At Veredus, our ambition is to support our clients in local government to improve people’s lives.
Perhaps because our consultants have so many years experience at the sharp end, we really believe in local government. We have held executive roles at some of the leading local authorities, and we’ve seen the potential for ourselves. We also appreciate the need for modernisation and transformational change. Above all, we know how important great leadership is.
For our clients, this means we bring real insight when we offer strategic advice, and we believe that we can add value way beyond senior level recruitment. Increasingly our work is in building capacity and capability for our clients.
For example, when we were called in by the new Chief Executive of a district authority, it soon became clear that there was a deep need for change within the organisation.
We recognise that - even for senior politicians - executive search can be a new experience, so our approach is geared towards empowering them to participate fully in the process.
As well as Executive Search and Selection for several key roles, we were able to advise on second tier structure, ran a series of strategic ‘awaydays’ for the new board, provided interim capacity - and we continue as an informal, external adviser.
At Veredus, Recruiting to the Chief Executive role is something of a specialism. (On average, we recruit one public sector CEO every two weeks.)
We know what a critical time this can be local authorities, and the in-house experience of our consultants pays real dividends. Politically aware without being politically aligned, we have a great deal of experience working with elected representatives (often across party boundaries). We recognise that - even for senior politicians - executive search can be a new experience, so our approach is geared towards empowering them to participate fully in the process.
For instance, we were called in by an authority which had failed to appoint a new Chief Executive, despite using a competitor organisation.
We began by stabilising the situation and market testing to understand the issues. Then our research revealed many potential candidates who had not been contacted, and we provided a shortlist of against an incredibly tight timescale.
We never simply trawl our existing database, but undertake original research for each and every assignment – which paid dividends for the client in this case.
It also means we look more broadly at the skill-set and approach prospective candidates from a broader range of backgrounds. In particular, we have recruited a surprisingly large number of people from the private sector into public service roles.
We recruit across the whole range of local authority functions, including finance, HR, communications, regeneration, adult social services, children’s services, transport, housing, culture and leisure, environment.
Increasingly, we are work in the context of local area agreements, and recruit to posts which are located in consortia, or partnerships with other agencies such as health.
We are trusted advisers to our clients, and aim to develop long-tem business relationships with them.
Our services range from interim management to assessment centres (which we can deliver in-house). We pride ourselves on being flexible in our offer, but we will never compromise on quality.
That’s because we believe that excellent local government starts with talented people.
We see it as our responsibility to make sure that you get the best return on your investment - and make the right decision - when it matters most.