Case studies
Newlon Housing Trust
Roles
- Two Finance Business Partner
Client Profile
Newlon Housing Trust is a charitable housing association which manages around 8,200 affordable homes, primarily in nine boroughs in north and east London, with many more in development. Established in 1968 the charity’s mission is ‘to provide high-quality affordable homes in London.’
These homes are made up of a mix of affordable tenures, providing housing for people nominated from local authority waiting lists, specialised accommodation for Key Workers and Shared Ownership homes to help people take their first step on the property ladder.
Assignment
After seeing an advert for the vacancies, the team at Robertson Bell got in touch to offer their support in filling the roles. The Deputy Director of Finance – who was the line manager for the role – was keen to fill the positions as soon as possible and was already using the services of two other agencies. Both roles being recruited for had the title of Finance Business Partner but covered different parts of the business, and therefore required very different candidate profiles.
The Finance Business Partner role for the housing directorate focused on aspects such as property repairs and maintenance service charges. This candidate did not need to have housing sector experience but needed to be a qualified accountant who was keen to progress and able to demonstrate strong business partner skills. Softer skills such as being able to communicate complex financial information to non-finance team members were a high priority for this position.
A fully qualified accountant was also required to fill the second role, but the candidate also needed housing-specific experience or experience in capital/fixed asset accounting. The candidate would be focusing on capital and development programmes so a background in a similar vein was highly sought after, along with strong personable skills.
This role had become vacant when the team member left during the pandemic and had since been filled temporarily, but a permanent replacement was required.
Although there were no official deadlines, the client was eager to fill both roles as soon as possible. Each candidate needed to pass a mathematical reasoning test and it was agreed that the Robertson Bell team would provide CVs on a rolling basis.
Considerations and challenges
Finding a suitable client for the capital-focused role, who had suitable experience, was fully qualified and was at the right salary level proved challenging. As a result, after the brief had been taken, the team recommended that the client consider candidates who had capital experience but who had not yet fully qualified and therefore wouldn’t be joining at as high a salary level.
Solution
The consultants shared the CVs of six individuals, all of whom were asked to attend a reasoning test. Four progressed to interview stage. Within two weeks, the team was able to source a candidate for the housing directorate role who fitted the profile well – they were fully qualified, looking for a step-up opportunity and coming from a non-housing background and therefore happy with a salary that might be slightly lower than the market average. They were bright, ambitious, and keen to progress, and the role represented a great opportunity for growth.
For the capital gain’s focused role, upon Robertson Bell’s suggestion, the line manager was happy to open up the search requirements to consider those who were not yet fully qualified. The successful candidate had experience in the housing sector and with capital accounting, but due to only being partly qualified, came in at a slightly lower salary.
Outcome
The line manager was really pleased with the outcome, particularly for the capital-focused role, as it was necessary to fill the hole in specific knowledge that had been lost as a result of the predecessor leaving the business. The client has since made it clear that it will partner with Robertson Bell in the future.