We recruit, but we’re not your typical recruitment agency. We care less about the dollars and more about connecting the right people with the right jobs in the sustainability space.
Our Mission.
The ethos behind Talent Nation is to build strong communities of talent within our core areas of focus; enabling our clients to access an engaged candidate pool when they are looking to fill a role, and our candidates to make informed and educated decisions about the organisations that they wish to join.
What we’re about.
We are proud to be one of the founding Australian companies to become a registered BCorp™ and believe every individual can have a real impact on the world around them.
As recruitment specialists, we are engaged by our clients for the simple reason that we understand the market and know the individuals that have demonstrated success in their roles. We devote a great deal of our time to establishing long-term relationships with our stakeholders so that when an opportunity arises we know where to go to get the right result for our clients, reaching further than candidates that are actively looking for work.
Our extensive networks, which are supported by robust research, ensure that we can engage with a larger pool of talent than our competitors. The larger candidate pool allows us to assess the individuals on their cultural fit for the organisation once the technical capability is covered off, which reduces the risk of turnover. We don’t market individuals into companies and, although we provide extensive career advice to our networks, we never lose track of who we are working for.
Our Team.
Richard Evans
Managing Director
Richard brings 20 years of Executive Recruitment experience to the business, originating from when he moved to the UK and developed the Civil Engineering & Water division within the Central London office for one of the UK’s leading recruitment companies. He then moved into Environment and Sustainability recruitment in 2009, establishing a niche recruitment firm in partnership before deciding to launch Talent Nation in 2012. The vision for Talent Nation was to create a purpose driven recruitment business built on the foundation of purpose driven people.
His commitment to clients and passion for the industries he specialises in has earned him the reputation as the leading Environmental and Sustainability Recruiter in Australia. With his deep industry knowledge and business connections, he provides added-value to clients and candidates beyond the standard transactional recruitment process seen in many agencies in recent years; and has also made a significant expansion into the not for profit sector.
As a Non-Executive Director with the Banksia Environmental Foundation, Richard is an active supporter of a number of sustainability initiatives. He jointly established a sustainability forum for many of the country’s leading sustainability thinkers to meet and discuss ways they could improve and expand their business, help and support their communities and learn from their environmental knowledge and experience. He is also a keen contributor to carbon and environment course curricula and is an Alumni of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership.
Richard holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School, a Master of Engineering in Management, and a Bachelor of Forestry Science from the University of Canterbury. He is also addicted to kite surfing.
Kate Faulkner
Senior Recruitment Consultant
Kate Faulkner brings several years of executive recruitment experience to Talent Nation having previously successfully built up sales and technical networks for a premier IT services firm in the US.
After relocating to Melbourne from Boston, Kate quickly specialised in Environmental, Sustainable and Not for Profit search and recruitment where she has delivered quality people within a wide range of roles across Australia. She has completed key assignments for clients such as B Lab, United Nations Global Compact Australia, ERM, Umwelt, Jemena, Trust for Nature, Clarke Hopkins Clarke, The Centre for Sustainability Leadership and Impact Investment Group.
She has a sound ability to form excellent professional relationships with clients by understanding the complexities of each specialist role she delivers. Kate is driven by working with purpose driven organisations to help them maintain a competitive edge.
At Talent Nation, we promote transparency and best practice methods in all we do. When Kate joined us she was on a quest to be a part of and help develop a purpose driven business. Not only are we thrilled she chose us and now calls Melbourne home, but also that she continues to be highly regarded by her team and invaluable to the business.
Kate enjoys travelling and volunteering for her community lacrosse program. She holds a Bachelors of Sociology from Suffolk University in Boston, MA graduating Cum Laude.
Nathan Kelly
General Manager
Nathan brings to Talent Nation over 15 years of Senior Management and Leadership experience gained from startups to global corporates. Nathan has specialised in the B2B space within the Recruitment, FMCG and Telecommunications industries in New Zealand, United Kingdom and Australia.
His passion for business excellence is based on a blend of technical and cultural expertise. He fosters strong relationships with business partners and stakeholders to ensure high levels of engagement and streamlined services that achieve successful outcomes for the organisations we work with.
Nathan has strong personal values of integrity and reliability in addition to our business values of respect, community and commitment. Being naturally results driven and someone that strives professionally to improve and exceed expectations – in both corporate and non- corporate environments – he is a positive and proactive member of the Talent Nation team.
He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing and a Bachelor of Commerce in Management from the University of Otago as well as a Diploma in Business from the University of Melbourne.
Evanne Evans
Operations Manager
Evanne began her career in Telecommunications in London at one of the fastest growing companies in the UK during that time. After several years in sales, she moved into an Operational Management role where she assisted the business with the expansion of their European subsidiaries, successfully rolling out 13 new branches in just 12 months.
Evanne was later enticed to join an exciting start-up technology company that had created an online trading platform for the Reinsurance Industry. Here she managed a multifaceted role as Customer Service/Office Manager, whilst ensuring Quality Assurance across various facets of the business.
After moving to Melbourne in 2003, Evanne worked in marketing before securing a position in a Health and Safety Consulting firm. This led to a project- based role with a recruitment company, after which she joined Talent Nation during its inception.
Evanne has a broad range of experience with a ‘get go’ attitude, and with her ability to find solutions and support business growth, she is a valued member of Talent Nation. She has three beautiful children and enjoys the juggle of part-time work, part-time study and full-time motherhood. She continues to study towards her Professional Writing degree through Open University and is also involved with Raise Foundation as a mentor for high school students.
Leonie Cranney
Marketing Manager
Leonie began her career in Sydney working as a research analyst and Client Account Manager for ACNielsen within the FMCG space, which piqued her interest in why people behave the way they do, especially when it comes to what they buy. Moving into a Market Insights role at Coca-Cola South Pacific, she spent a few years analysing the performance of the brands within the Marketing team, which then segued nicely into a Brand Manager role which was her start in Marketing.
Leonie spent the next 10 years working for big multi-national corporations like Arnott’s and Snackbrands Australia, managing brands with multi-million dollar budgets and using her research and analytical skills to ensure all her marketing campaigns were based in commercial reality- something essential in the FMCG space.
After moving to Melbourne from Sydney in 2015, Leonie has preferred to work for smaller companies, where she could have more of an impact and better see results from the initiatives she implements. Before landing at Talent Nation she was seeking a flexible role where she could use her Marketing background but perhaps make a difference in the world around her. She felt this was asking too much and she would need to compromise on something, until she crossed paths with Richard and found the perfect fit within the Talent Nation team.
She has a Bachelor of Business and a Post Graduate Certificate of Business Administration, and is also a Certified Health Coach.