Sara Tarek, CNP

•Lead full-cycle recruiting for senior engineering, AI/ML, and product roles at growth-stage companies across the GCC, owning the process from role intake and candidate sourcing through offer close •Partner closely with technical hiring managers to define role requirements, calibrate on candidate profiles, and advise on competitive compensation , serving as a trusted talent partner throughout the hiring process •Built structured interview frameworks and evaluation processes that reduced subjectivity and improved hiring manager confidence in decisions •Introduced talent optimization initiatives including pipeline health dashboards, interview calibration sessions, and sourcing audits — improving funnel conversion and reducing time-to-hire across client engagements •Implemented structured interview frameworks and streamlined evaluation processes across client teams

•Served as embedded talent partner to 20+ VC-backed tech startups, specializing in senior and specialized technical hiring — closing 50–75 engineering, AI/ML, and leadership roles over 3 years with a 90%+ offer acceptance rate •Owned full-cycle recruiting across 8–10 open engineering roles simultaneously, managing complex pipelines across multiple clients and time zones without compromising candidate experience •Drove recruiting across high-bar technical disciplines including AI/ML Engineers, ML Scientists, Backend, Full Stack, DevOps, and engineering leadership (Head of Eng, VP Eng, CTO), maintaining an 8-week average time-to-fill for senior and specialized roles •Built and managed diverse candidate pipelines using LinkedIn Recruiter, Juicebox, Boolean search, GitHub, and nurture campaigns in Lever, consistently sourcing passive talent and maintaining a 90%+ offer acceptance rate even for highly competitive senior roles •Tracked pipeline health and recruiting KPIs through data dashboards, providing regular stakeholder updates and adjusting sourcing strategies in real time to keep senior and specialized pipelines on track •Championed diversity hiring by designing targeted sourcing strategies that expanded candidate pipelines beyond traditional networks, contributing to measurably more diverse shortlists across clients •Specialized in high-growth AI-native companies including conversational AI, NLP, and ML platforms

•Managing the recruitment cycle for sales roles for the branch network ( posting and sourcing) •Partnering with hiring managers to recommend recruitment strategies •Posting on job boards, shortlisting candidates, conducting pre-screen interviews •Discussing salaries with HRBP, creating offers, initiating back checks and onboarding candidates •Leader of the Employer Branding project to position Fairstone as Employer of Choice •Implementing social media recruitment campaigns to increase brand awareness on Facebook and LinkedIn •Monitoring and managing the digital footprint of the organization (Indeed, Glassdoor) •Rebranding the career-website and the branch network job postings •Participating in setting the yearly recruitment budget (third party vendors, online campaigns, swags, career fairs’ registration fees) •Attending networking events and university career days’ to increase our talent pipeline •Leading the Summer Student Program for our branch network across Canada (30 students) Achievements: •Carried-out the Employer Value Proposition project and planned internal roll-out •Introduced a recruitment initiative in cooperation with the Quebec Chamber of Commerce that resulted in increasing our talent pipeline for the Quebec Province •Built a partnership with a local program of Montreal Chamber of Commerce that created a diverse pipeline of candidates •Winner of the “Quality of Excellence Award “and “Impact Award “

This mandate aimed at accompanying this expanding SME in the establishement of new HR procedures. • Implemented customized HR policies, procedures and guidelines (recruitment, performance management, rules of procedures) • Developed with Managers HR strategies; which considered immediate and long-term staffing requirements • Led the recruitment process of ‘’Executive Assistant’’ position, including job posting, interviews and the orientation of the employee. • Established practices that help employees understand and apply the company’s values and culture.