Full CV

Joey NK Koksal.

Head of People · HR Business Partner · Talent Acquisition Director · AI-Governed People and Talent Operations. Amsterdam, Netherlands · British Citizen · joey.koksal@jnkvertex.nl · LinkedIn

Professional Summary

Senior people and talent leader with over 20 years building, scaling, and transforming HR and TA functions across the UK, EMEA, Scandinavia, and the US. Trusted advisor to CEOs, Boards, and C-suite leadership through digital transformation, reorganisation, and international expansion in clean tech, global retail, engineering, and manufacturing.

Operates at both strategic and hands-on level. Owns recruitment and people KPIs end to end, runs cyclical HR at scale, and leads Works Council and CLA negotiation under Dutch and multi-jurisdiction employment law.

Designs and governs AI-enabled sourcing and reporting infrastructure under the EU AI Act, with bias review and human-in-the-loop controls built in.

Impact Highlights

30%Time-to-hire reduction to a 60-day average through a data-driven in-house model.
72%Employee engagement held through two major reorganisations and Works Council social plan negotiation.
EUR 600KWorkforce investment budget governed across global client groups.
80%+Manual reporting effort reduced, saving 15 to 20 hours per week.

Core Capabilities

Talent Acquisition LeadershipTA operating models, sourcing strategy, employer brand and EVP, hiring manager enablement, structured interviewing at scale, executive and international hiring across DE, CH, UK, IT, AT, FR, BE, NL, Scandinavia, and the US.
HR Business PartneringC-suite and Board advisory, strategic workforce planning, headcount and investment decisions, talent reviews, succession, and internal mobility.
Employment Law and Employee RelationsDutch employment law including contracts, transition payments, and dismissal procedures. Works Council engagement, social plans, ASR and MSRS CLA negotiation, and multi-jurisdiction compliance across 7 markets.
Organisational Development and ChangeOrganisation design, reorganisation, integration of new entities, culture change, leadership development, and career frameworks.
Compensation and RewardSalary banding, levelling, bonus design, annual compensation review cycles, and external benchmarking partnerships.
People Analytics and ReportingTime-to-fill, quality of hire, retention, sourcing effectiveness, and engagement standardised into HRIS and Board-ready narratives.
AI GovernanceEU AI Act literacy, Responsible AI, bias and fairness review, data governance frameworks, audit logging, and human-in-the-loop design.
Team LeadershipBuilt and led teams of up to 9 across 6 countries, with cumulative line management of 17 HR, TA, and recruitment professionals.

Professional Experience

Human Resources Business Partner / HR and TA Project Manager

September 2025 – Present · vanRaam · Netherlands, hybrid · 7 European markets
  • Appointed Human Resources Business Partner in September 2025, advising business leaders on organisational design, employee relations, performance, and people development alongside the HR and TA project remit.
  • Partner with senior leadership on talent strategy and people priorities across 7 European markets: DE, CH, UK, IT, AT, FR, and BE.
  • Lead international entity HR setup and integration: contract design, payroll coordination, HR operations, and multi-jurisdiction compliance.
  • Own HR policy and handbooks, HRIS administration, compensation frameworks, workforce planning, cost modelling, and Board-level hiring and workforce reporting.
  • Built an AI sourcing application converting plain-language briefs into scored shortlists and Greenhouse ATS uploads, with mandatory human-in-the-loop fairness review on every outreach.
  • Led the Langdock enterprise AI gateway rollout and built self-hosted n8n as the automation backbone for HR, commercial intelligence, and Board reporting.
  • Cut manual reporting effort by over 80 percent under EU AI Act and Responsible AI controls.

Human Resources Project Manager

August 2026 – Present · Itsperfect · Amsterdam, hybrid
  • Lead and deliver the full HR agenda across the employee lifecycle, from strategic workforce planning and recruitment through onboarding and employee relations to employee exits.
  • Own reward and benefits, HR policy, and HR compliance across the employee population.

Senior Global HR Business Partner and TA Manager

December 2022 – September 2025 · EVBox · Netherlands, Scandinavia, USA, Belgium, France, UK
  • Hired, led, and developed a global team of 9 direct reports across 6 countries. Set objectives, ran performance cycles, coached progression, and built the global HRBP career framework.
  • Led two major reorganisations including a wind-down, negotiating social plans with the Works Council and driving ASR and MSRS CLA negotiations.
  • Held 72 percent employee engagement through structural change and governed a EUR 600,000 workforce investment budget across global client groups.
  • Delivered annual compensation reviews, talent reviews, and strategic workforce planning.
  • Built Talent Market Insights tools and ran internal mobility programmes across Belgium, France, and the UK.

Lead Talent Acquisition and HR Business Partner, Technology

October 2018 – November 2022 · PVH Corp. (Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein) · Amsterdam
  • Hired and managed 4 direct reports across TA and HRBP through enterprise digital transformation covering PVH Tech, ABI, STITCH, and HATCH.
  • HRBP to EMT Tech leadership. Partnered with Compensation and Benefits on benchmarking and levelling, and presented strategic talent insights at C-level, shaping headcount and investment decisions.
  • Designed a data-driven in-house recruitment process with a live dashboard for pipeline, time-to-hire, and sourcing effectiveness.
  • Cut time-to-hire by 30 percent to a 60-day average.

Earlier Career

2001 – 2018 · Recruitment and talent leadership roles across agency and in-house
  • Built foundations in sourcing, stakeholder management, people operations, hiring delivery, and commercial leadership.
  • Please see LinkedIn for further career history.

Board and Advisory

Founding Board Member

January 2026 – Present · Behind The Mask Community · Amsterdam
  • Founding Board Member of a curated leadership community focused on honest conversations about mental health, identity, and workplace realities.
  • Support strategic direction and community design.

AI Platforms Built and Owned

JNK VertexSelf-built talent intelligence and sourcing platform covering talent market reports, X-Ray sourcing across 28 countries, natural-language search, and talent pool management. Replaces multi-thousand Euro annual SaaS spend and saves 10 to 15 hours per week.
Career ForgeAI career toolkit for employees covering CV analysis, mock interviews, and 30-day career plans. Drives internal mobility and manager development with zero data exfiltration.
OpenClaw ManagerSelf-hosted AI control plane with model switching, RAG knowledge base, and n8n integration. Standardises AI deployment with centralised governance and audit logs.
Commercial Dealer IntelligenceAI platform profiling dealers and prospects across 7 European markets, demonstrating AI value beyond HR.

Certifications

HR Business Partner Certified and HR Manager CertifiedAIHR Academy, 2025.
Strategic HR Business PartnerJosh Bersin Academy, 2021.
Leadership Foundation BeyondLepaya, 2024.
HR Diploma, CPD CertifiedAlison, 2024.
AI, Data and Digital GovernanceGenerative AI Literacy, Responsible AI, EU AI Act, Bias and Fairness, LinkedIn Certified.
Claude Code in Action and Claude 101Anthropic, 2026.

Education, Systems, and Languages

EducationDiploma, Marketing (HBO), American Hotel and Lodging Association, 2000.
HRIS and ATSWorkday, SuccessFactors, Greenhouse, iCIMS, Avature, Ashby, Phenom.
AI and AutomationAnthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Perplexity, Google Gemini, Langdock, n8n, Docker.
LanguagesEnglish fluent, Turkish fluent, Dutch B1 conversational.