Global Head of Fund Accounting, Fund Manager
Working closely with the Global COO and wider leadership team, the mandate was to identify and attract a diverse slate of talent to fill a key global role based out of Dublin.
A complex matrix of requirements included experience working globally, deep domain knowledge in fund accounting and a proven ability to fundamentally transform a function on a global scale.
This role sat within a global leadership team of a fund manager going through significant change across all areas from front to back office.
Identifying the right mix of skills among a seemingly broad talent pool required knowledge and network.
The Client
Our client is a global, top tier, fund manager with operations across Europe and Asia predominantly.
As a business, they had embarked on a significant transformation journey with all parts of the business being impacted creating a number of key open positions, of which this was one.
Market Conditions
To place this role in Dublin, on the surface, seemed like it would be tapping into a broad talent pool - Ireland being home to a large number of administrators with global operations.
The reality was different however. The number of people at the right level with truly global experience is only a fraction of this talent pool. This is a skillset that is deeply valued, likely part of succession plans and typically identified as key talent within their current organisation.
The Search
A cursory search on LinkedIn would identify a high number of potential people yet a deeper look would not reflect the depth that might have been initially expected.
This was a search that seemed straightforward but was a lot more complex and actually came down to network and thorough initial interviews.
Although there were a number of potentially suitable people identified through traditional search methods, tapping into a network developed over 20 years produced three candidates ticking all boxes.
None of these would have been identifiable without introductions - their external professional profile was minimal at best and none were actively looking.
The opportunity was attractive enough to lead to a formal interview process yet if our network was not thoroughly activated, the shortlist would not have been as strong.
Outcomes
All of the presented candidates were brought forward to a first interview and all progressed to a second round.
After second rounds, the difficult decision was made to bring only two forward to interviews and presentations with the global leadership team.
The successful candidate was offered and accepted the role.
They have since gone on to make a significant impact globally across the organisation, thoroughly reimagining how fund accounting is seen and delivered on a harmonised global scale.