Jonathan Norfolk

🔸Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist | 🔸Talent Partner | 🔸Recruiter | 16 Years’ Experience Building High-Quality, Culture-Driven Teams | Ex-Lighthouse Games, Ex-InGame Recruitment, Ex-OPM

United Kingdom

About

I’m an approachable, people-focused Talent Acquisition Specialist with 16+ years of experience in the games industry, who thrives in fast-paced, evolving environments, partnering closely with stakeholders to build teams that drive both culture and quality. Over the years, I’ve managed full-cycle recruitment across Art, Animation, Commercial, Design, Engineering, and HR/Operational roles for companies of all sizes. I’ve been trusted to recruit for roles outside my wheelhouse and quickly adapted to find the right candidate every time, demonstrating versatility and problem-solving in sourcing. Key Focus Areas: 🤝 Recruitment & Talent Acquisition Advisor. 🏆 Putting the Candidate Experience 1st. 🕵🏼‍♀️ Global Candidate Sourcing / Niche Headhunting Strategies. 🎯 Focused on supporting People and HR teams to deliver exceptional candidate experiences while helping companies meet their growth goals. Career Highlights: • Delivered 400+ hires across global studios, across most disciplines from Junior to Director. • Converted 87% of offers into acceptances at Lighthouse Games, strengthening team stability and reducing time-to-hire. • Built and maintained long-term talent pipelines, optimised ATS processes, and enhanced employer branding through social media, events, and community engagement. A gamer since the ZX Spectrum, I’ve always been inspired by the artists, animators, designers, engineers, and producers who bring virtual worlds to life. I share that same passion in helping studios hire the best talent, ensuring both candidates and teams can thrive, even in the most challenging of times.

Experience

  • Talent Acquisition Specialist at Ford Motor Company
    Feb 2026 - Present · 5 mos

    As a Talent Acquisition Specialist I lead the full recruitment lifecycle across Ford Motor Company, Ford Pro and Ford Credit Europe, ensuring we attract, engage, and hire top talent that powers one of the world’s most iconic automotive brands. I manage both internal mobility and external hiring processes, partnering closely with business leaders, HR Business Partners, and stakeholders across the organisation. My focus is to deliver a seamless, high-quality candidate experience from initial sourcing through to onboarding. I recruit for a wide range of roles that support Ford’s continued evolution, from Account Managers and Vendor Managers to Analysts, Engineers, and other critical positions that drive innovation, operational excellence, and customer impact. With a strong commitment to relationship-building, strategic hiring, and process optimisation, I help ensure Ford has the skilled talent needed to shape the future of mobility.

  • Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist at Lighthouse Games
    Sep 2024 - Dec 2025 · 1 yr 4 mos

    At Lighthouse Games, I manage the full recruitment cycle across Art, Animation, UI/UX, and Engineering, helping to build a high-quality, culture-driven team for our first AAA project. I partner closely with stakeholders and HR to ensure a seamless journey from sourcing to onboarding, including visa and relocation support. I'm proud to have hired into our UI/UX, Art, Animation and Engineering teams including: Senior UX Designer, Lead Animator, Senior Build Engineer, Senior / UI Engineer, Senior Rigger, Rendering Engineer, Lead/Senior VFX Artist, Senior Services Engineer... Key Achievements: 🔸 Delivered 20 key hires across Art, Animation, UI/UX and Engineering, including Senior, Lead and Principal roles, saving over £250k in agency fees. 🔸 Maintained a 90% candidate-to-interview match ratio, saving stakeholder time and improving the candidate experience. 🔸 Converted 87% of offers to acceptances. Strengthening team stability and reducing time-to-hire. I also contribute to process improvement, talent pipeline management, and employer branding through social media and community engagement initiatives.

  • Principal Recruitment Consultant (Art & Animation Verticals) at InGame Recruitment Ltd
    Apr 2024 - Sep 2024 · 6 mos

    Partnered with global studios to source and place Art & Animation talent during a challenging period for the games industry, successfully making several key placements despite fewer developers using external agencies. Key responsibilities: • Managed full-cycle recruitment: prescreen, interviews, offers, and resignations • Built and maintained strong candidate and stakeholder relationships • Global talent sourcing and headhunting, including LinkedIn Recruiter advanced searches, Boolean, saved searches, and insights • Wrote job specifications and adverts, providing clear market guidance to clients • Provided coaching, advice, and market intelligence to support client hiring strategies

  • One Player Mission (14 yrs 9 mos)
    • Lead Recruitment Consultant (Animation, Commercial & Technical Art Verticals)
      May 2018 - Feb 2024 · 5 yrs 10 mos

      Over 14 years, I partnered with studios worldwide to deliver full-lifecycle recruitment across Art, Animation, Design, Technical, Commercial, and Operational roles. I built global talent pipelines, coached stakeholders on hiring strategies, and represented the company at major industry events, including Gamescom and Develop: Brighton. I also managed and mentored a team of Consultants and Resourcers, ensuring consistent high performance and adoption of best practices. Some roles recruited: Artists & Animators: 2D, 3D, Cinematics, Gameplay, MOCAP, Keyframe, Rigging, Technical Art, Video Editing Commercial & HR: Marketing Director, Marketing Manager, Brand Manager, Business Development Manager, Community Manager, Social Media Manager, Talent Acquisition, HR Generalist Career highlights: ⭐ Highest Company Performer for 9 years 💫 380+ candidates placed at high-profile developers including EA, Microsoft Studios, Ubisoft, Gameloft, Sumo Digital, Creative Assembly, Frontier, Avalanche, PUBG, Ninja Theory, and more 🏢 Built strong, long-term candidate relationships while optimising recruitment processes and ATS usage 💡 Trained and mentored teams, improving onboarding, KPI tracking, and overall performance This role gave me deep expertise in global talent acquisition, stakeholder management, and 360° recruitment, while building a strong network across the games industry.

    • Senior Recruitment Consultant (Art & Animation Verticals)
      Jun 2013 - May 2018 · 5 yrs

      Provision of professional highly skilled and experienced Animators and Artists in the Computer Games Industry. Full 360° Consultant duties coupled with training/mentoring responsibilities internally.

    • Recruitment Consultant (Art & Animation Verticals)
      Jun 2009 - Jun 2013 · 4 yrs 1 mo

      Responsible for the provision of highly skilled and experienced Artists and Animators in the Computer Games Industry

  • Recruitment Consultant at Reed
    Sep 2008 - Jun 2009 · 10 mos

    Sourced candidates and delivered placements for accountancy roles to local businesses.