Heather Nichols

Strategic People Ops Manager with experience building strong teams and clear systems for global, asynchronist leadership. I combine smart data with a focus on people to manage everything within Dutch compliance from hiring to long-term growth. I specialize in stakeholder engagement and leading diverse teams to succeed in challenging environments.

Talent Partner at TechTree (AI-Precision Talent Acquisition) (2025-12 – Present)

Thrived in a fully remote, asynchronous environment, independently managing high-volume requisitions and complex technical interviewing for niche AI sectors.

• Managed high-volume pipeline in a timely manner to meet client staffing needs efficiently.
• Strategic Interviewing: Successfully interviewed 200+ engineers in niche sectors (LLM, AI, Marketing, Shopify, Distributed Systems)
• L&D: Conducted trainings: career coaching, growth, labor laws.

Global Recruitment Manager at Mercy Ships International (2024-11 – 2025-11)

• Led a global team of 6 Team Leaders and 50+ Recruiters across 16 international offices.
• Mission Impact: Facilitated the digital framework required recruitment growth to deliver 3,000+ life-changing surgeries and treat 2,850+ patients annually.
• Oversaw change management: L&D, Persona Focused hiring, Onboarding, and Major Stakeholder engagement across 4 Sectors.
• Operational Efficiency: Cut applicant review preparation time by 92%, supporting the successful recruitment of 3,240+ international volunteers.

Talent Acquisition at Flexxy Recruitment (Scale-up Agency) (2022-07 – 2024-11)

Worked with Green Energy and Tech Scale-Ups in the Netherlands and EU.

• Strategic Optimization: Reduced Time-to-Hire by 20% by establishing a real-time feedback loop with hiring managers to continuously refine sourcing and evaluation criteria.
• Managed HR: Visa, GDPR, Dutch Law compliance, legal paperwork.
• Platform Development: Launched a new company website and blog, driving an growth. Increased in organic inbound applications through optimized employer branding.
• Systems Management: Configured and maintained a custom ATS to track 300+ concurrent applicants, achieving a 92% candidate satisfaction rating through precise workflow management.

Research Lead at USF & Radboud University (2017 – 2021)

Education Break

• Process Engineering: Streamlined end-to-end Research/Recruitment Ops workflows, increasing data collection velocity by 30% while ensuring high-fidelity 3000+ data capture.
• Conducted Research Recruitment 100+ candidates, Interviewed 50+ (PhD level numbers)
• Teaching & Training Students: Enhanced research interviews by deploying qualitative recruitment analysis methodologies.
• Methodological Innovation: Onboarding and lead research teams of 20+, worked closely with Head Professor to publish.

HR Program Manager at US Government - Military Women's Non-profit (2008-01 – 2016-01)

• Recruitment, Teaching & Mentorship: Developed and led a high-performance training program for junior specialists, increasing team-wide placement velocity by 25% through "Best Practice" frameworking.
• HR: Engineered the operational backbone for a 300% organizational expansion, implementing standardized HR records management and onboarding workflows.
• Maintained a 90% 12-month retention rate through proactive engagement and people-centered mentorship programs.
• Strategic Employer Branding: Engineered high-ROI social media campaigns and multi-channel sourcing strategies, reducing Cost-Per-Hire by 18% while securing top-tier talent in saturated markets.

Career Coach at Career Coach | Expats, Immigrants & Gaza Graduates | Netherlands (Present)

Ongoing

• Coached 150+ professionals using a people-centered approach, serving as the lead strategist for professional development. Teaching Visa, Dutch labor law, and success in Dutch market, while building a strong pipeline.

People Operations Manager at WEF Foundation (2023 – 2024)

• Directed global talent acquisition and remote onboarding for a team of 8, establishing standardized operational frameworks for a distributed workforce.

People Operations Lead at WWF (2022 – 2023)

• Reconstructed organizational structures and hiring processes from the ground up, successfully scaling the volunteer base by 100+ members.

Educational Program Management (Neurodiversity Focus) at USA (2007 – 2017)

• Strategic Curriculum Design: Engineered 10 years of bespoke K-12 research-based curricula, securing 100% university placement for neurodiverse learners.
• Advocacy & Compliance: Navigated complex institutional benchmarks and regulatory standards to translate non-traditional learning into collegiate metrics

Disaster Recovery Lead | Hurricane Katrina Relief at USA (2005 – 2007)

• Managed community engagement and residential reconstruction projects to restore housing and local infrastructure for displaced families.

Youth Lead at Youth & College Groups (2002 – 2005)

• Recruiting, Teaching, Coaching, and Supporting new graduates.
• Scaled youth membership from 2 to 40 and launched a 30-member college group, facilitating twice-weekly gatherings and twice annual high-capacity conferences.

Program Coordinator at Hearts for Romania (2001 – 2002)

• Facilitated Government Stakeholders to work in orphanage support programs and community events, English courses, managing cross-cultural logistics to provide essential aid and social programming.

MSc in Social Science & Development – Radboud University

BA in Social Science, Medical Anthropology – University of South Florida

AA in Education, Communication & Business – Portland Community College