Stéphane Zola
Tech Recruiter & Team Lead
Abidjan
Profil professionnel
Recruitment professional with 7+ years’ experience scaling hiring pipelines across tech and business roles in Europe and Francophone Africa. Proven track record in sourcing hard-to-find talents (co-founders developers, data, product, cloud, cybersecurity), building candidate communities, and partnering with hiring managers to meet ambitious growth targets. Experienced in both agency and in-house (RPO/startup) contexts, with strong adaptability to high-growth, mission-driven environments.
Vue d'ensemble
11
11
years of professional experience
3
3
years of post-secondary education
Expérience
Head Of Talent
Mstudio
Abidjan
2024.05 - Actuel
- Leading talent strategy for a startup studio dedicated to transforming the informal sector in French-speaking Africa.
- Spearheading the recruitment and selection of top technical, business and operational entrepreneurs, to co-found and scale startups.
- Organizing and supporting startups hiring effort for engineering and sales roles
- Designing and executing innovative recruitment strategies tailored to the local and expat markets.
- Building strong partnerships with industry stakeholders to anticipate future talent needs.
- Driving the studio’s capacity to consistently launch new, high-impact startups.
IT Talent Acquisition Lead
Comet
Paris
2022.11 - 2024.05
- Recruited technical & product profiles (Architects, Developers, Engineers, PMs, POs, BAs, BI).
- Built and led a team of 5 recruiters: training, performance follow-up, KPIs, and incentive programs.
- Partnered with business stakeholders to define job requirements and hiring strategies.
- Built scalable sourcing strategies: strategic sourcing, referral networks, targeted job ads.
- Managed candidate pipelines end-to-end, ensuring high-quality experience.
- Created and nurtured talent pools to reduce time-to-hire by 30%.
- Organized community events for talents engagement and retention.
IT Recruitment Specialist (RPO)
Self-Employed
Paris
2020.09 - 2022.11
- Supported startups and SMEs with rapid scaling across hard-to-find tech and product talents (Data, Cloud, Cybersecurity, Web/Mobile).
- Managed recruitment cycles end-to-end: sourcing, qualification, interviews, offers, onboarding support.
- Implemented structured interview guides and evaluation grids, improving hiring manager alignment and reducing candidate drop-off.
- Developed client accounts and advised hiring managers on market trends and strategy.
Recruitment Specialist / BizDev / Account Manager
CommissionCrowd
London
2017.09 - 2020.09
- Business development of the brand in the French market
- Managed client accounts (contracts, negotiations, performance tracking).
- Recruiting support of sales and bizdev roles for clients.
- Built and trained a 4-person recruitment & sales team.
- Recruitment of outsourced sales representatives
Data Classification Specialist
eBay UK
London, UK
2019.09 - 2020.09
- Data localization and translation for the French market
- Analysis and structuring of data on the website
- Liaising with cross-functional teams to collaborate on data design
- Quality control to identify and correct gaps and errors in the data
Digital Content Management
Vubiquity
London
2013.09 - 2019.09
- Digital content processing (VOD)
- Data entry and management
- Data analysis, measurement, and reporting (KPIs, billing)
- B2B client relationship management (Sky TV)
- Project management
- Troubleshooting and incident management
Formation
Professional Training - Embracing the Manager Role
Actinuum
Paris 2023.06 - 2023.06
Bachelor Degree - International Business
London Metropolitan University
London 2009.09 - 2012.09
Compétences
- End-to-End Recruitment & Talent Strategy
- Stakeholder Management (Startups, Scale-ups, Large Accounts)
- Sourcing: LinkedIn Recruiter, Github, Turnover IT, Jean-Michelio jobboards, X/Twitter
- ATS/CRM: Tellent Recrutee, Manatal, Hubspot
- Pipeline Management & Candidate Experience
- Team Leadership & Recruitment Process Design
- Data-Driven Hiring: KPIs, metrics, reporting
Informations complémentaires
- Digital Automation / AI
- Tech Business / Startup Venture
- Literature & Writing
- Combat Sports / Martial arts
- Trekking / Outdoors
- Travels & Cultures
Langues
Français
Langue maternelle
Anglais
Opérationnel
Espagnol
Débutant
Personnalisé
- Voyages (seul ou avec des amis)
- Découvrir de nouvelles cultures et environnements.
- Passionné d'arts martiaux (boxe, Muay Thai, Karaté, BJJ, Grappling)
- Socialiser avec amis, collègues et famille.
- Littérature classique (Dostoievski, Georges Orwell , Balzac etc)
Chronologie
Head Of Talent
Mstudio
2024.05 - Actuel
Professional Training - Embracing the Manager Role
Actinuum
2023.06 - 2023.06
IT Talent Acquisition Lead
Comet
2022.11 - 2024.05
IT Recruitment Specialist (RPO)
Self-Employed
2020.09 - 2022.11
Data Classification Specialist
eBay UK
2019.09 - 2020.09
Recruitment Specialist / BizDev / Account Manager
CommissionCrowd
2017.09 - 2020.09
Digital Content Management
Vubiquity
2013.09 - 2019.09
Bachelor Degree - International Business
London Metropolitan University
2009.09 - 2012.09