Meet Vanessa Thomson

Finance and Payroll Manager – Operations

vanessa@gradarecruitment.com

Vanessa is part of Grada’s operations team, looking after finance, operations and the day-to-day running of the business. Based on Auckland’s North Shore, she brings almost 20 years of experience working in the recruitment industry across a wide range of operational and finance roles both here in New Zealand and overseas.

She joined Grada because she loves the industry and saw the opportunity to be part of a talented, driven team. For Vanessa, the variety of work and the people she works with are what make the role so rewarding.

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Vanessa’s Background and Experience

After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, Vanessa moved into recruitment and has never looked back. Her career has taken her through agency operations, HR, payroll and finance, as well as a stint overseas recruiting for superyachts and cruise ships.
A career highlight was being part of a winning team for a prestigious recruitment award, and she’s well known for being organised, accurate and adaptable, qualities that have allowed her to thrive across so many different areas of the industry.

Vanessa’s Key to Success

Vanessa’s strength lies in keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes, while remaining approachable and easy to work with. She enjoys supporting a wide range of people and situations and takes pride in helping the team focus on what they do best.
Outside of work, Vanessa enjoys a good wine, travelling and entertaining friends and family. Most weekends she can be found on the sports sidelines managing one of her sons’ teams, or exploring local beaches and parks, often finishing up at a favourite restaurant. A fun fact: in her younger days she worked as a Club Med “GO” (Gentil Organiser).
Her advice for others? Stay positive and make sure you take time to stop and smell the roses.

Meet Grada's Director

Headshot of Managing Director James Stevenson

James Stevenson

Managing Director | Engineering

Meet James

About Grada