Sophie Halpin

Senior Talent Acquisition & HR Partner with a track record spanning FTSE 100 corporate talent functions and independent consultancy. Experienced delivering high-volume senior and critical hiring, complex offer negotiation, workforce planning and organisational transformation for global and founder-led businesses alike. Now building a portfolio career across interim, contract and fractional HR/TA engagements, combining commercial rigour with hands-on delivery.

• Founder & Principal Consultant at SBH Associates (Independent HR & Talent Consultancy) | 2025-10 - Present | United Kingdom: Partner with founders and leadership teams to develop people, HR and talent strategies that support organisational growth and workforce planning. Act as trusted adviser on organisational capability, hiring strategy and team development across a range of industries and business sizes. Design scalable recruitment and people processes to improve efficiency, candidate experience and business performance. Coach leaders and hiring managers on interviewing, assessment, decision-making and inclusive hiring practice.
• Senior Global Talent Acquisition Business Partner at AstraZeneca | 2022-01 - 2025-10 | UK, Cambridge & Barcelona: FTSE 100, global talent acquisition: Delivered 100+ hires annually for critical and senior roles across the UK, Europe and international markets, partnering with Directors and HR Business Partners on workforce plans aligned to business strategy and future capability needs. Negotiated complex offers for senior hires, including salaries in excess of £150,000 and structured share buy-out packages, balancing candidate expectations against commercial and reward constraints. Conducted internal and external equity analysis to inform offer strategy, presenting recommendations directly to senior stakeholders to ensure fair, competitive and defensible reward decisions. Reduced average time-to-hire for senior and critical roles to c.30 days, partnering with stakeholders across multiple global business units and adapting to time zone differences to protect business continuity and candidate experience.
• Founder & Principal Consultant at SBH Associates (Independent HR & Talent Consultancy) | 2015-04 - 2022-01 | United Kingdom: Recruitment and talent consulting across multiple sectors: Built long-term relationships with founders, senior leaders and hiring managers as a trusted talent partner. Advised organisations on recruitment strategy, talent attraction and improving hiring effectiveness. Managed and delivered recruitment projects across multiple industries, functions and seniority levels. Developed talent pipelines and sourcing strategies for specialist and hard-to-fill roles.
• Recruitment Consultant at Search Consultancy | 2014-10 - 2015-04 | United Kingdom: Managed recruitment delivery across a varied client portfolio. Built strong relationships with clients and candidates through a consultative approach. Delivered tailored talent solutions against business requirements.

• MSc - Human Resource Management | University of Exeter | 2022 - 2024
• Level 7 - Advanced People Professional | CIPD | 2022 - 2024
• BSc - Business Management | Manchester Metropolitan University | 2009 - 2012