on every role from day one.
💰 A fraction of agency cost
A traditional agency charges 15–20% of salary per hire. On a £50k role, that's £7,500–£10,000 per hire — often with no guarantee of quality. My fees deliver senior-level attention at significantly lower cost.
No filler, no fluff
No account managers, no handoffs, no briefing a stranger twice. You work directly with me throughout — faster decisions, better hires.
Proven at scale
I've delivered 80 hires in under 4 months and led teams of 9 across 5 countries. Whatever your hiring challenge, I've likely solved something harder.
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