NICOLA LAWTON
Congleton,UK
Summary
Global Talent Acquisition Leader with 17+ years’ experience leading, scaling and transforming distributed TA organisations across EMEA and globally within complex, high growth technology environments. Proven track record of leading global programs to transform hiring, defining and executing recruiting strategies aligned to workforce plans, business priorities, and global talent agendas. Deep expertise in skills based hiring, AI and data driven recruiting, employer brand strategy, and global TA transformation, positioning organisations as technology leaders to attract world class engineering, product, data, AI and ML talent.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work history
Head of TA Strategy, Intelligence & Insights
INSULET
London
09.2025 - 01.2026
- Own global TA strategy and lead enterprise wide hiring transformation programs, positioning Insulet as a technology led company.
- Design and lead global programs to transform hiring, including skills based hiring, TA operating model redesign, and global go-to-market strategy.
- Build global TA, sourcing and talent intelligence team.
- Define and execute global TA strategy across EMEA, North America, LATAM and APAC, aligned to workforce plans and business growth priorities.
- Set strategic direction for talent intelligence, sourcing, employer brand and market engagement; enable regional TA leaders to execute consistently.
- Embed skills based hiring through job architecture, job families and assessment frameworks across technology, commercial and manufacturing roles.
- Partner closely with HRBPs, HR leadership, Compensation, L&D and global program teams.
- Design predictive analytics, dashboards and market intelligence to inform prioritisation, location strategy and senior hiring decisions.
- Advise business leaders on new market entry, new office locations, supply and demand of skills globally.
Director / Head of Talent Delivery – Technology
BOOKING.COM
Manchester / Amsterdam
08.2023 - 05.2025
- Owned EMEA and global recruiting strategy for Technology and led global programs to transform hiring at scale.
- Built and led a distributed tech TA organisation of ~45 across EMEA.
- Delivered ~1,500 tech hires annually across engineering, product, data, AI and ML.
- Reduced time to hire to 37 days.
- Achieved sub to interview of 5:1, interview to offer ratio of 3.5:1 and offer acceptance rate of 92%.
- Championed recruiting technology, analytics and AI-enabled tools (Workday, Eightfold).
- Reduced agency reliance to zero.
Senior Global TA Sourcing & Talent Intelligence Manager
BOOKING.COM
01.2021 - 08.2023
- Led global sourcing and talent intelligence programs.
- Managed 24 global sourcers.
- Delivered market mapping and workforce insight.
Global Talent Acquisition Manager – Technology
BOOKING.COM
05.2018 - 12.2020
- Led team of 10 technical recruiters.
Recruitment Manager - Tech
Venturi | Parity Group | LA International | Discover Jobs | CV Recruitment
03.2008 - 05.2017
Skills
- Recruitment, Sourcing and Program Leadership
- EMEA & Global TA Strategy
- Distributed & Matrixed Team Management
- Recruitment Transformation Programs
- Workforce Planning & Talent Forecasting
- Skills Based Hiring & Job Architecture
- Full-Cycle Recruitment (Experienced, Early Careers, Niche Tech)
- Engineering, Product, Data, AI & ML Hiring
- Executive & Senior Technical Hiring
- Employer Branding & Talent Attraction
- Candidate & Hiring Manager Experience Design
- Talent Intelligence & Market Mapping
- Recruitment Analytics & Dashboards
- AI Enabled Recruiting & Automation
- ATS / CRM Optimisation (Workday, Eightfold, Greenhouse, iCIMS)
- Data Driven Decision Making & Prioritisation
- Global Program Design & Enablement
- Change Management & Operating Models
- DE&I Strategy & Inclusive Hiring
Timeline
Head of TA Strategy, Intelligence & Insights
INSULET
09.2025 - 01.2026
Director / Head of Talent Delivery – Technology
BOOKING.COM
08.2023 - 05.2025
Senior Global TA Sourcing & Talent Intelligence Manager
BOOKING.COM
01.2021 - 08.2023
Global Talent Acquisition Manager – Technology
BOOKING.COM
05.2018 - 12.2020
Recruitment Manager - Tech
Venturi | Parity Group | LA International | Discover Jobs | CV Recruitment
03.2008 - 05.2017