Case studies
The Kennedy Trust
Roles
Financial Controller
Client Profile
As a registered charity, The Kennedy Trust supports the work on rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease of the Kennedy Institute, a world-class research centre in inflammation sciences, by providing funding to underpin and drive new initiatives. The Trust also provides funding each year for up to five PhD studentships, advertised through the Institute, as part of its ongoing commitment to bring young researchers into the field. Its income is derived from royalties on its intellectual property and an investment portfolio.
Assignment
Robertson Bell had an existing relationship with the client, after placing its previous Financial Controller in 2019. The current post holder had thrived in the organisation and built strong relationships and as a result there was a real nervousness within the organisation about finding a suitable replacement. The team at Robertson Bell offered video shortlisting as a premium service – a process whereby the consultants ask candidates questions set by the client on video, prior to interview – and the client accepted this on an exclusive basis.
Due to the size of the organisation, the Financial Controller represented the whole finance department, which made sourcing the correct calibre of candidate all the more important.
The role was contracted for three days a week with a salary that was well benchmarked. Due to the complex and unique nature of the charity’s funding structure – it relies on profits made from investments rather than fundraising – a candidate with experience in investment accounting was highly desirable. On top of this, the organisation required an applicant confident in looking at the bigger picture and able to make suggestions around sourcing new or improving existing, income streams.
Considerations and challenges
In this charity the Financial Controller was not only very senior – required to report on a high level, liaise with board members and be responsible for governance compliance matters – but was also required to take a hands-on approach. It can be challenging to find candidates at this level of seniority who are willing to be involved at every level, such as completing admin. There are candidates looking for this type of position, but not all would consider taking a role as the number one in finance without the scope to manage someone. The part-time nature of the position also reduced the pool of candidates available. The team had to work to overcome these challenges as well as manage candidates’ expectations.
As the current post-holder was moving abroad, the client was eager to hire into the role as soon as possible, to allow time for an in-person handover, which placed a tighter time restraint on the recruitment process.
However, the vacancy was appealing to candidates for many reasons, one being that it was fully remote and secondly, due to the charity’s size, it allowed for great autonomy. Once established in post, the candidate would be able to influence strategy and put their own stamp on the role, which can be rarer to find within larger organisations.
Solution
Niche positions such as this one require an intensive headhunting approach, using tools such as LinkedIn and outreach via numerous communication methods. The quality of Robertson Bell’s network and the teams’ comprehensive knowledge of the market gave them a good sense of the candidates available for part-time work and their suitability for the role. The consultants completed eight video interviews with candidates, six of which were shared with the client and three of which resulted in an interview.
The client was happy with the six shortlisted candidates and, based on the video interviews, was able to condense the process by identifying three stand-out candidates. The in-person interview took place in front of a panel and included a presentation and, as the client had already seen the candidates twice, it was possible to make a decision based on this process.
Outcome
There were two appointable candidates, and Robertson Bell was able to secure the preferred candidate who had a slight edge. The successful applicant joined from a similar charity that had a big investment portfolio, therefore their in-depth knowledge of investments became the deciding factor.
The client was delighted that the timeframe allowed for a face-to-face handover with the outgoing team member and during the campaign review the chief executive gave positive feedback on the work of the Robertson Bell team.
This campaign is an example of quality over quantity; the shortlist the team provided was full of strong candidates who ticked many of the required boxes for the role. This successful outcome is also testament to the value of video shortlisting, which gives a client a much better sense of how the softer skills of that candidate are going to fit into the culture of the organisation and the team environment.