Ministry of Defence Case Study
High demand for digital transformation skills can make it difficult for the public sector to attract the right talent. This case study explains how Global Resourcing provided a solution for the MOD.
The Ministry of Defence was seeking a CIO of Business Functions, Chief Architect and Head of Innovation.
Recognising that the right calibre of candidate would be challenging to find due to market demand the MoD turned to the CCS Permanent Recruitment framework to find a specialist digital transformation recruiter. Following a further competition, they appointed Global Resourcing to manage these critical SCS appointments.
Attracting the right talent
We worked with the MoD to create an eye-catching and vibrant campaign that would appeal to the tech community. We undertook all project planning, from timelines to document creation and advertising, working to the highest standards, as a valued and expert partner.
We accessed our extensive network of digital leadership professionals, conducting market mapping to develop a targeted approach. This included our national Women-In-Tech network and a proactive approach to encouraging applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and other under-represented groups to ensure diversity within the candidate pool.
Our attraction strategy was to provide access to opportunity for all. As a founder member of the Tech Talent Charter and a diversity and pronoun-aware business, we are committed to engaging with diverse and underrepresented groups. We proactively publicised the vacancy within our own WomenInTech network of over 5,000 advocates, in addition to utilising connections at groups such as UK BlackTech, Asian Stars in UK Tech, the Business Disability Forum and LGBT+ networks. Not only are our team diversity and bias trained, but our adverts and the pack were scrutinised for unconscious bias and we often train our customers on this topic also. Success profile interviews and short-listing were conducted on an objective basis and deal only with the individual’s suitability for the job. We only took into account their skills and experience, with final decisions being made on the basis of merit and evaluated against fair and objective criteria.
Ultimately, we worked hard to proactively engage with candidates from under-represented groups, reassuring them that their application would be taken seriously. We always know that incredible professionals within these groups often feel increased reticence when considering an application and we were there to guide and reassure them. Gathering contact information allowed us to track these candidates and contact them regularly, whilst diversity tracking throughout the campaign helped us to understand if and when greater efforts in this regard were required.
We continue to use these tried and tested engagement methods and have never failed to deliver a diverse shortlist for an SCS campaign. We were also responsible for the first women only shortlist for an SCS Pay Band 2 role, and our last five ‘C-level’ placements (Nov. 2020) have all been with candidates from under-represented groups. Our track record here is unsurpassed.
The results
The CIO (Business Functions) campaign generated 395 initial expressions of interest from a diverse cross section of industry professionals. This resulted in 101 full applications, of which 9 were taken through to the first interview stage.
The Head of Innovation role generated 195 initial expressions of interest, resulting in 65 full applications, 8 of which were taken through to first interview.
The Chief Architect role generated 83 initial expressions, 34 full applications and 8 were taken through to first interview, with 5 candidates for each role invited to a panel interview. Individual leadership assessments were conducted to ensure that MoD could be confident in their final decision.
All three campaigns were successfully completed in 9 weeks, which is a very swift turnaround for crucial and dynamic leadership roles within an exciting and innovative organisation. This included the first woman and LGBT candidates recruited to Defence Digital at SCS pay band 1 level.
We have subsequently gone on to place one of the leading female data professionals in the world as Chief Data Officer and are now supporting the MOD with additional services under G-Cloud.