Sharon Rai

Global Talent Acquisition | DEI Advocate | Project Management | Driving Scalable Talent Strategies & Operational Excellence

Greater Vancouver Metropolitan Area

About

I’m a senior talent acquisition and project management professional with over a decade of experience leading recruitment strategy, operations, and people initiatives across high-growth organizations. I specialize in building and scaling recruitment functions, driving inclusive hiring practices, and managing complex programs that improve efficiency, candidate experience, and team performance. Throughout my career—with companies like Microsoft, Lululemon, ALS Global, and RBC—I’ve led cross-functional hiring initiatives, implemented systems like Workday and ADP, and supported everything from executive search to high-volume onboarding. I’ve hired hundreds of professionals across tech, banking, operations, and corporate roles, while also leading recruitment teams, managing stakeholder relationships, and delivering talent programs across North America. As both a recruiter and project manager, I bring a unique ability to connect people strategies with operational execution—ensuring goals are met, teams are supported, and hiring is done with intention and impact. I’m passionate about building strong teams, creating scalable processes, and driving positive change through people.

Experience

  • ALS (1 yr 10 mos)
    • Talent Acquisition Manager
      Jan 2026 - Present · 6 mos

    • Talent Acquisition Advisor
      Sep 2024 - Present · 1 yr 10 mos

      ALS Limited is a company headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, which provides testing, inspection, certification, and verification services out of over 370 sites across 65 countries. At ALS Global, I'm leading the development and execution of North American Talent Acquisition strategy, focused on operational efficiency and candidate/hiring manager experience. I've implemented and optimized Workday (HRIS) while recruiting for specialized and hard-to-fill roles across Canada and the US. I manage initiatives like referral programs and campus/co-op recruitment, all while driving recruitment metrics and process improvements.

  • Microsoft (8 yrs 2 mos)
    • Global Talent Acquisition @ Microsoft
      Jan 2021 - Present · 5 yrs 6 mos

      Microsoft is an American multinational technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. It is best known for its Windows operating system, the Microsoft Office suite, and its Xbox gaming consoles. Founded in 1975, Microsoft has grown into one of the world's largest and most influential technology companies. At Microsoft, I led full cycle strategic recruitment initiatives across Canada and the U.S, partnering with engineering and products teams in Gaming, Cloud + AI and Experiences & Devices. I managed 35+ technical requisitions while mentoring a team of 5 recruiters. One of my proudest accomplishments was scaling the Vancouver Engineering Development Center - growing headcount 4x and assisting with building the talent acquisition team from ground up. I leveraged data and market insights to drive inclusive hiring strategies, resulting in a 98% diverse slate for people managers roles. My work also included headcount planning, candidate pipeline development, stakeholder engagement, and high touch offer negotiations across principal level tech roles.

    • Global Talent Aquisition
      May 2018 - Jan 2021 · 2 yrs 9 mos

  • Operations Specialist | Program Manager at lululemon
    Jul 2023 - Sep 2024 · 1 yr 3 mos

    Lululemon is a Canadian-American multinational athletic apparel retailer, known for its yoga-inspired technical athletic wear and accessories for women and men. I supported global tech operations at lululemon by managing 8-12 strategic projects focused on automation, process improvements and peak season planning. My role involved working cross-functionally, executing change management plans, and enhancing internal operational efficiencies. I leverage tools like Jira, Miro and Confluence to ensure timely delivery and high-impact outcomes. This experience deepened my project leadership and tech operations experience.

  • Recruitment Specialist (Contract) at BlueShore Financial
    Jan 2018 - Dec 2018 · 1 yr

    BlueShore Financial, is a Canadian financial institution founded in 1941, headquartered in the City of North Vancouver, British Columbia. It operates as a division of Beem credit union. As the first dedicated recruiter at Blueshore Financial, I was responsible for establishing and leading the full cycle recruitment function for both branch and head office roles. I built scalable sourcing strategies, developed a recruitment process and implemented it company-wide - helping to streamline hiring and improve consistency across departments. I partnered closely with senior leaders to understand workforce needs, and played a key role in implementation of UltiPro (HRIS) to support a more modern and data driven talent approach.

  • Corporate Recruiter at Mindfield Group
    Dec 2016 - Jan 2018 · 1 yr 2 mos

    Mindfield is a technology-enabled talent solutions provider that partners with companies to improve the quality of their hourly workforce. We use a data-driven hiring strategy that combines people, technology and process. The approach focuses on tying business outcomes such as sales performance, tenure and engagement to the selection, hiring and measurement of quality candidates. At Mindfield, I supported internal and RPO clients by developing sourcing strategies, managing full cycle recruiting, and championing the employer brand. I specialized in high volume roles and key leadership positions across sales, HR and Tech. A key achievement was designing a structured documented recruitment process, which I successfully rolled out and trained hiring managers on - recruiting in a more consistent, efficient and aligned hiring practices. I also led change management initiatives during the implementation of ADP (HRIS), strengthening operational effectiveness.