talents for transformation

Strategic Talent Acquisition for Innovation, Tech, L&D, and Product teams

I’m Paulo Dehnhardt, and I started PnP Hire after years recruiting across two very different worlds: early-stage/startup teams navigating ambiguity and pace, and large-scale transformation programs inside corporate environments. That range shaped how I work—adapting to shifting contexts, tight timelines, and the real people behind every hire.My focus is on building teams while enabling clients—whether through process improvement or the implementation of an AI-driven solution, every placement should contribute to a more sustainable outcome. Whether permanent, freelance, or advisory, I treat each hire as a design decision, tied to the culture, rhythm, and direction of the organisation. Backed by a trusted network of HR and talent professionals, PnP Hire offers flexible, adaptive support that fits how each organisation actually works.

Paulo not PaOlo - LinkedIn

How can we work together

1. Pay-on-Success

Recruitment built for impact — and payment only when results happen.
This agency-style model covers end-to-end recruitment for critical or strategic roles, where you pay only if a candidate is successfully hired.

2. Project-based

Dedicated focus on defined hiring goals — with time-based billing for full transparency.
This model 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, proving I’m not just talk ;-)

Digital Factory

As TA Lead from an innovation consultancy, I supported a 5y digital transformation mandate within the client's CDO Office, partnering with a top-tier global strategy consultancy (MBB). The initiative focused on redesigning user journeys and developing new digital product MVPs through multidisciplinary, user-centred squads of German-speaking professionals across product, design, and engineering. I was responsible for the full recruitment operationalisation, reporting to project leads from the consultancy stream and ensuring precise alignment with program timelines and transformation goals.Across the engagement, I alternated between leading a team of recruiters during high-volume hiring waves and performing full e2e recruitment cycles independently. Around 35 recruitment processes were managed per year on average, many resulting in multiple hires across roles such as Agile Coaches, UX Product Strategists, UX/UI Designers, User Researchers, Scrum Masters, and Software Developers (Architects, Backend, Frontend, Mobile/App).

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

The program’s success led the client to expand the user-centred approach company-wide, evolving into a full agile transformation and earning public recognition within the industry as the most innovative mandate in the insurance sector of the year.

Accelerator Program

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

In support of a strategic transformation by the client's global CIO Office, I led the recruitment for an internal venture accelerator designed to equip vice presidents with the tools to build new digital business models and pitch them to the board. The initiative focused on fostering intrapreneurship and long-term innovation within the organisation, combining structured sprints, business model validation, and hands-on coaching. I was responsible for the full recruitment operation, reporting to the managing director and delivering under tight timelines, with a strong focus on precision hiring.

The core challenge was to identify and place top-tier Innovation / Entrepreneurship Coaches with the seniority and credibility to engage directly with bank's global VPs—professionals capable of guiding interdisciplinary teams from ideation to investment-ready pitches. This demanded boutique-level recruiting, balancing financial domain fluency with deep expertise in Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and corporate venture building. Across multiple sprints in Frankfurt, the program achieved strategic success, including the appointment of one placed coach as Global Head within the Corporate Banking unit.

Business Model Transition & Dual Talent Streams

Professional Services (Berlin, DE)

I initially joined as an external RPO consultant, one of three vendors brought in to support recruitment for a digital transformation program inside a major German insurer. After consistently delivering in a high-pressure environment, I was invited in-house by the consultancy leading the engagement, moving into the role of Head of Talent Relationships. From day one, I was tasked with placing top-tier freelance professionals into roles across DAX-30 clients—often involving VP- and C-level leadership enablement, strategic transformation work, or specialised product and tech initiatives. The complexity came not only from the profiles themselves, but from the sensitivity of the projects and the speed with which placements had to happen.At the same time, the company was shifting its core business model toward learning experience design—focused on leadership development, reskilling and upskilling programs, and modern apprenticeships.

This created a two-track talent challenge: while continuing to recruit senior contractors for existing transformation mandates, I also had to help build a permanent consultancy team with a very specific and hard-to-find profile—professionals who combined corporate experience with facilitation, learning design, and innovation methods like design thinking. These hires needed to be comfortable operating in ambiguous, cross-functional environments and were often going head-to-head with candidates choosing between offers from much larger consulting firms. The transition succeeded: the team grew from 18 to 55, and the company’s work was recognised with national HR Excellence Awards for enterprise HR transformation programs in financial services and industrial innovation.

Let's talk talent

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

* by submitting this form or scheduling a call, you agree that PnP Hire may store and process your personal data (name, email, company) for the purpose of responding to your inquiry or arranging a meeting.

Imprint / Legal NoticeOperator / 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:
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