Employers

Looking for the very best talent? You've come to the right place.

What we recruit

Accounting & Finance
Our highly experienced team understands accounting, but most importantly the traits of an effective and influential modern accountant. The technical fundamentals haven’t changed much, however access to data and need for businesses to have real time and insights-based information has definitely challenged the traditional accountant mold.

Our team is focused on getting to know you. Whether you’re a hiring manager needing to grow your team’s capability or a job seeker needing advice to take the next career step we bring the networks and knowledge but also advice and empathy to help achieve your goals.

Types of Roles

Chief Financial Officer

Commercial Manager

Financial Controller

FP & A Manager

Financial Accounting Manager

Finance Manager

Finance Business Partner

Management Accountant

Finance Analyst

Financial Accountant

Who to talk to 

Rachel Cattanach

Rachel Cattanach

open description
rachelc@cultivate.co.nz
+64 275 766 304
LinkedIn

Rachel has been recruiting in the Auckland market over 16 years specialising in Accounting and Finance. During this time she’s had the privilege of working with hundreds of people at different stages in their career and has played an integral role in matching the right company with the perfect talent. Using knowledge gained from over a decade in the industry, Rachel’s clients and candidates appreciate the extra time she invests in coaching and guiding them towards achieving their goals and has cultivated long term relationships based on integrity and trust.

A proud Westie, Rachel enjoys having one of Auckland’s well-loved West Coast beaches right on her doorstep and can often be spotted early mornings walking with her four and two legged kids.

Craig Malcolm

Craig Malcolm

open description
craig@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 328
LinkedIn

Craig leads our Accounting & Finance practice. He brings a wealth of experience gained from recruiting across the UK and New Zealand since 2003. Over the past 14 years Craig has worked for a large multi-national recruitment firm in Auckland where his last role was the Associate Director, Accounting, and Risk and Compliance.With customer and candidate relationships spanning over a decade, Craig has helped countless professionals accelerate their career and hundreds of businesses connect with right candidates to grow their business.

Accounting Support
Our Accounting Support Team are true veterans of the industry, each with over 15 years experience helping grow careers and teams in Accounting Support. We’ve seen the trends to outsourcing then insourcing, then back to something in between. The rise of shared services departments and new technology has seen a huge shift in the make up of teams, the way these roles are performed and the behaviors needed for success. There’s not many Auckland accounting support teams we haven’t helped, either with temporary cover or permanent appointments.

No one knows this space better than us. Whether you’re looking for people with the potential to tackle tomorrow’s challenges or hoping to grow your career within this changing function we can help.

Types of Roles

Shared Services Manager

Payroll Manager

Payroll Officer

Credit Control Manager

Credit Analyst

Credit Control Officer

AR Manager

AR Officer

AP Manager

AP Officer

Assistant Accountant

Accounts Assistant

Finance Administrator

Billings Analyst

Billing Administrator

Who to talk to 

Rachel Derry

Rachel Derry

open description
racheld@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 158 0624
LinkedIn

Originally from the UK then growing up in South Auckland but now a resident Westie, Rachel has over 10 years recruitment experience. She is a highly motivated recruiter with an innate ability to make people feel comfortable. Candidate experience is something she's incredibly passionate about, as she knows how daunting and nerve wracking the job-hunting journey can be.

Rachel's role at Cultivate is to support and lead the Talent team, as helping others to flourish brings her real joy. Alongside this, she’s also studying towards her Post Grad in Human Resources at Massey Uni, playing an active role in understanding legislative changes and HR practices at Cultivate. To top it off, her creative flair made her the perfect person to look after our marketing here at Cultivate too. Outside of work, you'll find Rachel busy with her favourite things - house plants, her 2 boys Preston & Paprika the tabbys, art, online shopping, planning her next travel adventure or getting her steps in hiking.

Darron Hubbard

Darron Hubbard

open description
darron@cultivate.co.nz
+64 27 704 9495
LinkedIn

Darron (affectionately known to us as Daz) began his recruitment career in South Africa in the retail sector in 2002. He has spent the past 15 years specialising in the Accounting Support function, both permanent and temporary and is very well known within the Auckland industry.  He always delves deeper than a CV and has a great eye for potential.  

Darron is appreciated for his warmth, patience and easy humour.  He works in partnership with Kelly, and together they would easily be the longest serving practitioners locally in this space.

As Dad of three, Daz is a true family man, is famous for his home-made biltong and cooks a mean BBQ.

Kelly Lloyd

Kelly Lloyd

open description
kelly@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 145
LinkedIn

Growing up in South & East Auckland (past 15 years based in the West), Kelly is of Irish, Ngapuhi and Tainui descent. In addition, she spent 4 years working in various countries throughout South East Asia, so has a natural understanding and respect for the cultural diversity within Aotearoa.

A respected industry leader, Kelly has over 15 years of experience helping candidates and clients in the Accounting Support, Payroll and Shared Services space, as well as leading teams. Kelly’s clients appreciate her transparent, genuine nature and willingness to go the extra mile to ensure everyone she works with has a rewarding and successful recruitment experience. With a deep knowledge of the industry, Kelly prides herself on maintaining an extensive network within her specialisation and regularly holds networking events.

Her big loves outside of work are her 6 year old rescue dog patches, performing with her swing vocal group PurrZazz and whanau!

Craig Malcolm

Craig Malcolm

open description
craig@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 328
LinkedIn

Craig leads our Accounting & Finance practice. He brings a wealth of experience gained from recruiting across the UK and New Zealand since 2003. Over the past 14 years Craig has worked for a large multi-national recruitment firm in Auckland where his last role was the Associate Director, Accounting, and Risk and Compliance.With customer and candidate relationships spanning over a decade, Craig has helped countless professionals accelerate their career and hundreds of businesses connect with right candidates to grow their business.

Business Support & Administration
From same day illness cover to major projects, planned or otherwise, our  Business Support and Administration team has done it. We work fast and collaboratively to find job seekers a great new role, whether you’re looking for better flexibility, more challenge, closer to home or a better salary we can help.

Our focus on proactive talent sourcing ensures that hiring managers can rely on us to deliver great talent regardless of the deadlines and volumes. Our award-winning team have a combined 95 years experience, and have become the go-to team for business and administration support roles across Auckland.

Types of Roles

Administrator

Team Coordinator

EA

PA

Reception

Sales Support

Office Manager

Analyst

Who to talk to 

Dakota Winter

Dakota Winter

open description
dakota@cultivate.co.nz
+64 22 023 2492
LinkedIn

Dakota has 10 years’ experience in customer focused roles. Beginning in the health and fitness industry, Dakota dove head first into Recruitment towards the latter end of 2022 and hasn’t looked back. Packed with a passion for helping people and a love for all things analytical, Recruitment and Dakota are two peas in a pod. Working within our Business Support team at Cultivate in a Talent Acquisition Lead role, Dakota is passionate about helping job seekers not only find the right role, but ensuring the enjoy the process too.

Outside of work, you’ll find Dakota in the outdoors, be it running, surfing, snow sports, you’ll struggle to keep her indoors. The only exceptions being coffee, burgers and her dog Rooplestiltskin.

Charly Hickman

Charly Hickman

open description
Charly@cultivate.co.nz
+64 20 401 56965
LinkedIn

Originally from the UK, Charly traded the dark nights for sunny days and now calls New Zealand home. She has 10 years experience in customer focused roles and has spent the last 2 years in a fast-paced managerial role, where she worked across Recruitment, HR and Training. Charly has built long standing relationships with key stakeholders within all her roles, and has thrived and thoroughly enjoyed getting involved in the people side of business. At Cultivate, Charly champions our candidate experience process by supporting job-seekers in obtaining temporary and permanent Business Support roles. Outside of work you will find Charly trying to keep fit in the gym or hunting down the best sweet Chai latte in town.

Rachel Derry

Rachel Derry

open description
racheld@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 158 0624
LinkedIn

Originally from the UK then growing up in South Auckland but now a resident Westie, Rachel has over 10 years recruitment experience. She is a highly motivated recruiter with an innate ability to make people feel comfortable. Candidate experience is something she's incredibly passionate about, as she knows how daunting and nerve wracking the job-hunting journey can be.

Rachel's role at Cultivate is to support and lead the Talent team, as helping others to flourish brings her real joy. Alongside this, she’s also studying towards her Post Grad in Human Resources at Massey Uni, playing an active role in understanding legislative changes and HR practices at Cultivate. To top it off, her creative flair made her the perfect person to look after our marketing here at Cultivate too. Outside of work, you'll find Rachel busy with her favourite things - house plants, her 2 boys Preston & Paprika the tabbys, art, online shopping, planning her next travel adventure or getting her steps in hiking.

Toni Johnson

Toni Johnson

open description
toni@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 167
LinkedIn

Toni initially ‘fell’ into recruitment when a friend suggested it to her at a BBQ …… & she hasn’t looked back ever since. She now has over 18 years’ experience recruiting in the Business Support space. Over the years she’s supported clients in most sectors – including aviation, health, manufacturing, education, government & construction. Toni takes the time to find out exactly what her clients and candidates need. Her great listening skills, empathetic manner, and attention to detail means nothing is missed when you work with her. Originally from Christchurch/North Canterbury and a proud Mainlander, she’s also spent a lot of her life travelling the globe. She’s lived & worked in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, England & Scotland. She has spent many months travelling around various African countries, and took a career break to volunteer at an orphanage in Tanzania for a few months. In her spare time her favourite things to do are spend time with her partner, her many siblings & their kids, and her pride & joy - Havana & Zanzibar (tabby cats)

Naz Huq

Naz Huq

open description
naz@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 295 3096
LinkedIn

Naz has 9 years’ experience providing staffing solutions across a variety of sectors, including financial services and government.  Prior to working in recruitment Naz worked for a large multi-national recruitment firm, as well as working in-house in a variety of HR and sales roles. Over the years Naz has earned herself a reputation with her clients as an extremely responsive recruiter and one they can trust to find quality candidates for roles, on time.

Nicola Houghton

Nicola Houghton

open description
nicola@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 075
LinkedIn

With an excess of 25 years in the recruitment industry, it’s no surprise Nicola is well known as one of the leading Temp recruiters in Auckland.  Nicola is an exceptional recruiter, specialising in volume based projects, placing temporary staffing for her clients.  You name it, Nicola has achieved it in the industry.  She has achieved feats for her clients that astound those who work with her (including us).  Let’s just say not many recruiters have been known to find 90 temporary staff for their clients in 2 weeks!  She may be able to move at the speed of light, but nobody that ever deals with her feels anything less than special.

Kathryn Clarke

Kathryn Clarke

open description
kathryn@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 106
LinkedIn

Born and bred in Wellington, Kathryn (Kat) has predominantly spent the last 15 years recruiting within the Auckland market - specialising in Financial Services and Business & Operations support. As an experienced recruitment partner and leader, Kathryn has helped hiring managers build capability in their teams whilst assisting hundreds of individuals take the next step in their career.

Passionate about people, diversity and careers, Kathryn has cultivated an extensive network of long standing relationships that has been built on shared values, trust and capability. You can be confident you’ll experience a similar connection with Kathryn... most likely with some added banter and her cheeky laugh.

Favourite hot spot for this proud yet busy mum to escape the hustle and bustle: The rock of Polynesia, Niue!

Trina Jones

Trina Jones

open description
trina@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 102
LinkedIn

Originally a proud West Aucklander, Trina has over 25 years’ in recruitment and has spent close to half that time leading and driving successful teams. Trina has built an incredible reputation as an industry expert, relationship manager and people leader. Trina runs one of the most experienced specialist recruitment teams in Auckland, yet still works hands on with clients building trust based relationships and an unwavering commitment to ensure candidates receive the very best experience.  

Avid people person and highly motivated to play an active role in driving women in leadership, along with improving diversity and inclusion outcomes across our Māori, Pasifika, and neurodiverse talent pools.

If Trina’s not recruiting you’ll find her travelling, it’s her biggest hobby and firm favourites include Italy and Bali.

Contracting
We understand the importance of independent contracts in keeping businesses moving. From technology upgrades, team restructures, projects or simply shifting a backlog, they step in with little notice and induction to save the day with their specialist skills and can-do attitude.

We work with contractors in advance of a need to understand their skills and availability so when the SOS comes we can move quickly. The professional life of a contractor can be busy, uncertain and at times lonely, we get it. With a weekly pay-cycle, a mobile enabled time-sheeting system, opportunities for professional development and people that care, you're in good hands.

Types of Roles

Chief Financial Officer

Commercial Manager

Financial Controller

FP & A Manager

Financial Accounting Manager

Finance Manager

Finance Business Partner

Management Accountant

Finance Analyst

Financial Accountant

Who to talk to 

Rachel Cattanach

Rachel Cattanach

open description
rachelc@cultivate.co.nz
+64 275 766 304
LinkedIn

Rachel has been recruiting in the Auckland market over 16 years specialising in Accounting and Finance. During this time she’s had the privilege of working with hundreds of people at different stages in their career and has played an integral role in matching the right company with the perfect talent. Using knowledge gained from over a decade in the industry, Rachel’s clients and candidates appreciate the extra time she invests in coaching and guiding them towards achieving their goals and has cultivated long term relationships based on integrity and trust.

A proud Westie, Rachel enjoys having one of Auckland’s well-loved West Coast beaches right on her doorstep and can often be spotted early mornings walking with her four and two legged kids.

Craig Malcolm

Craig Malcolm

open description
craig@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 328
LinkedIn

Craig leads our Accounting & Finance practice. He brings a wealth of experience gained from recruiting across the UK and New Zealand since 2003. Over the past 14 years Craig has worked for a large multi-national recruitment firm in Auckland where his last role was the Associate Director, Accounting, and Risk and Compliance.With customer and candidate relationships spanning over a decade, Craig has helped countless professionals accelerate their career and hundreds of businesses connect with right candidates to grow their business.

Customer Service & Contact Centre
Connecting with a contact centre or customer services representative is more often the first human contact people have with a brand. So more than ever the experience needs to delight not frustrate the customer, whether that be by phone, chat or email. We understand the evolution of contact centre from a cost to a point of difference and therefore the type of people required to make a difference. From single customer services roles to urgent 100+ temporary needs our team has the knowledge, reach and pace to match opportunity with potential.

Types of Roles

Contact Centre - Inbound/Outbound

Claims Consultant

Chat Agent

Work@Home Agent

Collections Consultant

Customer Care

Service Desk

Client Services

Who to talk to 

Dakota Winter

Dakota Winter

open description
dakota@cultivate.co.nz
+64 22 023 2492
LinkedIn

Dakota has 10 years’ experience in customer focused roles. Beginning in the health and fitness industry, Dakota dove head first into Recruitment towards the latter end of 2022 and hasn’t looked back. Packed with a passion for helping people and a love for all things analytical, Recruitment and Dakota are two peas in a pod. Working within our Business Support team at Cultivate in a Talent Acquisition Lead role, Dakota is passionate about helping job seekers not only find the right role, but ensuring the enjoy the process too.

Outside of work, you’ll find Dakota in the outdoors, be it running, surfing, snow sports, you’ll struggle to keep her indoors. The only exceptions being coffee, burgers and her dog Rooplestiltskin.

Charly Hickman

Charly Hickman

open description
Charly@cultivate.co.nz
+64 20 401 56965
LinkedIn

Originally from the UK, Charly traded the dark nights for sunny days and now calls New Zealand home. She has 10 years experience in customer focused roles and has spent the last 2 years in a fast-paced managerial role, where she worked across Recruitment, HR and Training. Charly has built long standing relationships with key stakeholders within all her roles, and has thrived and thoroughly enjoyed getting involved in the people side of business. At Cultivate, Charly champions our candidate experience process by supporting job-seekers in obtaining temporary and permanent Business Support roles. Outside of work you will find Charly trying to keep fit in the gym or hunting down the best sweet Chai latte in town.

Rachel Derry

Rachel Derry

open description
racheld@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 158 0624
LinkedIn

Originally from the UK then growing up in South Auckland but now a resident Westie, Rachel has over 10 years recruitment experience. She is a highly motivated recruiter with an innate ability to make people feel comfortable. Candidate experience is something she's incredibly passionate about, as she knows how daunting and nerve wracking the job-hunting journey can be.

Rachel's role at Cultivate is to support and lead the Talent team, as helping others to flourish brings her real joy. Alongside this, she’s also studying towards her Post Grad in Human Resources at Massey Uni, playing an active role in understanding legislative changes and HR practices at Cultivate. To top it off, her creative flair made her the perfect person to look after our marketing here at Cultivate too. Outside of work, you'll find Rachel busy with her favourite things - house plants, her 2 boys Preston & Paprika the tabbys, art, online shopping, planning her next travel adventure or getting her steps in hiking.

Toni Johnson

Toni Johnson

open description
toni@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 167
LinkedIn

Toni initially ‘fell’ into recruitment when a friend suggested it to her at a BBQ …… & she hasn’t looked back ever since. She now has over 18 years’ experience recruiting in the Business Support space. Over the years she’s supported clients in most sectors – including aviation, health, manufacturing, education, government & construction. Toni takes the time to find out exactly what her clients and candidates need. Her great listening skills, empathetic manner, and attention to detail means nothing is missed when you work with her. Originally from Christchurch/North Canterbury and a proud Mainlander, she’s also spent a lot of her life travelling the globe. She’s lived & worked in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, England & Scotland. She has spent many months travelling around various African countries, and took a career break to volunteer at an orphanage in Tanzania for a few months. In her spare time her favourite things to do are spend time with her partner, her many siblings & their kids, and her pride & joy - Havana & Zanzibar (tabby cats)

Naz Huq

Naz Huq

open description
naz@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 295 3096
LinkedIn

Naz has 9 years’ experience providing staffing solutions across a variety of sectors, including financial services and government.  Prior to working in recruitment Naz worked for a large multi-national recruitment firm, as well as working in-house in a variety of HR and sales roles. Over the years Naz has earned herself a reputation with her clients as an extremely responsive recruiter and one they can trust to find quality candidates for roles, on time.

Nicola Houghton

Nicola Houghton

open description
nicola@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 075
LinkedIn

With an excess of 25 years in the recruitment industry, it’s no surprise Nicola is well known as one of the leading Temp recruiters in Auckland.  Nicola is an exceptional recruiter, specialising in volume based projects, placing temporary staffing for her clients.  You name it, Nicola has achieved it in the industry.  She has achieved feats for her clients that astound those who work with her (including us).  Let’s just say not many recruiters have been known to find 90 temporary staff for their clients in 2 weeks!  She may be able to move at the speed of light, but nobody that ever deals with her feels anything less than special.

Trina Jones

Trina Jones

open description
trina@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 102
LinkedIn

Originally a proud West Aucklander, Trina has over 25 years’ in recruitment and has spent close to half that time leading and driving successful teams. Trina has built an incredible reputation as an industry expert, relationship manager and people leader. Trina runs one of the most experienced specialist recruitment teams in Auckland, yet still works hands on with clients building trust based relationships and an unwavering commitment to ensure candidates receive the very best experience.  

Avid people person and highly motivated to play an active role in driving women in leadership, along with improving diversity and inclusion outcomes across our Māori, Pasifika, and neurodiverse talent pools.

If Trina’s not recruiting you’ll find her travelling, it’s her biggest hobby and firm favourites include Italy and Bali.

Executive
Hiring for business-critical executive positions requires far more than a fast and accurate shortlist. We work with you to create a bespoke success profile for the position and an assessment process that is highly objective, robust and inclusive. We regularly undertake proactive approaches to target agreed external talent as well as managing your internal applicants, to ensure a defendable and impartial result.

Typical Roles

Head of Finance

Head of Operations

Head of Marketing

General Manager / CEO

Head of HR

Head of Sales

Who to talk to 

Craig Malcolm

Craig Malcolm

open description
craig@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 328
LinkedIn

Craig leads our Accounting & Finance practice. He brings a wealth of experience gained from recruiting across the UK and New Zealand since 2003. Over the past 14 years Craig has worked for a large multi-national recruitment firm in Auckland where his last role was the Associate Director, Accounting, and Risk and Compliance.With customer and candidate relationships spanning over a decade, Craig has helped countless professionals accelerate their career and hundreds of businesses connect with right candidates to grow their business.

Tony Pownall

Tony Pownall

open description
tony@cultivate.co.nz
+64 27 546 1701
LinkedIn

As a co-founder of Cultivate, Tony’s focus is on ensuring Cultivate is a ‘great place to work’ and a ‘great company to work with’.  He also delivers best practice recruitment training and executive search services to our clients. Tony brings a wealth of knowledge, having worked in the recruitment industry since 2005.  He spent a decade leading high performing teams as GM and Country Manager in NZ and Asia before setting up Cultivate, with the goal of challenging traditional industry norms.  Helping businesses to build a sustainable future based on ‘performance through people’ is what drives him in business hours. Outside of work he's hopelessly addicted to cycling and getting outdoors. A pursuit made easier by having to keep up with two very active children.

Financial Services
We deliver national coverage across a broad range of leading and growing organisations within the Financial Services sector including; Banking, Investments, Insurance, KiwiSaver, and Lending. We specialise in recruiting permanent and temporary roles and appreciate the industry's specific talent needs and understand the resourcing challenges of the ever-changing financial market landscape, from global events to regulatory needs and emerging technologies.

Partner with us to help you secure the right talent or resource for your team.

Types of Roles

Advisory

Client Services

Operational Support

Leadership

Risk & Compliance

Who to talk to 

Dakota Winter

Dakota Winter

open description
dakota@cultivate.co.nz
+64 22 023 2492
LinkedIn

Dakota has 10 years’ experience in customer focused roles. Beginning in the health and fitness industry, Dakota dove head first into Recruitment towards the latter end of 2022 and hasn’t looked back. Packed with a passion for helping people and a love for all things analytical, Recruitment and Dakota are two peas in a pod. Working within our Business Support team at Cultivate in a Talent Acquisition Lead role, Dakota is passionate about helping job seekers not only find the right role, but ensuring the enjoy the process too.

Outside of work, you’ll find Dakota in the outdoors, be it running, surfing, snow sports, you’ll struggle to keep her indoors. The only exceptions being coffee, burgers and her dog Rooplestiltskin.

Charly Hickman

Charly Hickman

open description
Charly@cultivate.co.nz
+64 20 401 56965
LinkedIn

Originally from the UK, Charly traded the dark nights for sunny days and now calls New Zealand home. She has 10 years experience in customer focused roles and has spent the last 2 years in a fast-paced managerial role, where she worked across Recruitment, HR and Training. Charly has built long standing relationships with key stakeholders within all her roles, and has thrived and thoroughly enjoyed getting involved in the people side of business. At Cultivate, Charly champions our candidate experience process by supporting job-seekers in obtaining temporary and permanent Business Support roles. Outside of work you will find Charly trying to keep fit in the gym or hunting down the best sweet Chai latte in town.

Naz Huq

Naz Huq

open description
naz@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 295 3096
LinkedIn

Naz has 9 years’ experience providing staffing solutions across a variety of sectors, including financial services and government.  Prior to working in recruitment Naz worked for a large multi-national recruitment firm, as well as working in-house in a variety of HR and sales roles. Over the years Naz has earned herself a reputation with her clients as an extremely responsive recruiter and one they can trust to find quality candidates for roles, on time.

Nicola Houghton

Nicola Houghton

open description
nicola@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 075
LinkedIn

With an excess of 25 years in the recruitment industry, it’s no surprise Nicola is well known as one of the leading Temp recruiters in Auckland.  Nicola is an exceptional recruiter, specialising in volume based projects, placing temporary staffing for her clients.  You name it, Nicola has achieved it in the industry.  She has achieved feats for her clients that astound those who work with her (including us).  Let’s just say not many recruiters have been known to find 90 temporary staff for their clients in 2 weeks!  She may be able to move at the speed of light, but nobody that ever deals with her feels anything less than special.

Kathryn Clarke

Kathryn Clarke

open description
kathryn@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 106
LinkedIn

Born and bred in Wellington, Kathryn (Kat) has predominantly spent the last 15 years recruiting within the Auckland market - specialising in Financial Services and Business & Operations support. As an experienced recruitment partner and leader, Kathryn has helped hiring managers build capability in their teams whilst assisting hundreds of individuals take the next step in their career.

Passionate about people, diversity and careers, Kathryn has cultivated an extensive network of long standing relationships that has been built on shared values, trust and capability. You can be confident you’ll experience a similar connection with Kathryn... most likely with some added banter and her cheeky laugh.

Favourite hot spot for this proud yet busy mum to escape the hustle and bustle: The rock of Polynesia, Niue!

Trina Jones

Trina Jones

open description
trina@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 102
LinkedIn

Originally a proud West Aucklander, Trina has over 25 years’ in recruitment and has spent close to half that time leading and driving successful teams. Trina has built an incredible reputation as an industry expert, relationship manager and people leader. Trina runs one of the most experienced specialist recruitment teams in Auckland, yet still works hands on with clients building trust based relationships and an unwavering commitment to ensure candidates receive the very best experience.  

Avid people person and highly motivated to play an active role in driving women in leadership, along with improving diversity and inclusion outcomes across our Māori, Pasifika, and neurodiverse talent pools.

If Trina’s not recruiting you’ll find her travelling, it’s her biggest hobby and firm favourites include Italy and Bali.

Marketing and Communications
Marketing is evolving rapidly to keep up with changing technologies, societal trends and customer behaviours. This generation has seen marketing shift from a qualitative brand development approach to a faster moving, data driven, digitally enabled and dynamic field with even greater influence.  

The fundamentals are the same and marketing must still cultivate the brand. However, you’re also analysing behaviours, and creating and adjusting campaigns in real time to directly impact sales pipeline.  Advertising is out. Communities, influencing, hits, followers, SEO, customer journeys, metaverse, AI, social, and purpose marketing are in…what’s coming next?

Types of Roles

Leadership

Digital & SEO

Social

Content and copywriting

Customer Experience

PR and Corporate Affairs

Communications

Engagement and Change

Events

Product and Brand Management

Kim Curreen

Kim Curreen

open description
kim@cultivate.co.nz
+64 27 590 0962
LinkedIn

Kim started her career in finance, working her way up the accounting ranks the old fashioned way. She was a volunteer counsellor for lifeline and victim support in her teens so loves both numbers and people. She fell into recruitment after returning home from the UK and enjoys the dual focus of being analytical and 100% human-centred in everything she does.

She's passionate about helping candidates write the next chapter of their professional story and the consulting that comes from being a trusted advisor with clients. There’s never been a more interesting time to be a marketer. The technology landscape is constantly shifting and so is the profession and role titles. Outside of work you’ll find Kim out on her wave ski at her local beach ,at the pilates studio, or cooking up a storm with her busy teenagers.

Tony Pownall

Tony Pownall

open description
tony@cultivate.co.nz
+64 27 546 1701
LinkedIn

As a co-founder of Cultivate, Tony’s focus is on ensuring Cultivate is a ‘great place to work’ and a ‘great company to work with’.  He also delivers best practice recruitment training and executive search services to our clients. Tony brings a wealth of knowledge, having worked in the recruitment industry since 2005.  He spent a decade leading high performing teams as GM and Country Manager in NZ and Asia before setting up Cultivate, with the goal of challenging traditional industry norms.  Helping businesses to build a sustainable future based on ‘performance through people’ is what drives him in business hours. Outside of work he's hopelessly addicted to cycling and getting outdoors. A pursuit made easier by having to keep up with two very active children.

People & Culture (HR)
Partnering with People & Culture (HR) professionals across a variety of industries, Cultivate can support organisations identify People & Culture talent for SME's or large scale organisations. Our experienced team provides the specialised service you come to expect from a boutique whilst harnessing the power of tenure and experience.

Types of Roles

Leadership

Business Partner / Advisory

Organisational Development

Learning and Development

Change Management

Administration / Coordination

Talent Acquisition

Who to talk to 

Sarah Hernon

Sarah Hernon

open description
sarah@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 020 00128
LinkedIn

Sarah comes from a strong background in account and sales management, across both New-Zealand and the UK. Throughout her career, she has always been pulled back to recruitment, due to her passion for helping people and companies develop and achieve their goals. Sarah enjoys going above and beyond to get great results, and is fascinated and passionate about the world of HR. She enjoys keeping up with market trends and insights through industry affiliations and building genuine connections with HR practitioners New-Zealand wide.

When she isn’t helping jobseekers find that perfect role or partnering with hiring managers to uncover their great new hire, she can be found spending time with her two children, exploring New Zealand (or further abroad) or enjoying what ever concert or event is on during the weekend.

Amanda Law

Amanda Law

open description
amanda@cultivate.co.nz
+64 273983023
LinkedIn

Amanda offers 20 years of experience in recruitment as a true 360° generalist. She has sourced talent across a wide range of roles and industries, with a particular focus on hard-to-fill positions, especially in the leadership space. Over the past three and a half years, Amanda has specialised exclusively in People and Culture roles. She is passionate about building strong relationships with her talent pool of candidates and clients, partnering closely with businesses to serve as an extension of their EVP and role offerings, allowing her to consistently deliver quality solutions. Amanda's success is evidenced by her track record of retaining all her placements beyond their probation period.

Amanda is a lifelong learner, staying current with HR knowledge, and is well-connected in the industry. Additionally, Amanda runs HR webinars and candidate workshops, fostering a supportive HR community with a focus on well-being, job searching, and mental health. Outside of work, Amanda is a qualified Holistic Therapist with a passion for health and well-being. She enjoys exploring eco-friendly practices that benefit the mind, body, and spirit, and regularly practices yoga. Born in England, Amanda has lived in New Zealand for over a decade and has fully embraced the Kiwi lifestyle. She finds joy in nature and is proud to call this beautiful country her home.

Toni Johnson

Toni Johnson

open description
toni@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 167
LinkedIn

Toni initially ‘fell’ into recruitment when a friend suggested it to her at a BBQ …… & she hasn’t looked back ever since. She now has over 18 years’ experience recruiting in the Business Support space. Over the years she’s supported clients in most sectors – including aviation, health, manufacturing, education, government & construction. Toni takes the time to find out exactly what her clients and candidates need. Her great listening skills, empathetic manner, and attention to detail means nothing is missed when you work with her. Originally from Christchurch/North Canterbury and a proud Mainlander, she’s also spent a lot of her life travelling the globe. She’s lived & worked in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, England & Scotland. She has spent many months travelling around various African countries, and took a career break to volunteer at an orphanage in Tanzania for a few months. In her spare time her favourite things to do are spend time with her partner, her many siblings & their kids, and her pride & joy - Havana & Zanzibar (tabby cats)

Naz Huq

Naz Huq

open description
naz@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 295 3096
LinkedIn

Naz has 9 years’ experience providing staffing solutions across a variety of sectors, including financial services and government.  Prior to working in recruitment Naz worked for a large multi-national recruitment firm, as well as working in-house in a variety of HR and sales roles. Over the years Naz has earned herself a reputation with her clients as an extremely responsive recruiter and one they can trust to find quality candidates for roles, on time.

Nicola Houghton

Nicola Houghton

open description
nicola@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 075
LinkedIn

With an excess of 25 years in the recruitment industry, it’s no surprise Nicola is well known as one of the leading Temp recruiters in Auckland.  Nicola is an exceptional recruiter, specialising in volume based projects, placing temporary staffing for her clients.  You name it, Nicola has achieved it in the industry.  She has achieved feats for her clients that astound those who work with her (including us).  Let’s just say not many recruiters have been known to find 90 temporary staff for their clients in 2 weeks!  She may be able to move at the speed of light, but nobody that ever deals with her feels anything less than special.

Kathryn Clarke

Kathryn Clarke

open description
kathryn@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 106
LinkedIn

Born and bred in Wellington, Kathryn (Kat) has predominantly spent the last 15 years recruiting within the Auckland market - specialising in Financial Services and Business & Operations support. As an experienced recruitment partner and leader, Kathryn has helped hiring managers build capability in their teams whilst assisting hundreds of individuals take the next step in their career.

Passionate about people, diversity and careers, Kathryn has cultivated an extensive network of long standing relationships that has been built on shared values, trust and capability. You can be confident you’ll experience a similar connection with Kathryn... most likely with some added banter and her cheeky laugh.

Favourite hot spot for this proud yet busy mum to escape the hustle and bustle: The rock of Polynesia, Niue!

Trina Jones

Trina Jones

open description
trina@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 102
LinkedIn

Originally a proud West Aucklander, Trina has over 25 years’ in recruitment and has spent close to half that time leading and driving successful teams. Trina has built an incredible reputation as an industry expert, relationship manager and people leader. Trina runs one of the most experienced specialist recruitment teams in Auckland, yet still works hands on with clients building trust based relationships and an unwavering commitment to ensure candidates receive the very best experience.  

Avid people person and highly motivated to play an active role in driving women in leadership, along with improving diversity and inclusion outcomes across our Māori, Pasifika, and neurodiverse talent pools.

If Trina’s not recruiting you’ll find her travelling, it’s her biggest hobby and firm favourites include Italy and Bali.

Temporary
We understand the urgency and importance of providing high quality temporary resourcing. We excel in delivering swift solutions without compromising on capability and suitability. Our expertise lies in building a pool of pre-qualified talent, leaving no stone unturned. We have capability to support needs from 1 day to a few months, or high-volume campaigns requiring sizable teams for project needs. From comprehensive skills testing to rigorous reference and background checks, we handle all necessary steps to ensure that when you need support, we’ve got you covered.   

In addition to catering to the needs of our customers, we prioritise the success of our temporary job seekers. We take the time to understand their availability, skill level and motivations, ensuring they are well-equipped for a range of assignments. Through our world-class timesheeting system, automated onboarding, rewards program and a dedicated recruitment partner who genuinely cares about their wellbeing, temping through Cultivate becomes a seamless and rewarding experience.

Types of Roles

Data Entry

Administrator

Team Coordinator

Executive Assistant

Personal Assistant

Receptionist

Sales Support

Risk & Compliance

Analyst

Service Desk

Claims Consultant

Marketing Support

Customer Service - Inbound/Outbound

Human Resources Support

Business Support/Administration Manager

Accounting Support


Who to talk to 

Dakota Winter

Dakota Winter

open description
dakota@cultivate.co.nz
+64 22 023 2492
LinkedIn

Dakota has 10 years’ experience in customer focused roles. Beginning in the health and fitness industry, Dakota dove head first into Recruitment towards the latter end of 2022 and hasn’t looked back. Packed with a passion for helping people and a love for all things analytical, Recruitment and Dakota are two peas in a pod. Working within our Business Support team at Cultivate in a Talent Acquisition Lead role, Dakota is passionate about helping job seekers not only find the right role, but ensuring the enjoy the process too.

Outside of work, you’ll find Dakota in the outdoors, be it running, surfing, snow sports, you’ll struggle to keep her indoors. The only exceptions being coffee, burgers and her dog Rooplestiltskin.

Charly Hickman

Charly Hickman

open description
Charly@cultivate.co.nz
+64 20 401 56965
LinkedIn

Originally from the UK, Charly traded the dark nights for sunny days and now calls New Zealand home. She has 10 years experience in customer focused roles and has spent the last 2 years in a fast-paced managerial role, where she worked across Recruitment, HR and Training. Charly has built long standing relationships with key stakeholders within all her roles, and has thrived and thoroughly enjoyed getting involved in the people side of business. At Cultivate, Charly champions our candidate experience process by supporting job-seekers in obtaining temporary and permanent Business Support roles. Outside of work you will find Charly trying to keep fit in the gym or hunting down the best sweet Chai latte in town.

Rachel Derry

Rachel Derry

open description
racheld@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 158 0624
LinkedIn

Originally from the UK then growing up in South Auckland but now a resident Westie, Rachel has over 10 years recruitment experience. She is a highly motivated recruiter with an innate ability to make people feel comfortable. Candidate experience is something she's incredibly passionate about, as she knows how daunting and nerve wracking the job-hunting journey can be.

Rachel's role at Cultivate is to support and lead the Talent team, as helping others to flourish brings her real joy. Alongside this, she’s also studying towards her Post Grad in Human Resources at Massey Uni, playing an active role in understanding legislative changes and HR practices at Cultivate. To top it off, her creative flair made her the perfect person to look after our marketing here at Cultivate too. Outside of work, you'll find Rachel busy with her favourite things - house plants, her 2 boys Preston & Paprika the tabbys, art, online shopping, planning her next travel adventure or getting her steps in hiking.

Toni Johnson

Toni Johnson

open description
toni@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 167
LinkedIn

Toni initially ‘fell’ into recruitment when a friend suggested it to her at a BBQ …… & she hasn’t looked back ever since. She now has over 18 years’ experience recruiting in the Business Support space. Over the years she’s supported clients in most sectors – including aviation, health, manufacturing, education, government & construction. Toni takes the time to find out exactly what her clients and candidates need. Her great listening skills, empathetic manner, and attention to detail means nothing is missed when you work with her. Originally from Christchurch/North Canterbury and a proud Mainlander, she’s also spent a lot of her life travelling the globe. She’s lived & worked in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, England & Scotland. She has spent many months travelling around various African countries, and took a career break to volunteer at an orphanage in Tanzania for a few months. In her spare time her favourite things to do are spend time with her partner, her many siblings & their kids, and her pride & joy - Havana & Zanzibar (tabby cats)

Naz Huq

Naz Huq

open description
naz@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 295 3096
LinkedIn

Naz has 9 years’ experience providing staffing solutions across a variety of sectors, including financial services and government.  Prior to working in recruitment Naz worked for a large multi-national recruitment firm, as well as working in-house in a variety of HR and sales roles. Over the years Naz has earned herself a reputation with her clients as an extremely responsive recruiter and one they can trust to find quality candidates for roles, on time.

Nicola Houghton

Nicola Houghton

open description
nicola@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 075
LinkedIn

With an excess of 25 years in the recruitment industry, it’s no surprise Nicola is well known as one of the leading Temp recruiters in Auckland.  Nicola is an exceptional recruiter, specialising in volume based projects, placing temporary staffing for her clients.  You name it, Nicola has achieved it in the industry.  She has achieved feats for her clients that astound those who work with her (including us).  Let’s just say not many recruiters have been known to find 90 temporary staff for their clients in 2 weeks!  She may be able to move at the speed of light, but nobody that ever deals with her feels anything less than special.

Darron Hubbard

Darron Hubbard

open description
darron@cultivate.co.nz
+64 27 704 9495
LinkedIn

Darron (affectionately known to us as Daz) began his recruitment career in South Africa in the retail sector in 2002. He has spent the past 15 years specialising in the Accounting Support function, both permanent and temporary and is very well known within the Auckland industry.  He always delves deeper than a CV and has a great eye for potential.  

Darron is appreciated for his warmth, patience and easy humour.  He works in partnership with Kelly, and together they would easily be the longest serving practitioners locally in this space.

As Dad of three, Daz is a true family man, is famous for his home-made biltong and cooks a mean BBQ.

Kelly Lloyd

Kelly Lloyd

open description
kelly@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 145
LinkedIn

Growing up in South & East Auckland (past 15 years based in the West), Kelly is of Irish, Ngapuhi and Tainui descent. In addition, she spent 4 years working in various countries throughout South East Asia, so has a natural understanding and respect for the cultural diversity within Aotearoa.

A respected industry leader, Kelly has over 15 years of experience helping candidates and clients in the Accounting Support, Payroll and Shared Services space, as well as leading teams. Kelly’s clients appreciate her transparent, genuine nature and willingness to go the extra mile to ensure everyone she works with has a rewarding and successful recruitment experience. With a deep knowledge of the industry, Kelly prides herself on maintaining an extensive network within her specialisation and regularly holds networking events.

Her big loves outside of work are her 6 year old rescue dog patches, performing with her swing vocal group PurrZazz and whanau!

Trina Jones

Trina Jones

open description
trina@cultivate.co.nz
+64 21 429 102
LinkedIn

Originally a proud West Aucklander, Trina has over 25 years’ in recruitment and has spent close to half that time leading and driving successful teams. Trina has built an incredible reputation as an industry expert, relationship manager and people leader. Trina runs one of the most experienced specialist recruitment teams in Auckland, yet still works hands on with clients building trust based relationships and an unwavering commitment to ensure candidates receive the very best experience.  

Avid people person and highly motivated to play an active role in driving women in leadership, along with improving diversity and inclusion outcomes across our Māori, Pasifika, and neurodiverse talent pools.

If Trina’s not recruiting you’ll find her travelling, it’s her biggest hobby and firm favourites include Italy and Bali.

Supply Chain and Logistics
The Logistics and Supply Chain sector is constantly changing and we understand first-hand the pace of change and it’s impact on roles and talent needs. Our team have worked both in and with some of the most well-known and respected organisations across international freight forwarding, shipping, supply chain, import & export and 3PL.

We’re proud of the impact we’ve had on customers to date, not just by filling vacancies with great talent, but also through shifting the thinking of either jobseekers or employers based on our observations and market trends for an even better result for both parties.

Types of Roles

Import / Export Ops (Air & Sea)  

Customs

Business Development 

Account Management

Sales Support

Customer Service 

Domestic Transport

Planning and Scheduling

Inventory Management

Warehouse and 3PL Management

Import / Export Documentation

Trading

Purchasing

Management

Who to talk to 

Liam Sharples

Liam Sharples

open description
liam@cultivate.co.nz
+64 27 8490 801
LinkedIn

Originally from Dunedin, Liam began his recruitment journey in Perth Australia as a permanent supply chain and logistics consultant, spanning freight forwarding, transport and warehousing.

He has leveraged his background across the sports, education and construction industries, as well as his time within semi-professional rugby, into a successful and fulfilling recruitment career. Liam is always driven to create strong and positive relationships with those he works with and strives to create a positive recruitment experience for all involved.

When off the clock, Liam enjoys keeping active through rugby, social sports and whatever the outdoors has to offer. Otherwise, you’ll see him around a coffee or a beverage with family or mates anytime he can.

Verona Clay

Verona Clay

open description
verona@cultivate.co.nz
+64 22 5240 642
LinkedIn

Verona started her career in retail sales, progressing to Auckland regional manager for one of Australasia’s largest retail groups. Through a chance meeting with a recruiter, Verona was introduced to the recruitment industry and the world of freight, and has spent the last 7 years recruiting for international and New Zealand owned freight, shipping and supply chain companies. She is passionate about helping people and has an in-depth knowledge of the freight industry and the huge career opportunities this field has to offer. Verona is committed to understanding your career aspirations and supporting you to maximise your potential at any stage in your career.

Zoe Morris

Zoe Morris

open description
zoe@cultivate.co.nz
LinkedIn

Zoe began her career in the freight forwarding industry and spent 10 years moving her way up through Customs, Imports, Exports, and Sales. She has a real passion for logistics and in the last 3 years has been recruiting for some of New Zealand’s largest freight, shipping and supply chain companies. Working in the industry gives Zoe a unique insight into her customer’s needs, the true demands of each role and what it takes to be successful.  Zoe has a strong customer focus and with her bubbly, driven and caring nature she thrives on giving her customers the best service possible.

Tony Pownall

Tony Pownall

open description
tony@cultivate.co.nz
+64 27 546 1701
LinkedIn

As a co-founder of Cultivate, Tony’s focus is on ensuring Cultivate is a ‘great place to work’ and a ‘great company to work with’.  He also delivers best practice recruitment training and executive search services to our clients. Tony brings a wealth of knowledge, having worked in the recruitment industry since 2005.  He spent a decade leading high performing teams as GM and Country Manager in NZ and Asia before setting up Cultivate, with the goal of challenging traditional industry norms.  Helping businesses to build a sustainable future based on ‘performance through people’ is what drives him in business hours. Outside of work he's hopelessly addicted to cycling and getting outdoors. A pursuit made easier by having to keep up with two very active children.

All of Government
We’re proud to partner with participating New Zealand government agencies to deliver permanent, temporary, contract and payroll services nationally under Generation 3 of the All of Government Recruitment Services Agreement.  

We provide these services as part of a consortium alongside our good friends at
Mana Recruitment, harnessing our collective passion for creating more inclusive, diverse and equitable workplaces that best represent tomorrow's Aotearoa.
Accounting & Finance
Accounting Support
Business Support & Administration
Contracting
Customer Service & Contact Centre
Financial Services
Marketing and Communications
Executive
People & Capability
Temporary
Supply Chain and Logistics
All of Government

What we offer

We founded Cultivate because we wanted to offer businesses and job seekers a different, easier recruitment service.

The Cultivate way.

It’s a more personable way.  Our clients and candidates are at the heart of everything we do.  We take the time to get to know and understand you, your business and your goals, so we can connect you with the right person to help you achieve them.   And we stick around to make sure things work out.  

It’s a more flexible way.  We understand that every search is unique.  So we offer our clients a range of customizable recruitment options to suit your needs.

It's a more inclusive way. Diverse and inclusive workplaces are proven to be more creative, more innovative and more successful. We know that harnessing different perspectives and cognition means everyone wins. With the guidance of our partners, we aim to create a psychologically safe selection process, to help you create a more diverse, inclusive and richer workplace.


Recruit FOR You

We can take the pressure off you and look after the entire end-to-end recruitment process.  Either on a role-by-role basis or we can deliver roles in an ongoing capacity as part of your team.

Recruit WITH You

We can work alongside you to recruit.  Helping you with the parts of the recruitment process that are more time consuming or require more expertise.

Enable YOU to Recruit

We can set-up your business and train you to recruit internally so you will be able engage and select prospective employees yourself.  

Either way, you will be working with some of the most experienced and well networked Consultants in the industry.  They are also great people, who genuinely care about growing our client's businesses and our candidate's careers.

Let’s Talk.  We would love to help connect you with the right person to grow your business.

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