Samara Durrant-Eunson

People-centric leader with 8+ years of experience in high-volume recruitment and sales leadership with a proven track record of building diverse talent pools and managing the employee lifecycle in a fast-paced, high-growth retail environment, seeking to transition to a role within Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, or HRIS.

General Manager | Sephora Beauty Canada Inc. | April 2019 – May 2023 

• Directed hiring strategy, compensation planning, leadership development, and employee relations for teams ranging from 40 to over 160 staff and managers. 
• Led Bayview Village store opening in 2019, promoted in 2020 to lead Yorkdale flagship, promoted in 2022 to lead Toronto Eaton Centre flagship; total sales volumes of $4M to $30M+ annually.
• Increased employee engagement results by 25% in 2022 by implementing strategies to improve onboarding and first 90 days experience, and foster continuous engagement through coaching and development opportunities.
• Developed a candidate pipeline aligned with core customer focus and DE&I values, delivered a 15% increased retention rate year over year, and improved team dynamics.
• Designed a strategic workforce plan for the district (talent mobility, succession plan, 9-Box spreadsheet, monthly talent planning meetings): increased district leadership retention by 20% with 22 internal promotions in 2022.
• Partnered with Human Resources, Store Experience, and Learning & Development leaders across Canada to develop strategic improvement plans for talent development and organizational design.
• Collaborated with Marketing to develop EVP and Employer Branding Initiative recruitment campaigns in 2021.
• Facilitated data-driven business presentations for senior executives including North American and Global CEOs.

• Facilitated full-cycle recruitment, onboarding, benefits enrollment, and employee lifecycle for 140 retail positions. 
• Aligned 14 store leaders to deliver high-quality annual performance appraisals and quarterly career development conversations with each employee resulting in a 26% increase in retention.
• Designed and launched a district-wide talent development strategy resulting in 18 internal promotions in 1 year.
• Coached and mentored sales and operations managers to be subject-matter experts in responding to employee grievances and performance management with discretion and compassion, in compliance with HR practices, employment laws, and federal legislation, partnering with Regional HRBP for escalations.

• Executed sourcing and end-to-end recruitment for Bloor Street flagship and coordinated 2016 store expansion project, filling over 40 entry and associate-level roles in 8 weeks.
• Administered HR functions such as benefits enrollment, performance management, payroll, and STD/LTD leaves.
• Facilitated SAP Success Factors HRIS system implementation and digitization of employee records in 2017.
• Resolved issues brought forth by employees and customers promptly, including mediation and conflict resolution. Grew employee retention by 20% and NPS by 10% in 1 year.

Certificate in Digital Marketing • George Brown College, Toronto, ON

Bachelor Of Fine Art • University Of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB