Della Carnegie
@dellacarnegie
HR Manager and recruitment operations specialist with 15+ years driving end-to-end hiring, compliance, and employee lifecycle.
South AfricaWhat I'm looking for
I’m an experienced HR, recruitment, and customer service professional with 15+ years of hands-on delivery across UK government, hypergrowth tech, specialist recruitment, and the NPO sector. I’m built for high-volume, multi-stakeholder environments where I can own processes end-to-end—from recruitment through the employee lifecycle.
Most recently, I’m Dual Project Manager and HR lead at Classroom Buddies Organisation, supporting a 300+ volunteer workforce. I manage full volunteer recruitment cycles, scheduling and attendance tracking, KPI frameworks for retention and performance, and compliance documentation including safeguarding and regulatory reporting.
Before that, I built and led HR operations as the sole HR professional at Blue Tiger, implementing an HRMS from selection through configuration, employee data migration, and staff training. I also managed TUPE transfer, reduced employee relations escalations by 40%, and strengthened career pathways—driving measurable improvements in engagement.
Earlier roles include Senior Resourcing Lead at UK Health Security Agency, where I managed 40+ concurrent recruitment campaigns and reduced time-to-hire from 14 to 9 weeks. I also led cross-government HR operations for a 100+ staff COVID-19 response programme and supported large-scale hiring and ATS/HRMS administration across EMEA at JUUL Labs.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
People Operations & HR Consultant
Independent
Feb 2024 - Present (2 years 2 months)
Provided remote HR operations and recruitment support for UK and South African clients, managing job briefs, sourcing, screening, interview coordination, and offer management. Configured HRMS platforms (BambooHR, Deel, Workday) and advised on South African employment compliance including SARS, COIDA, and Labour Relations Act requirements.
Project Manager & HR Manager
Classroom Buddies Organisation
Jan 2023 - Present (3 years 3 months)
Led operational and people functions for a 300+ volunteer workforce, including scheduling, shift allocation, attendance tracking, and performance monitoring. Owned end-to-end volunteer recruitment for 50+ candidates per cycle and implemented KPI and compliance frameworks covering safeguarding records and regulatory reporting.
HR Manager
Blue Tiger
Jan 2023 - Jan 2024 (1 year)
Served as sole HR professional for a 60-employee UK family business, handling ER cases, disciplinaries, grievances, and absence management. Built and configured an HRMS from scratch and implemented time and attendance automation that improved payroll accuracy to 99.8%, while managing a TUPE transfer for 12 employees.
Managed 40+ concurrent senior and specialist recruitment campaigns, meeting SLA targets throughout. Reduced average time-to-hire from 14 to 9 weeks by streamlining assessment stages and proactive pipeline management, while administering Civil Service Jobs, TRAC, and NHS Jobs ATS platforms.
Led HR operations for a cross-government COVID-19 response programme with 100+ staff across multiple departments, managing contracts, extensions, payroll liaison, leave, performance support, and ER casework. Supported the transition from a temporary programme to a permanent directorate and provided 1:1 offboarding and career coaching for 70 staff, co-developing a ministerial-level funding business
Recruited and onboarded 1,000+ employees across 12 EMEA countries over 18 months, coordinating multi-market pipelines and interview logistics across time zones and languages. Increased inbound applications by 120% using LinkedIn Recruiter and employer branding, and reduced time-to-decision by 30% through hiring manager training on structured interviewing, bias awareness, and ATS use.
Recruitment Consultant
Reed Specialist Recruitment
Jun 2013 - Jul 2018 (5 years 1 month)
Managed a portfolio of 200+ healthcare professionals, overseeing placements, compliance, timesheets, and ongoing client relationship management. Increased contractor placements by 62% within 6 months and achieved a 100% pass rate on an external compliance audit through rigorous records management and process adherence.
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
AXELOS
MSP - Managing Successful Programmes, Program and project management
Completed the Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) qualification with AXELOS.
CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)
CIPD Award in Recruitment, Selection and Resourcing Talent, Recruitment and resourcing
Completed the CIPD Award in Recruitment, Selection and Resourcing Talent.
Middlesex University London
BA (Hons) Business and Marketing, Business and Marketing
Grade: 2:1
Earned a BA (Hons) in Business and Marketing (2:1).
Tech stack
Software and tools used professionally
Availability
Location
South AfricaAuthorized to work in
Job categories
Skills
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