talents for transformation

Strategic Recruitment for Innovation・Tech・ Learning & Development ・ Product

the founder

Paulo Dehnhardt started PnP Hire after years recruiting across two very different worlds: early-stage/startups, and corporate environments. That range shaped the agency’s approach—adapting to shifting contexts, tight timelines, and the real people behind every hire. Be it permanent, freelance, or advisory, each hire is treated as an enablement momentum—every placement should contribute to a more sustainable outcome.Backed by a trusted network of HR and Talent Acquisition professionals, PnP Hire offers flexible, adaptive support that fits how each organisation actually works.

Paulo not PaOlo - LinkedIn
check testimonials there

How can we work together

1. Contingency Search

Recruitment built for precision — and partnership built on trust.
This model begins with a small engagement retainer, ensuring a dedicated search effort, with the main fee payable only upon a successful hire.

2. Project-based

Dedicated focus on defined hiring goals — with time-based billing for full transparency.
It suits clients who need to fill one or several specific roles within a set timeframe, while maintaining flexibility in hours and scope. You gain a dedicated recruiter operating semi-independently, reporting progress and outcomes until the project is complete.

3. Embedded

Your in-house recruiter — without hiring one.
In this model, PnP Hire works as part of your internal team for a defined period (typically 3–6 months), owning the full recruitment cycle and aligning seamlessly with your culture, processes, and pace.

4. Advisory & Talent Systems

Lay the groundwork for sustainable, repeatable hiring.
Strategic consulting for founders and talent leaders who want to build a predictable, efficient recruitment engine before scaling.

Cases

A peek at a few highlights

Digital Factory

Digital Transformation Program — Leading Insurance (Hamburg, DE)

Learning Talents

Learning Experience Design Consultancy for DAX Companies (DE)

Corporate Accelerator

Corporate Venture Accelerator — Leading Global Bank (Frankfurt, DE)

Dual Streams Case

Business Model Transition —Professional Services (Berlin, DE)

Let's talk talent

This isn’t a sales call — it’s a quick exchange of context and ideas.

Cases

Selected Engagements

Digital Factory

Digital Transformation Program — Leading European Insurance Group (Hamburg, DE)

As a Talent Lead from an innovation consultancy, PnP Hire's founder supported a five-year digital transformation program (2018-2023) for the client's CDO Office, in partnership with an MBB consultancy, focused on redesigning user journeys and launching new digital product MVPs. Multidisciplinary, German-speaking squads were assembled across product, design, and engineering to deliver user-centred solutions.Across the engagement, Paulo alternated between leading a team of recruiters during high-volume hiring waves and performing full end-to-end recruitment cycles independently. The recruitment operation covered multiple hires per process across roles such as Agile Coaches, UX Product Strategists, UX/UI Designers, User Researchers, Scrum Masters, and Software Developers (Architects, Backend, Frontend, Mobile/App).The initiative’s success contributed to a company-wide agile transformation and was publicly recognised as the most innovative mandates in the insurance sector that year.

Deep-dive in Learning Talents

Learning Experience Design Consultancy for DAX Companies (Germany)

For five years (2020-2025), Paulo led all talent acquisition activities for a leading learning design consultancy, serving primarily German DAX-listed corporations across Leadership Development, Reskilling and Upskilling, Apprenticeships (Ausbildung), and Youth Development programs.The talent profiles were highly niche, demanding an uncommon blend of expertise: Learning Design, multi-format Facilitation, a strong New Work mindset, and strategic consulting experience—combined with native-level German proficiency. Through a painful road, Paulo learned that no external recruitment vendor could meet the demands of this industry. This led him to build a boutique-style, in-house recruiting operation—tailored headhunting, skills assessment, and delivery speed calibrated to the complexity of the domain.

Sample roles placed included Senior Learning Design Consultants, Agile Ausbildung Coaches, Design Thinking Coaches, Units Directors (e.g. Leadership Development, Reskilling and Upskilling Programs), Unit Leads for Apprenticeship Programs, Client Leads, Project Leads, Organization Designers, and Youth Development Coaches. The endeavour was successful: the company was nominated annually for national HR Excellence Awards, winning in both 2023 and 2025 for standout enterprise learning initiatives.

Accelerator Program

Corporate Venture Accelerator — Leading Global Bank (Frankfurt, DE)

In support of a strategic transformation led by the client's global CIO Office, recruitment was delivered for multiple mandates, including an internal venture accelerator designed to equip vice presidents with the tools to build digital business models and pitch them to the board. The initiative focused on fostering intrapreneurship and long-term innovation through structured sprints, business model validation, and hands-on coaching—all under tight timelines and with a strong emphasis on precision hiring.The challenge was to identify and place top-tier Innovation and Entrepreneurship Coaches with the seniority and credibility to engage directly with global VPs—professionals able to guide interdisciplinary teams from early ideation to investment-ready pitches. The program demanded boutique-level recruitment, blending financial domain fluency with deep expertise in Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and corporate venture building. Multiple sprints were delivered on-site in Frankfurt, with outcomes including the appointment of one of the recruited coaches as Global Head within the Corporate Banking unit.

Business Model Transition & Dual Talent Streams

Professional Services (Berlin, DE)

Initially brought in as one of three external RPO vendors supporting recruitment for a digital transformation program inside a major German insurer, Paulo was later invited in-house by the consultancy leading the engagement and took on the role of Head of Talent Relationships. The mandate involved placing top-tier freelance professionals into roles across DAX-30 clients—often supporting VP- and C-level leadership, strategic transformation, and specialised product or tech delivery, all under high-pressure timelines.At the same time, the consultancy was shifting its core business model toward Learning & Development consulting.

This created a dual-talent challenge: sustaining the contractor pipeline while also building a permanent team of professionals with a rare mix of requirements. These were highly competitive profiles, often weighing offers from major consulting firms. The transition succeeded: the permanent team grew from 18 to 55, and the consultancy’s work was recognised with national awards for enterprise transformation programs in both financial services and industrial innovation.

IMPRINT / LEGAL NOTICYOperator / Responsible for this website: Paulo R. F. Dehnhardt
(operating under the commercial name PnP Hire)
Rua Manuel António Augusto Catarino C2F
8600-136 Luz – Lagos, PortugalVAT ID: PT322815541
Business Type: Individual entrepreneur (Empresário em Nome Individual) registered in Portugal
Responsible Person (content according to § 55 Abs. 2 RStV / § 18 MStV): Paulo R. F. DehnhardtEmail: [email protected]Legal FrameworkThis website is operated in accordance with Portuguese and European Union law (including GDPR and Directive 2000/31/EC on electronic commerce).
The competent supervisory authority for tax and commercial registration is the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT), Portugal.All content has been created with care. However, no liability is assumed for the completeness, accuracy, or current validity of information.The operator is not responsible for the content of external links. The respective providers are solely responsible for linked pages.Copyright Notice© 2025 Paulo R. F. Dehnhardt / PnP Hire.
All rights reserved.
Any reproduction, distribution, or modification of website content requires prior written permission.Data Protection (GDPR)Personal data (e.g., name, email address) provided through contact forms or Calendly scheduling links are processed exclusively for communication and project purposes.
Certain functionalities of this website (e.g. scheduling via Calendly, email communication via Google Workspace) may process data on servers located in the EU or the United States in compliance with GDPR Art. 46 (standard contractual clauses).For details, please refer to our Privacy Policy (see below).

PRIVACY POLICYEffective Date: 4 November 2025
Operator: Paulo R. F. Dehnhardt
(operating under the commercial name PnP Hire)
Rua Manuel António Augusto Catarino C2F
8600-136 Luz – Lagos, Portugal
Email: [email protected]1. General PrinciplesWe respect your privacy and process personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable Portuguese legislation.
Personal data are collected only when necessary to provide our services or communicate with you.2. Data CollectedWe may collect and process the following categories of data:
- Contact information (name, email address, company, role) provided voluntarily through contact forms or emails.
- Scheduling details entered when booking meetings via Calendly.
- Communication content exchanged via email or online meetings.
- Technical information (browser type, device, approximate region) automatically transmitted when visiting this website.
No sensitive data (e.g. health, political, or religious information) are intentionally collected.3. Purpose of ProcessingData are processed exclusively to:
- Respond to contact or project inquiries;
- Schedule and conduct meetings;
- Manage ongoing recruitment or consulting engagements;
- Maintain professional correspondence;
- Comply with legal obligations (invoicing, accounting, tax).
We never sell, rent, or trade your personal information.4. Legal BasisProcessing is based on:
Art. 6 (1)(b) GDPR – performance of a contract or pre-contractual steps;
Art. 6 (1)(a) GDPR – consent (e.g., Calendly booking);
Art. 6 (1)(c) GDPR – legal obligations (e.g., tax records);
Art. 6 (1)(f) GDPR – legitimate interests in maintaining professional communication.5. Third-Party ServicesThis website may integrate the following tools:
- Calendly (Calendly LLC, US) – for scheduling calls.
Data may be transferred to servers outside the EU under Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46 GDPR).Google Workspace (Google Ireland Ltd.) – for email and document management.
Google acts as a data processor under an EU-GDPR-compliant DPA.Carrd Inc. – hosting platform for this website, providing basic analytics (no cookies).All third-party providers comply with GDPR through EU adequacy decisions or contractual safeguards.6. Data RetentionWe retain data only as long as necessary for the stated purposes or as legally required (e.g. tax documentation = 10 years).
You can request deletion at any time once processing is no longer necessary.7. Your Rights (Art. 15 – 22 GDPR)You may at any time:
- Access your stored data;
- Request correction or deletion;
- Object to processing;
- Withdraw consent;
- Request data portability.To exercise these rights, contact [email protected]
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Portuguese Data Protection Authority (CNPD) at www.cnpd.pt8. Data SecurityWe use secure connections (HTTPS) and store data only on trusted EU or GDPR-compliant platforms. Access is restricted to the operator.9. UpdatesThis privacy policy may be updated periodically to reflect new tools or legal requirements. The most recent version is always available on this page.© 2025 Paulo R. F. Dehnhardt / PnP Hire. All rights reserved.