Finding a Finance Director to lead financial revolution Preferred Personnel Africa

Finding a Finance Director to lead financial revolution

The client was an international boarding school whose Board was responsible for the recruitment of senior leadership within the institution. The Finance Director of the school was retiring and the board was looking for a different type of finance professional to introduce corporate best practices. PPA was selected as the recruitment partner due to our extensive experience of recruiting finance executives.

Case Study Detail

Date: 2018
Client: Confidential
Category: Recruitment

The Recruitment Challenge

Beyond the strict recruitment process that we were expected to adhere to due to the school’s bylaws, it was important that we understood:

That there would be resistance

The staff of the school were critical stakeholders in how resources are utilized. The ideal candidate would need to learn how to navigate staff’s resourcing needs as well as implementing the best financial standards possible.

The Parents

Parents want what is best for their children and for an institution of this stature, they want to ensure their children are getting the best across the board. As a critical source of funding for the school, it was important that the new Finance Director understood how to adequately allocate the funding received from parents as well as other sources in a fiscally responsible, medium-long term manner.

Understanding the two critical stakeholders above, not only were the technical skills of the individual important, but the soft skills. Finance as a function is highly technical and in an environment like a school, it was important that the Finance Director who was hired could translate their initiatives and garner buy-in from those who may not have experience in the field.

The Outcome

PPA was able to introduce the client to a fantastic Finance professional who had gathered their experience in one of the world’s largest FMCG’s. Not only did this person possess all the skills they were looking for, but most importantly, displayed the critical soft skills that were required to translate the changes required to the stakeholders that mattered. Having placed this individual in their first job and setting her off on their career path, it was incredible that PPA got to play a part in their transition into a new role and environment.