Susannah Rafferty

About Susannah Rafferty

I\'ve spent the last 5+ years operating as a de facto Chief of Staff to the Chief Talent Officer: building operational infrastructure, partnering with executive leadership on strategic decisions, and scaling a high-growth AI company from ~100 to 700+ employees through successful acquisition by Workday. At Paradox, I operated as a thought partner to the executive team: presenting to leadership regularly, collaborating daily with the C-suite, and driving cross-functional initiatives spanning technology, analytics, and organizational effectiveness. I built functions from scratch, implemented AI-powered automation, and created the reporting frameworks leadership needed to make decisions.What I do:→ Strategic operations: translating executive vision into operational reality → Cross-functional leadership: HR, Product, IT, Finance, Legal, Marketing, and beyond → Building from zero: stood up programs and business functions, analytics, global systems → Enterprise technology: AI implementation, LMS, HRIS, global payrollPreviously: Marriott International (Oracle HCM Cloud implementation), Johns Hopkins APL (built first-ever employer brand function, implemented onboarding platform and managed recruiting tech stack).

Experience

1. Director, Talent Operations

   Paradox

   Aug 2020 — Present

   Built and scaled HR infrastructure for a high-growth startup, leading to a successful exit through sale to Workday. Over the course of five years at Paradox, I: • Architected an industry-leading Talent Acquisition tech stack and global recruitment methodology: Designed and implemented AI-powered operational systems using agentic AI and generative AI, driving automation and efficiency across the organization. Managed integrations across HRIS, background check, video conferencing, and external job feeds. • Operationalized the Talent Development function from the ground up, building the technical infrastructure through selection and implementation of LMS and intranet solutions, supporting the establishment and growth of an L&D team, and leading the development of global programs and processes related to performance management and employee/manager resources and tooling, as well as codifying policies, documentation, and compliance programs. • Built enterprise analytics and reporting infrastructure, including dashboards and decision frameworks for headcount, growth, turnover, and performance—enabling data-driven executive decision-making. • Managed cross-functional relationships and initiatives spanning HR, IT, Finance, Legal, GTM, and executive leaders: led technology implementations, office build-outs, global payroll rollout, Employee Engagement Survey program, and Employer Brand program.

Education

• American University

  Master of Science (M.S.), Organization Development

  2016 — 2018

• James Madison University

  Bachelor of Science, Psychology Major, Human Resources Development Minor

  2010 — 2014

Skills

• Writing
• Os X
• Ariba Contract Management
• Team Leadership
• Marketing
• Peoplesoft
• Copywriting
• Social Networking
• Adobe Photoshop
• Sharepoint
• Training
• Fundraising
• Taleo
• Leadership
• Indesign
• Oracle
• Public Speaking
• Employee Surveys
• Surveymonkey
• Social Media
• Graphic Design
• Photoshop
• Illustrator
• Recruiting
• Performance Management
• Event Planning
• Organizational Development
• Employer Branding
• Microsoft Office
• Time Management