Sarah Colenso-Potter Email & Phone Number

Sole recruitment advisor for the organisation's 200+ staff. Manage end-to-end recruitment; including advertising, phone screens, arranging interviews, participating in interview panels, reference checking, background checking and offer processes. Recruitment lead on Kiingitanga/Summer internship programme, stakeholder engagement and management of internal managers and external recruitment agencies, contract management with external agencies, all with a strong focus on candidate care. The Ombudsman helps New Zealanders deal with public sector agencies. They handle complaints, undertake investigations and inspections, and encourage good administration.They work across the Asia Pacific to help develop international best practice.The Ombudsman is independent and impartial, with a focus on fairness for all.

Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand

Initially a fixed term role to cover for maternity leave, I accepted a permanent position in May 2022.Volunteer Service Abroad - Te Tūao Tāwāhi (VSA) is New Zealand’s largest and most experienced volunteer agency, connecting people across the moana between New Zealand and other countries in the Pacific Region.Volunteers live abroad or connect remotely from their homes in Aotearoa to share experience, knowledge and cultures. Working with business, government and organisations located abroad, we collectively transform lives of many, provide greater cultural understanding, and create a fair future for all.In this role I am responsible for end-to-end recruitment for volunteers both in an in-country and e-volunteer capacity. VSA's comprehensive volunteer recruitment process ensures the right candidate is selected for the right role.The volunteer recruitment team comprises of two volunteer recruiters, recruitment administration support and the volunteer recruitment manager.Targets and KPIs are also a feature of this role, as I am required to make a certain number of placements per month.

Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand

Presbyterian Support Central (PSC)’s services for tamariki and their whānau are provided by Family Works, while services for older people are provided by Enliven. PSC is a not-for-profit organisation providing services in Whanganui, Horowhenua, Manawatu, Wairarapa and the greater Wellington region.This was a sole recruitment advisor position supporting the business' 1100+ staff.The purpose of this newly-established role was to assess current decentralised recruitment practices, then to design and implement a centralised recruitment process for the organisation.I also led the design and implementation of PSC’s Exit process and the Position Description refresh project for the organisation.I managed the generation and issuing of employment contracts, job listing advertising, analysing current market trends and design a range of recruitment collateral in an ad-hoc capacity, including but not limited to interview questions and references when required.During COVID-19 in 2020, it was imperative that the services my role provides escalated to match the rising demand of the business. This involved planning for various stages of lockdown, running various processes remotely, conducting high-volume phone screens and providing recommendations on candidates, as well as assisting the Human Resources team with obtaining government assistance (wage subsidy).

Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT)'s mission is that the Ministry acts in the world to build a safer, more prosperous and more sustainable future for New Zealanders.The HR Coordinator was a 2-year fixed term role to support the HR Business Partners and MFAT's BAU recruitment during a time of restructure. When I started this role, my work was primarily focused on the administration of employment contracts and variations for new and current staff, as well as recruitment support for the HR Business Partners. I grew this role to be a recruitment-orientated advisory role, where I provided recruitment advice and support throughout all stages of the recruitment process; from planning to appointment. I also had the opportunity to be involved in a large, 12-month project known as ‘Resourcing Up’, which included the recruitment of 45-50 mid-to-senior level policy staff.

Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand

Randstad is a leading global recruitment and HR services company, offering a wide range of solutions in the HR services space. Randstad aims to take the lead in shaping the world of work, by matching candidates with companies that will help them reach their full potential, and matching clients with people who will work to successfully develop their business. Randstad offers full permanent, temporary and contract recruitment services, recruitment process outsourcing, managed services and HR consulting servicesMy responsibilities within this role maintained primarily those of my Resourcer role, with an increased level of accountability. I managed sourcing, interviewing and maintaining a large portfolio of temporary staff across the greater Wellington region in full, end-to-end recruitment processes, including aftercare of candidates.I was also involved in assessment centres with various clients, in which I conducted role plays, behavioural-based interviews, communication with candidates at every stage, and after-care.

Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand

This role was primarily focussed on sourcing talent. I also assisted with the Assessment Centre team, working alongside major public sector clients on multiple occasions. This role started as a temporary contract, which evolved into a permanent contract, which evolved into a promotion.I worked within the contact centre space, with various government organisations as well as commercial clients.

This was an administrative support role that started as a three-month contract between university years, which evolved into a casual role that I maintained during the course of my studies.