Member Spotlight: Joanne Sizer, Director, ALF Recruit

Introduce yourself:

I’m Joanne, Director at ALF Recruit. I work with businesses across different sectors to help them find the right people to grow and succeed. For me, recruitment isn’t just about filling roles, it’s about building strong relationships and making a real difference to both clients and candidates.

Career highlight:

One of my proudest moments has been seeing ALF Recruit grow into a trusted partner for so many businesses, including SMEs, scale-ups and PE-backed companies. When clients return to us again and again because they know we’ll deliver, that feels like a real achievement. It shows the value of relationship-led recruitment and the impact it can have on ambitious, fast-growing organisations.

Name three words that describe your personality:

Driven, approachable, and adaptable.

What’s the best thing about pro-manchester?

The network. It’s such a vibrant community that brings together professionals from all sectors of Greater Manchester, creating opportunities to share knowledge, collaborate, and support each other’s growth.

What are your priorities for 2025?

For 2025, I’m really focused on continuing to grow ALF Recruit’s presence across Greater Manchester and building even stronger partnerships with local businesses, especially SMEs, scale-ups and PE-backed companies who are on ambitious growth journeys. I also want to keep developing as a leader and give back to the wider business community wherever I can.

What do you think are the most important things going on in Manchester at the moment?

What I love about Manchester right now is the energy, it feels like the city is really thriving as a hub for business, culture, and innovation. You can see the investment going into infrastructure and technology, which is opening so many opportunities. At the same time, there’s a genuine focus on people, community, and sustainability, and I think that balance is what makes Manchester such an exciting place for long-term growth.

Favourite meeting place in Manchester?

I’m very much a relaxed coffee shop girl, so love the quirky little NQ café’s – however I still love a Starbucks matcha so offer to meet me there and I am sold!

Are there any particular types of businesses that you would like to meet?

I’d love to connect with growing SMEs and scale-ups who are building their teams and shaping their culture, particularly those that are PE-backed and on a strong growth journey – we have had recent successes with a couple of PE-backed businesses and they have been great roles to work. I’m especially keen to meet businesses that put people at the heart of what they do, because those are the partnerships where recruitment can really make a lasting difference.