Case studies
Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Roles
- Interim Accounts Payable Officer
- Interim Finance Officer
- Interim Part-time Finance Officer
- Interim Part-time Accountant
- Interim Financial Accountant
- Interim Head of Finance
Assignment
Robertson Bell recently worked with the public body to place six roles within its finance team to support the organisation through busy periods.
Our consultants are proud to have a strong and firmly established relationship with the Finance Director at WFD, having previously worked closely with them in a different organisation in the industry. The existing relationship between Robertson Bell and the client helped to efficiently recruit these interim positions in the organisation.
Considerations and challenges
- The WFD is a complex organisation, as a crossover between charity and government sector, so a key challenge was securing candidates that could work across a range of time zones, liaise with international offices and could manage tight budgets.
- The specified skills profiles for many roles were very niche, requiring strong private sector experience.
- There was a need to locate highly skilled, qualified talent for part-time and/or interim work who could slot easily into the existing team but were also happy to support extra work during busier periods.
- Remuneration for qualified professionals in the sector is typically below private sector pay for similar roles, yet the Finance Director is invested in career progression and L&D opportunities.
Solutions
Robertson Bell collaborated closely with the Finance Director at WFD, adding significant value to the client across a range of core areas through the recruitment campaign. Our consultants took the time to create highly detailed candidate profiles for each role, performing a deep dive of the current market to establish salary and role requirements to ensure the offering was as attractive as possible.
Our consultants deployed a bespoke approach, carrying out a comprehensive database search augmented by targeted advertising. Through this method of proactive searching, coupled with creating and placing targeted adverts on specialist job boards, our consultants were able to consider a wide talent pipeline to identify candidates that met the strict criteria for the role.
Successful candidates were presented in a short-list to the Finance Director, all of which came from our talent pipeline and as a result of extensive database searches to find the most suitable individuals for the roles.
We were the only recruitment partner chosen for the roles and successfully filled 100 per cent of the roles available.
Outcome
Robertson Bell’s status as a long-standing preferred supplier is evidence of our ability to deliver exceptional results on challenging assignments spanning a broad range of finance disciplines – from finance officers and accounts payable, to specialist financial accountancy positions, and the Head of Finance.
WFD is always searching for the very highest calibre finance professionals, and by working so closely with their Finance Director, and truly understanding the organisation’s core ambitions and values, Robertson Bell has a unique ability to engage with and attract top talent into the business.
Each of the fulfilled roles have been successful, with a high standard of work being produced across the WFD.
Testimonial
“The service that Robertson Bell has provided over the years has always been of the highest standard. It is professional and very client focused. During my time at WFD, Robertson Bell has placed various levels of candidates with us, ranging from clerical level to senior accountant.
“The attention to detail in relation to our requirements is always consistent and precise. I have a very trusting working relationship with our main point of contact in the firm. Robertson Bell has met all our needs on recruitment to date, including during tight turnaround times for recruitment and ensured we have the most appropriate candidates to select from. We will continue to use Robertson Bell and build on our already very solid relationship.”