CHALLENGE

  • Our client, a major UK building society, required a Financial Crime Compliance Policy and Advice Manager who was a specialist subject matter expert with broad financial crime risk knowledge to join their compliance team for an initial six months duration.
  • The lack of this expertise internally was seen as a major risk to our client. They therefore needed to find this specialist resource as a matter of urgency.
  • Our client was incredibly specific with the experience and knowledge the expert must possess. After their preferred suppliers failed to provide them with suitable candidates they reached out to Huntwood’s specialist recruitment team.
  • A major challenge that tested our extensive financial crime network was to find immediately available candidates in a geographical location outside the usual areas where such resources are more likely to be available.

ACTION

  • Our initial task was to better understand the needs of the client by arranging a meeting with the hiring manager to fully grasp the requirements beyond the job specification.
  • Within 48 hours of being contacted we had provided two candidates for consideration of the position.
  • At Huntswood we carry out our own in-depth vetting, reassuring our clients that all resources provided are suitable taking the onus off them to carry out the checks themselves. Having our own financial crime expertise in-house to further assist with vetting potential candidates was invaluable.
  • We qualified each candidate, rigorously ensuring compatibility against both the need of the client and the culture of the company.
  • Understanding our clients’ needs is as equally important as understanding our candidates’ needs and circumstances; the client made it very clear that despite it being an interim position their strong preference was to secure someone locally as a contractor had previously left another position because they had taken an alternative role closer to home.
  • Of the two people we submitted one lived 30 minutes away and the other 15 minutes away. The latter was already contracting via Huntswood on a financial crime project that was winding down and therefore was able to negotiate a start date within 10 working days.

RESULT

  • It took just 72 hours from the client’s initial contact to the successful candidate accepting the offer.
  • Our client praised the speed with which we presented both candidates and organised the interviews.
  • In addition, our client was extremely impressed with the calibre of both candidates in terms of meeting the specific requirements in their brief.