Deborah Surek

People and Operations Consultant

Lisbon, Portugal (+00:00 UTC) Portuguese, Englishfrom Lisbon, Portugal
Usually responds in 1 day
Free
Price per hour
30 min
Time Blocks Available
5.00
6 reviews / 9 sessions
Tue
24
Next availability

I had a wonderful session with Deborah focused on her transition from a marketing and advertising career into a people-focused HR and leadership role. She openly shared the key decisions, mindset shifts, and practical steps that guided her move, and highlighted how her passion for mentorship and talent development shaped every stage of her journey. Deborah’s perspective on blending business acumen with people-centric leadership gave me fresh ideas for my own path and for building PowerRoom.io. I left the call feeling inspired and armed with concrete insights I can apply immediately. If you’re exploring a career pivot, growing as a leader, or simply want to learn from someone who’s walked the talk, I highly recommend connecting with Deborah.

Linda Diana

Deborah was outstanding in our mentoring session. She shared actionable insights on how to effectively sell to our ICP and how to progress without making critical mistakes. Undoubtedly one of the most valuable sessions on GM!

David Kanika

Our session with Deborah was super helpful and insightful - she helped us understand the world of People Ops, which is vitally important for our saas product. Thank you Deborah! 🙌

Sophia

Bio

I am a dynamic professional with over two decades of expertise within advertising, media and fintech, working with global clients from highly regulated industries. In the past decade, I've ascended to increasingly senior roles, with a primary focus on nurturing team growth and fostering talent development in diverse environments. In my most recent position as People Success for a fintech company, I spearheaded People initiatives, strategising and implementing solutions from inception to completion. I specialise in crafting and executing holistic People frameworks, guiding organisations through every stage of the employee lifecycle with precision, complying with legal requirements across multiple jurisdictions. I am here to help empower your business to unlock the full potential of your team and achieve individual and collective goals. Let's connect!

Expertise


  • Building a team

    - Built, managed and developed a large team of nearly 50 Organic Performance specialists, focusing on mentoring, development, and integration of the channel across agency partners and clients. - Collaborated with HR to drive key People Operations initiatives, enhancing staff engagement, retention, development, and growth.

  • Operations

    Assisted businesses in outlining processes and governance plans, applying effective operational frameworks across for global clients with distributed teams, to ensure strategic alignment and operational efficiency. Provided essential guidance to line managers on effective people management practices, enhancing team leadership skills and promoting a positive work environment.

  • Remote work

    Built from ground up People Operations policies for a remote first start up. Led all People initiatives for distributed teams across 15 jurisdictions.

Toolkit


  • Figma logo

    Figma

    6 years of experience

    Interaction with designers on product prototypes, assignment of creative / design requests to product and design teams. Real time interactions with front end team.

  • Zoom logo

    Zoom

    9 years of experience

    Conference calls, interviews, meetings, online training, team catch ups, all hands meetings, company townhall, interviews, presentations, webinars and more

  • Google Analytics logo

    Google Analytics

    15 years of experience

    All types of data analysis of clients websites - from goals set up to reporting on user experience/ purchase funnel - impression, conversion rates, bounce rates, ctr, etc

  • Google Webmaster Tools logo

    Google Webmaster Tools

    15 years of experience

    All types of technical tracking and setup for clients websites - sitemaps updates and submissions, page redirections, crawling errors, mobile usability, search query analysis.

  • JIRA logo

    JIRA

    13 years of experience

    Ticket submission: technical tracking and requests to web developers, product teams, infrastructure and dev ops teams on any bugs, coding, etc, as well as sprint management.

  • Notion logo

    Notion

    7 years of experience

    Full use of the workspace for internal collaboration: project management, creation of roadmaps, handbooks, policies, online library, collective calendars, workflows, etc.

  • Trello logo

    Trello

    9 years of experience

    Full use of the workspace for internal collaboration: project management, creation of roadmaps, handbooks, policies, online library, collective calendars, workflows, etc.

Experience

  • Bottlepay

    People Success

    Spearheaded development and implementation of a comprehensive people strategy, focusing on initiatives that significantly improved employee engagement, performance, retention, and overall satisfaction. Led the alignment of HR and People policies in the company acquisition process. - Oversaw employee lifecycle across 15 jurisdictions, guiding line managers through critical functions such as recruitment, on boarding, performance management, and off boarding with keen focus on enhancing employee engagement and retention. - Developed and enforced HR policies and procedures to ensure adherence to labour laws and regulations, aligning with the parent company NYDIG's policies and maintaining operational compliance. - Led strategic negotiations with key vendors, including Pension & Rewards partners and Global EOR/PEO services, in collaboration with Finance and Compliance teams, achieving optimised SLAs and fostering stronger partnerships.

    FinTechCryptocurrencyBitcoinPayments
  • Redmill Solutions

    Global Account Director
    redmillsolutions.com/

    Managed global clients' media data, encompassing planning, purchasing, and analysing media activity performance to optimise investments and strategies. Directed team, focusing on enhancing skills, fostering professional growth, and maintaining high morale and productivity. Provided expert advice to clients, aiding them in understanding and making informed decisions regarding their media investments. Spearheaded all aspects of media data analysis, leveraging operations teams in China and Turkey for support and delivering insightful reports to guide strategy. - Coordinated with stakeholders across 37 countries, including media agencies, product and tech teams, marketing divisions, and procurement, ensuring cohesive and strategic operations. - Oversaw global rollout of a new planning tool for Coty (Luxury Beauty), establishing a novel framework for both agencies and internal clients to streamline planning processes. - Acted as the senior point of contact for all matters related to account management, ensuring client satisfaction and resolving issues efficiently.

    Data IntegrationAdvertising
  • Braidr (former Found Studios)

    Digital Media/People Operations Consultant
    braidr.ai/

    Provided strategic advice and support to team leaders on hiring, on boarding, training, and development frameworks, ensuring seamless integration of new talents and fostering growth. Developed innovative approaches to work, breaking down barriers between siloed teams to improve collaboration and unity, leading to more cohesive and integrated project outcomes. - Supported SEO, Search, Social, and Performance Content teams in integrating brand strategies and planning, enhancing cross-functional collaboration and strategic alignment. - Streamlined the business operational model to deliver premier client services, optimising processes and workflows for efficiency and effectiveness.

    AdvertisingData Visualization
  • Essence Mediacom

    Worldwide Head of Operations (Organic Search)
    essencemediacom.com/

    Led operations and strategy for Organic Search portfolio while ensuring effective management and integration of Organic Performance within media mix for both internal and external stakeholders. Oversaw team recruitment and hiring process, aiding Associate Directors in crafting ideal candidate profiles and attracting top talent across various levels of seniority. Developed strategic and operational frameworks that are scalable across local, regional, and global levels, aiding both internal teams and external clients. Cooperated with Business Directors to refine the SEO offering and bolster the SEO media P&L through enhanced sales support. - Managed and developed a large team of nearly 50 Organic Performance specialists, focusing on mentoring, development, and integration of the channel across agency partners and clients. - Collaborated with HR to drive key People Operations initiatives, enhancing staff engagement, retention, development, and growth. - Provided valuable assistance to the leadership team in creating market-leading services, including aspects related to hiring, structuring, partnerships, and client support. - Worked with major clients such as GSK, COTY, Allianz, British Gas, Nikon, BrandUSA, and Tempur, delivering tailored and effective Organic Search strategies.

    Media and EntertainmentAdvertisingSEOsemVideo AdvertisingContent MarketingContentsocial media
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