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 Talent Nation, originally focusing on Civil Engineering & Water within the Central London office for one of the UK’s leading recruitment companies. He transitioned into Environment and Sustainability recruitment in 2009, establishing a niche recruitment firm in partnership before launching Talent Nation in 2012 to have a greater focus on the impact sector. 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.
As a Non-Executive Director with the Banksia Foundation, Richard is an active supporter of a number of sustainability initiatives and committed to embedding sustainability into everyday life. 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.
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.
In his spare time he can be found coaching one of his three sons’ sporting teams, wrangling his over-enthusiastic dogs or kitesurfing in Port Phillip Bay.
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.
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.
Amy Raythorn
Recruitment Coordinator
Amy began her career within sales when she worked as an Account Manager for a world-renowned technology company based in Dublin. After relocating to Melbourne and adjusting to her new life down under, Amy began her recruitment career specializing within IT recruitment working across the Project Services space before moving on to Business Support roles for a number of high calibre clients based in Melbourne.
Amy brings a wealth of knowledge and skill to her new role, having completed specialised recruitment across a number of positions in both corporate and not-for-profit sectors. She prides herself in building strong relationships and always delivering high quality work. She is passionate about helping others succeed in their careers and work in roles where they are making a positive impact on the world.
Before joining Talent Nation, Amy was seeking a flexible role where she could utilise her recruitment skills and knowledge whilst she furthers her studies. Talent Nation was the perfect fit for offering her the flexibility she needed whilst also applying her experience in a role that she can make a difference to those around her. Amy will be helping to assist the team coordinate all aspects of their recruitment process and does so with the experience and knowledge she has gained from her previous recruitment roles.
Amy holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin and a Masters in Supply Chain Management from Michael Smurfit Business School in Dublin. She is currently studying an Advanced Diploma in Human Resource Management at APC.