Usama Shahzaib

Built and owned the People & Culture function from the early growth stage, partnering directlywith founders
on workforce planning and hiring priorities.
Redesigned recruitment workflows using AI-assisted screening and structured shortlisting, reducing time-to
hire by 30% while maintaining hiring quality.
Owned employee engagement initiatives within founder-defined HR budgets, maximizing impact through
cost-efficient programs and activities.
Managed HR vendors (ATS, recruitment tools, engagement support), ensuring cost control and operational
effectiveness.
Developed Excel-based workforce and hiring dashboards to track metrics, engagement inputs, and workforce
trends for leadership review.

Designed compliant remote workforce structures for Canada-based engineering teams, enabling
international hiring.
Implemented retention-focused hiring practices, achieving 90%+ contractor retention during scaling
phases.

Led full-cycle international recruitment for North American financial services clients, aligning talent with
regulatory and performance expectations.
Supported onboarding and early-stage performance feedback to accelerate time-to-productivity.

Established core HR operations and policies to support a scaling startup while maintaining organizational
agility.
Partnered with leadership on workforce planning, skill-gap analysis, and succession considerations during
growth phases.
Managed HR operations within constrained monthly budgets, prioritizing high-impact engagement and
retention initiatives.
Coordinated HR vendors and tools to support lean, efficient people operations with minimal overhead.

Managed people operations during a rapid growth phase, ensuring cultural consistency across technical and
non-technical teams.
Streamlined HR workflows, payroll coordination, and policy enforcement to support scaling teams efficiently.

Managed end-to-end HR operations including HRIS setup, recruitment, training coordination, and employee
engagement.
Supported a specialized financial services workforce with compliant, structured HR processes.