case study: appointing a Land Director for Obsidian Strategic

the client
Obsidian Strategic is a development company that specialises in maximising land value throughout the promotion, planning and development process. tdm is proud to have been working collaboratively with Obsidian Strategic for the past five years, helping to recruit a number of key team members.
the brief
We were asked by Obsidian Strategic to successfully source the appointment of a Land Director to be part of their growing senior management team. The Land Director would need to be an established industry expert and highly knowledgeable in strategic land options, acquisitions and promotion agreements. The Land Director would be tasked with managing and developing the current land buyers team. The recruitment process was highly confidential and needed complete discretion from tdm.
the solution
Due to the discretion needed to recruit for this role, tdm used a non-traditional recruitment strategy. Through an extensive market mapping exercise, we were able to devise a long list of currently operating Land Directors within the strategic land market. We were then able to present our results to Obsidian Strategic and alongside our candidate knowledge, help shortlist 7 initial candidates.
From the initial list of 7, we managed to effectively engage with 4 of the candidates who were then interviewed by Obsidian Strategic. During the interview stages, it became apparent that there was a stand-out candidate who on successful completion of a 2nd interview and presentation with the Chairman and MD, happily accepted the new position. We were then able to help the new hire manage a tricky resignation process and after a 4 months’ notice period, the candidate started with Obsidian Strategic.
Oliver Myerson, Managing Director, Obsidian Strategic
“tdm have a good understanding of Obsidian having placed a number of key team members, including myself, in the business. This was a tough assignment due to the sensitivity and speed of the project and we were delighted with the service and quality of appointment that tdm provided.”
Tom Morris, Managing Director, tdm recruitment
“Obsidian Strategic is a key client for tdm and we understand the culture and values of the business. However, this was a critical hire for the client so a belt and braces approach was undertaken with a detailed market mapping exercise underpinning everything. We are particularly proud of the appointment as it was turned around on a tight timeline and with a very tricky resignation and notice period to navigate.”
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