Sarah-Jane O'Brien

A senior HR practitioner 

• With a strong generalist, international background. I am an accomplished, professional, and commercial-minded practitioner, with the proven ability to think strategically and transform strategy into delivery.
• With comprehensive strategic, developmental, and operational experience in the private and third sectors, to include experience working in Europe, the Nordics, US, and West Africa.
• With significant experience of leading change, supporting growth, and delivering sustainable enhanced performance at all levels of business. I can demonstrate the successful implementation of a range of HR initiatives in support of business plan objectives, to include culture change, organic growth and reorganization, expansion and downsizing, mergers, acquisition, and disposals.
• A competent project manager. End-to-end delivery of a range a HR projects working to budget and agreed timescales, including stakeholder management, internal communication, and relevant skills training.  
• An experienced people manager – supportive and knowledgeable HR leader; HR mentor; demonstrable experience of influencing, guiding, and advising business owners, senior managers, and other stakeholders.

Core competencies / areas of expertise

• With extensive experience of all areas of HRM; core competencies include resourcing and retention, compensation and benefits, diversity and inclusion, employee & industrial relations (national level Trade Union negotiations UK and West Africa), employee engagement, organizational development, and change management, learning and development, talent management and succession planning, redundancies and TUPE, director / senior management development, strategic HR and business management.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

• Chartered Member of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD)
• BSc (Honours) in Psychology with Counselling (2:1); dissertation Workplace Bullying
• Graduate member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) / Division of Occupational Psychology (MBPsS)
• BPS Certificate in Competence in Occupational Testing (Level A)
• BPS Certificate in Competence in Personality Questionnaires (Level B)
• Certificate of Competence MBTI (Stages 1 and 2)
• Diploma in Coaching Practice / Qualified Coach (Ch Dip)
• Level 1 Transactional Analysis 
• Level 2 Introduction to Counselling Skills
• Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills
• Level 5 Professional Diploma Therapeutic Counselling (ongoing study)