Poloko John Ntshatsha
Principal Talent Strategist · Johannesburg, working across EMEA
I build hiring for the roles that are hardest to fill and most expensive to get wrong.
It started in sales and business development, across Botswana, Ghana and South Africa, which is where I learnt that nobody moves for a pitch; they move for a reason. Agency and RPO delivery leadership came next, then principal technical hiring in-house at Medallia, Zepz and Microsoft. Since 2018 I've also run Protodigy, the search firm I founded, which has placed more than 300 specialists for over 40 clients in Germany, the wider EU and LATAM.
Where I work today
Microsoft · 2024 to now
Strategic & Frontier Hiring, UK & Ireland and DACH
I lead hiring for Microsoft's cloud, AI, security and industry teams across the UK, Ireland and the German-speaking markets, from cloud solution architects through to frontier AI and industry specialists. Before this I was EMEA Principal Talent Partner for Western Europe and DACH, then Global Talent Acquisition Manager for EMEA.
Protodigy · 2018 to now
Founder & Principal Talent Strategist
Technical and executive search for software, data, AI, cloud, ERP and space engineering, plus the commercial leaders around them. Niche ML and DevOps roles filled in 28 days against a 70-day market norm, and 96% of placements still in post beyond eighteen months.
Before that
Zepz · 2023
Country Lead, Technology Talent Acquisition, Europe & US
115+ engineering and product hires in twelve months for an engineering organisation of more than 1,600, with time-to-hire down 22%.
Medallia · 2021 to 2022
Principal Tech Partner, Talent Acquisition, Western Europe & LATAM
125 engineers, cloud specialists and architects in thirteen months; offer acceptance lifted from 62% to 84%.
Recruiter On Demand · 2021 to 2022
Client Delivery Manager, Technology, UK & Western Europe
Led 29 recruiters through 150+ engineering and infrastructure hires in five months at 92% SLA fulfilment.
Earlier
Resourgenix, GoldenRule Technology and Adcorp Group in BD and talent delivery; deVere Group in Accra; PTA International and CallForce in Gaborone; Vodacom Business and Standard Bank, where it began in 2007.
What I bring to a search
- Frontier and technical hiring: cloud, AI, security, data, and the commercial leaders who sell them
- Executive and passive search for people who are rarely on the market
- Building and leading TA teams of up to 29 recruiters across borders and time zones
- Process redesign that makes hiring faster without lowering the technical bar
Languages
English, isiXhosa, isiZulu and Sesotho as a native speaker; Setswana at full professional level; Afrikaans at professional working level.
Education
BA, Applied Linguistics, University of South Africa
Policy for Science, Technology and Innovation, plus global privacy, cybersecurity, anti-bribery and AML certification (2021)
Writing
- South Africa's Tapestry of Talent: unveiling the architects of our digital destiny
- Re-Thinking Recruiting: how AI is revolutionising tech hiring
- The Remote Work Revolution: a cheeky exploration of unexpected perks
In their words
Over the course of 7 months PJ helped me successfully hire 7 CSA roles across our org and for multiple markets.
Phelim O'Halloran, Digital Specialist Manager, Azure, Microsoft
He listened to what I wanted and how I wanted to work and really helped me to get the right people.
Dr Ian McDonald, Director, Cloud & AI Solution Advisors, Microsoft
Speaking with me about a Microsoft role?
Every invitation and message I send about a Microsoft role comes from my Microsoft email address, and you can follow your application in the Microsoft careers portal at any time. If anything you receive doesn't match that, please check with me before you reply.