Case studies
National Fire Chiefs Council
Roles
- Finance Manager
- Management Accountant
- Procurement Manager
Client Profile
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) is the professional voice of the UK fire and rescue service. The NFCC aims to drive improvement and development throughout the UK Fire and Rescue Service (FRS), while supporting strong leadership – including for devolved administrations. Using networks of subject matter experts, its committees and programmes support the UK FRS in reducing risk to life and property, minimising injury and harm, and improving health and wellbeing in ways that are sustainable and cost effective.
Assignment
The NFCC was initially recruiting for a Finance Manager which Robertson Bell successfully pitched to recruit for exclusively.
The client had realistic expectations about the level of experience that the offered salary would attract, and was willing to be flexible with their requirements to find the right fit for the team. For the Finance Manager vacancy, the ideal candidate would have previously operated at that level, ideally within the charity sector, or within the wider public sector. Above all else, the NFCC needed someone with grant funding experience.
As there were three appointable candidates at interview stage, the client made the decision to restructure the finance team, adding an additional post at the Finance Manager level, under the title of Management Accountant, to accommodate a second excellent candidate.
Following the success of these hires, the NFCC returned to Robertson Bell to hire for a third role of Procurement Manager.
The NFCC’s primary focus for this role was charity, wider not-profit or public sector experience but in particular an understanding of the procurement frameworks associated with these sectors. With this being said, the client was willing to make compromises on this – if a candidate didn’t have the exact specifications for the role but seemed to be a good fit for the organisation, they would still be considered.
Considerations and challenges
Recruiting in the lead up to Christmas is often challenging and other factors were also at play. Unusually, the NFCC was recruiting for roles that were purely remote without an office space to offer, so this was a consideration for the consultants to factor into their conversations with potential candidates.
The recruitment process for the Procurement Manager position proved slightly more complex. This could be partly attributed to the salary offering, which didn’t quite line up to the expectation of interim candidates, who predominantly seek a day rate.
Solution
For the Finance Manager position, the recruitment process was straightforward and fast-paced. Four candidates were shortlisted, all of whom were brought to interview. The client then decided to restructure the team to accommodate two hires, offering two of the applicants roles at the same level but splitting the responsibilities with titles of Finance Manager and Management Accountant. The assignment came in at the end of November, both candidates had accepted the roles before Christmas and were in position by mid-January.
For the Procurement Manager role, finding the correct calibre of candidate was a more complex process. The team arranged eight interviews, with the market being extremely boyuant it was of impetrative importance that candidates were kept engaged and the processes moved quickly after the first round of interviews the successful applicant accepted the position.
Outcome
Despite a sometimes-challenging process, the Robertson Bell team was pleased to have been able to fill three roles for the client, particularly after receiving the initial assignment of just one role. The fact that the NFCC decided to restructure its finance team in order to hire two applicants is testament to the calibre of the candidates that the consultants put forward.
The competitiveness of the market was abundantly clear throughout the Procurement Manager hiring process, with candidates receiving multiple offers all whilst going through the hiring process with NFCC.
The team built a strong relationship with the client, ensuring full understanding of their requirements and maintaining strong lines of regular communication throughout. The NFCC was very pleased with the outcome and Robertson Bell hopes to work with the organisation in the future.