A UK company delivering locally

Our practices have teams of consultants and researchers permanently based in each office with a wide range of sector and professional expertise.

We are a UK-wide organisation with offices in:

London Manchester Cardiff Scotland

In our business, local knowledge and delivery matters.

So when we were asked by a local authority in the North East embarking on a transformation programme to recruit most of its leadership team, we were set up to deliver.

Other recent assignments include: recruiting the Chief Executive of a Regional Development Agency; the Chair, Non-Executive Directors and Medical Director of an NHS foundation trust; a Chief Executive for one of the hotter seats in Local Government; the Chief Executive of a leading regional airport; the Director General of Education and Lifelong Learning for the Welsh Assembly Government; a Chief Inspector for the Education and Training Inspectorate in Northern Ireland; and boosting the leadership capacity of a theatre in the South West.

Of course we bring the rigorous, disciplined search process that is our hallmark, and the deep understanding of the sectors in which we operate. Many of our consultants brought national reputations as practitioners with them when they came to work for us.

We believe a key reason we deliver such good results is because we understand the regional, local and city context. And we see our networks in the regions as central to our business.

For example, we work closely with the regional arms of national government, recruiting directly for them, and advising and supporting them in developing capacity and capability in their delivery agencies.

We work hard to develop these – for example, we recently ran a series of networking events for female leaders in the North West and South West, providing learning opportunities and practical techniques to break through the ‘glass ceiling’.

We provide opportunities for potential candidates from under-represented groups to attend our job hunting and interim management workshops to improve their understanding of the opportunities to enhance their careers. We are constantly seeking new talent, and our researchers and consultants are attuned to clients’ needs to broaden their appeal to candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds.

It doesn’t stop there. We are one of the few companies in this sector that is striving for Investors in Diversity accreditation to ensure that we practice what we preach.

Knowing organisations and talent across the country on first name terms brings added value for our clients. Our search is informed by local knowledge, and we can take soundings on candidates and run interviews and assessment centres on the patch.

At the same time, our deep knowledge of industry sectors and our international reach mean we can deliver a world-class result for regional organisations. For example, we were recently asked to recruit two Business School Directors for Nottingham University: one for their Business School in Malaysia and the other for their Business School in China.

We recruited the Information Systems Director from a multinational IT firm and the Chief Executive from a major public transport role in Australia.

Our political acuity and understanding of the policy context was critical. So was our broad experience of private and public sector contracting, and our international capability and reputation.

But it was our local knowledge that brought it all together.