Attracting a diverse field of candidates for a Director of Finance appointment

The Challenge

JSS were appointed to partner with ASC in the appointment of their new Director of Finance.  The organisation has significant growth plans in the coming years and they were seeking an experienced Director of Finance who could lead on this growth strategy whilst also ensuring they had the infrastructure in place to deliver it successfully.  They were also seeking a truly diverse field of candidates given there was a gender imbalance on their Board and so our focus was to attract high calibre female leaders as part of our longlist.

The Solution

Our extensive market mapping helped us target individuals who had worked within similar organisations but on a similar growth trajectory to what ASC were going on.  This ensured we had a very targeted list of organisations and people whom we could approach with tangibly relevant experience.  We were extremely proactive and inclusive with our advertising strategy by ensuring underrepresented groups would have gained access to the candidate pack.  We listed the role on various Female Leaders groups on LinkedIn and worked with the Charity Finance Women’s Group to ensure we could bring the role to the attention of as many leaders we could.

 The Impact

Following an extensive search and selection process we had four candidates who were deemed appointable for the role.  The successful candidate came from another environmental charity and was a female leader who has supported that organisation in their expansions over the last 10 years.  ASC have a fantastic leader who has tremendous experience to help them deliver their 5-year strategic plan.

Client testimonial:

“We appointed Adrian from JSS Public Services to lead the search of our next Director of Finance and we have been incredibly impressed with how the campaign was delivered.  Adrian spent significant time to really understand our hopes and expectations in the new appointment and put a process in place which achieved a field of 4 highly appointable candidates.  We had a diverse pool of candidates to choose from and would certainly recommend Adrian from JSS for Executive Finance recruitment.”

Candidate testimonial:

“As this was my first interview in a decade, Adrian coached and supported me through the interview process thereby building my confidence. He spent time understanding my style and aspirations. I have just landed a role which I am very excited about as it satisfies my aspirations and is a great cultural fit. Throughout the whole process Adrian communicated effectively and he acted in my best interests. I would not hesitate to use his services again.”