Hannah Focas

As the Talent Operations Manager, I lead a team of 6 awesome individuals who are the subject matter experts of Talent processes, systems, tools, and data, I support my team in developing strategies that keep pushing our hiring efforts forward.

I'm passionate about people leadership and I love coaching and developing my team members. We work together to create a culture of high performance, psychological safety, and collaboration.

As a team we collaborate with colleagues around the globe and cross functionally to implement tools and processes that ensure consistent and inclusive hiring experiences for candidates.

During my time as a Talent Operations Lead, I was responsible for developing and delivering a Talent Operations roadmap that enabled Xero to hire quickly, equitably, efficiently, and effectively. This involved standardizing and optimizing processes, tools, and technology to support Xero's growth aspirations. I worked closely with multiple stakeholders globally that are involved in the hiring lifecycle to ensure inclusive hiring outcomes and experiences. I managed and tracked key Talent projects, introduced a Talent Operations support strategy, developed enablement and experience resources, and maintained the TX technology stack.

As a Talent Business Partner, I served as the primary point of contact for key stakeholders within a designated portfolio group. I worked closely with the business to develop hiring strategies and implemented tactics to achieve our hiring needs. Working collaboratively with the business, we developed innovative, efficient, and effective methods to identify, assess and engage the best talent for Xero. I worked with an extremely diverse portfolio group that included partnering with the Customer team, Ecosystem, Brand & Marketing, Legal and Finance. Although I only supported recruitment in NZ/AU, I worked closely with the TX teams globally to ensure we were aligned on strategy and maintained consistency with our business units.

In my Recruitment Adviser role at Corrections, I led the assessment centre process for all frontline staff, evaluating candidates' suitability for an offender-facing role. I was the sole recruiter for the Wellington prisons, the largest in New Zealand. I led several projects to enhance the candidate experience and streamline the selection process, which were later implemented nationwide.

This was a hybrid role where I coordinated two important programmes of work. One focused on the government reducing reoffending objective, where I led focus groups, collaborated with stakeholders, and reported milestones. In the other, I organized training and ensured compliance with standards, reporting regularly to senior leadership.