The overview

A research stage biotech partnered with us to source a new director of regulatory affairs in Switzerland.

The challenge

The company had been searching for a new director of regulatory affairs using local Swiss suppliers for a year with no success. The role was an extremely challenging one to fill, with a very narrow and specific pool from which to highlight and engage suitable candidates.

The incumbent director was retiring after 10 years, and so the cultural fit of the new employee was of paramount importance. Previously, the opportunity had been poorly presented to candidates, and our challenge was therefore to create, manage and effectively promote the opportunity to the marketplace. As the process had been ongoing for 12 months prior to our involvement, we needed to work quickly in order to satisfy the client’s expectations.

The solution

We were appointed on a retained search basis. This meant we offered a dedicated, expert project team, who had an extensive network of suitable and qualified candidates across Europe.

As well as our existing network, we utilised specialist recruitment tools such as LinkedIn Recruiter, giving us unrivalled access to the market, and worked with the client to establish a strong narrative piece. We compiled a shortlist of 8 pan-European candidates, all of whom we met and qualified further.

The outcome

Out of the 8 candidates presented to our partner, 4 were then chosen for interview and a successful hire was made.

The total time to hire from signing the retained search to signed offer letter from the candidate was 5 weeks, and so the project was delivered in record time and within budget, much to the satisfaction of the hiring manager.