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Darina McNicoll

@darinamcnicoll

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HR leader and business partner with 8+ years’ experience building high-engagement remote teams and people systems.

South Africa

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What I'm looking for

I’m looking to join a progressive company as a senior HR Manager, HR Business Partner, or HR Lead to drive strategic people initiatives aligned with organizational goals.

I’m an SHRM-SCP and PMI-ACP certified HR professional with 8+ years of experience in HR management and business partnership in remote work environments. I build and contribute to high-engagement, decentralized organizations across the globe by translating business goals into practical people strategy.

Most recently as Head of Human Resources at PST.AG (Germany, Remote), I led HR and Talent Acquisition end-to-end—from talent sourcing to the full employee lifecycle. I act as an HR Strategic Partner, designing and executing HR strategies, advising leadership on people-related decisions, and ensuring international labour law compliance.

I’m known for making HR measurable and scalable: I improved quality of hires through stronger compliance and due diligence, leveraged HR analytics for data-informed initiatives, and led the migration of HR processes to a new HRIS for better visibility and reporting. I also develop managers through people-management training and implement L&D processes that drive employee upskilling and knowledge exchange.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Head of Human Resources

PST.AG

May 2024 - Apr 2026 (1 year 11 months)

Built and led a high-performing HR and Talent Acquisition team supporting the full employee lifecycle. Served as HR strategic partner, improved hire quality and hiring compliance using AI-enabled validation, drove HR analytics initiatives, and migrated HR processes to a new HRIS to improve visibility and reporting.

Talent Acquisition HRIS Implementation HR Analytics Learning and Development

HR Manager

PST.AG

Nov 2023 - May 2024 (6 months)

Audited and redesigned people-related processes, policies, and procedures. Established end-to-end recruitment using an ATS in a fully remote, multi-region setup and scaled onboarding, feedback, performance evaluation, and offboarding, including EOR-led international employment compliance.

Remote Recruiting Onboarding Performance Evaluation Employee Lifecycle Management EOR International Employment

HR Manager

Carson ECommerce

Nov 2017 - Nov 2023 (6 years)

Built HR personnel strategies, policies, and procedures from scratch, owning end-to-end recruitment and onboarding. Managed employee relations, culture, career paths, compensation and benefits, introduced stay/exit interviews, and doubled average employee tenure.

HR Policies Onboarding Employee Relations Employer Branding Employee Retention Compensation And Benefits

Project Manager

Technology-Tools Co., Ltd.

Feb 2012 - Nov 2017 (5 years 9 months)

Managed international trade projects by building relationships with overseas partners and ensuring compliance with global trade regulations, customs requirements, and documentation standards. Supported implementation of large-scale production line supply and installation initiatives and contributed to developing the company’s branded product line with outsourced manufacturing.

Project Management International Trade Partner Relationship Management Documentation Standards Production Line Implementation Cross Border Project Delivery Vendor Outsourced Manufacturing