Future Research Leaders Booklet (Society US Inc)
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<strong>Future</strong> <strong>Research</strong> <strong>Leaders</strong>
“Achieving international<br />
excellence in research requires<br />
exceptionally high-quality<br />
people, yet the competition for<br />
academic talent has become<br />
increasingly fierce. Attention<br />
often focuses on identifying<br />
and attracting a few ‘big<br />
names’. But the institutions<br />
who truly prosper are those<br />
that are continually on the<br />
lookout for future research<br />
leaders. These people might be<br />
harder to identify right now,<br />
but they are the ones who will<br />
help to shape their fields of<br />
study in the years to come.”
Introduction<br />
Executive research is now increasingly<br />
used for senior academic appointments<br />
such as named Chairs and Professorships.<br />
However executive search firms often<br />
don’t fully grasp the distinctive nature<br />
of pure academic positions, leaning too<br />
heavily on their familiar experience of<br />
managerial and administrative positions,<br />
which are qualitatively different.<br />
At <strong>Society</strong> we believe that a flexible,<br />
adaptable and client-centric way of<br />
working can have a transformative impact<br />
on recruitment success across the full<br />
spectrum of purely academic roles.<br />
Our model is focused on helping<br />
institutions identify the next generation<br />
of talent. We call this our <strong>Future</strong> <strong>Research</strong><br />
<strong>Leaders</strong> Practice.<br />
Universities are<br />
competing more fiercely<br />
than ever before to<br />
attract the brightest talent<br />
from across the globe.<br />
We have an extensive track record working<br />
across a wide array of disciplines, from<br />
the Economics of the Built Environment<br />
through to Neurorehabilition, and from<br />
Forensic Computing through to Theology.<br />
These appointments span the full range of<br />
academic positions from Lecturer upwards.<br />
We target candidates from all over the<br />
world, and have handled searches for<br />
clients on five different continents.
The Process<br />
2. Identifying Targets<br />
We approach every search as a blank sheet of paper. Guided<br />
by the parameters you set, we use a range of techniques to<br />
identify exceptional talent:<br />
1. Taking the Brief<br />
The starting point of any assignment The more deeply we understand the<br />
involves a thorough set of briefings and institution, the department, and the needs<br />
background conversations. We want to of the role, the more persuasive we can be<br />
understand the brief in detail so that we on your behalf.<br />
are well placed to articulate the role (or<br />
roles) in question to potential candidates. The outcome of the briefing stage is not<br />
only our additional knowledge but the<br />
We seek to communicate opportunities to design and production of an attractive<br />
potential candidates in a compelling yet Candidate Pack to be shared with<br />
candid way.<br />
individuals and, where appropriate, the<br />
advertisement to run alongside the search.<br />
i) Fresh name ID<br />
This will form the core part of our search<br />
strategy. We use a variety of sources to<br />
identify potential candidates. As well as<br />
consulting those publishing in respected<br />
academic journals within the given field,<br />
we also explore editorial boards, those<br />
holding research grants, and members of<br />
learned societies and relevant advisory and<br />
academy boards.<br />
From this starting point we tailor the<br />
search depending upon the discipline. For<br />
instance, Chemical Engineering could<br />
see us looking into major research-based<br />
companies globally for academic talent,<br />
Pharmacology into large pharmaceutical<br />
companies, or Econometrics into large<br />
think tanks and central banks.<br />
ii) Our database<br />
We have an extensive database of contacts<br />
which spans all academic disciplines and is<br />
fundamentally global in its reach. We work<br />
with clients all over the world and deliver<br />
fields of international candidates.<br />
Beyond this, our work in other sectors<br />
brings us into contact with those who<br />
span the industry-academia spectrum.<br />
iii) Recommendations<br />
By building lasting and meaningful<br />
relationships with key individuals, we are<br />
able to ask for insightful recommendations<br />
and guidance from those with expertise<br />
in the fields we explore. However, whilst<br />
recommendations are important, we do<br />
not rely solely on them. They add depth<br />
to our search rather than being a starting<br />
point. Crucially, by employing these<br />
techniques, we will uncover candidates<br />
who are not actively looking for their next<br />
role – passive candidates.<br />
By directly approaching individuals<br />
who are otherwise busily engaged in<br />
their current roles, we generate a wider,<br />
higher calibre and more diverse field<br />
than an advertisement alone would<br />
typically deliver.
The Process<br />
3. Advocating<br />
The strongest candidates often require<br />
a degree of courtship. There are things<br />
they will need to know about the role in<br />
order to consider it seriously. They may<br />
have professional or personal concerns<br />
that they will need to work through<br />
before deciding to apply. We can act<br />
as a trusted intermediary to field their<br />
questions and offer advice.<br />
We can pick through potential<br />
problems on your behalf with<br />
attentiveness and precision,<br />
providing information, correcting<br />
misconceptions and offering<br />
reassurance when required until the<br />
candidate is thoroughly enthused.<br />
In a marketplace where universities<br />
are competing for the best early career<br />
researchers, our team’s advocacy<br />
and support can be instrumental<br />
in helping a candidate choose one<br />
institution over another.<br />
4. Delivering Candidates<br />
At the end of the search we present to you We will also conduct an initial sift of the<br />
a field of candidates. We feel the value of candidates based on our assessment of<br />
our approach is to present individuals who their suitability, and we will meet with you<br />
have gained an understanding and interest to explain our rationale and help you decide<br />
in the institution and position. From there, who to take forward.<br />
you take over.<br />
Once you have decided upon a shortlist of<br />
Throughout the search phase, we ensure candidates, responsibility for arranging<br />
that we are gathering information from formal interviews with them will revert<br />
candidates that will be useful to you later to you, and all subsequent candidate<br />
on. This includes clarifying their salary communication would usually come<br />
expectations, their contractual obligations, directly from yourselves.<br />
and their willingness to relocate.<br />
That said, we retain a personal investment<br />
At the conclusion of the search, we will in making sure that you get the right result<br />
collate all of the candidate documentation at the end of the day.<br />
and supply this to you electronically.
Fees & Timescales<br />
With this model, we are providing a depth<br />
and breadth of candidate field that allows<br />
you to then run a robust and tailored<br />
interview process. Our fee is invoiced<br />
in two equal instalments – one upon<br />
commencement and one upon shortlisting.<br />
Large-Scale Campaigns<br />
We are very comfortable running<br />
programmes of multiple appointments<br />
at different levels and across a variety<br />
of disciplines.<br />
There’s no additional<br />
fee payable upon the<br />
appointment of your chosen<br />
candidate, and our fees<br />
don’t vary in relation to<br />
salary levels. Furthermore,<br />
there are no additional fees<br />
to pay in the event that you<br />
choose to appoint more than<br />
one of the candidates we<br />
introduce to you.<br />
Advertising a series of appointments at<br />
once can create a splash in the marketplace<br />
and signal intent. This can be powerful<br />
as an advocacy tool and be appealing to<br />
potential applicants.<br />
By running multiple searches at once,<br />
we can leverage economies of scale, and<br />
this is reflected in our fee level.<br />
Timescales<br />
The precise timescales for conducting<br />
a search will depend upon a variety of<br />
factors. Searches are usually spread<br />
out over four to six weeks, however this<br />
can usually be shortened if necessary,<br />
and we are always happy to agree<br />
timescales up-front.<br />
Delivering<br />
on Diversity<br />
Here are some of the<br />
practical, concrete steps<br />
that <strong>Society</strong> takes to<br />
ensure that we deliver<br />
on diversity:<br />
• Encouraging clients to think not just<br />
about individual appointments, but the<br />
spread of skills and backgrounds across<br />
their academic community;<br />
• Proactively discussing diversity issues<br />
at the briefing stage, so that we can<br />
understand your priorities, aspirations,<br />
and the potential obstacles you have<br />
encountered;<br />
• Ensuring that the Candidate Pack we<br />
draft focuses on underlying competencies,<br />
capabilities and values, rather than simply<br />
on prior experience;<br />
• Continually challenging our team to find<br />
creative ways of expanding our networks;<br />
• Trying to ensure that at least 30% of<br />
the candidates we produce for any search<br />
are women;<br />
• Pushing back and advocating for less<br />
conventional candidates if we believe they<br />
should be given ‘the benefit of the doubt’;<br />
• Offering extra help and support to<br />
candidates with less experience of formal<br />
recruitment processes;<br />
• Referring to the agreed criteria at the<br />
assessment stage, so that subjective<br />
considerations aren’t allowed to take over;<br />
• Offering advice on how to structure<br />
interview processes, so that they minimize<br />
the scope for unconscious bias.
About <strong>Society</strong><br />
<strong>Society</strong> is a global executive<br />
search firm. We solve recruitment<br />
challenges for an international<br />
client portfolio of responsible<br />
businesses and purpose-driven<br />
organizations. 10% of our profits<br />
go towards funding the work of<br />
The <strong>Society</strong> Foundation<br />
(www.society-foundation.org),<br />
an independent charity<br />
dedicated to tackling issues<br />
of workforce inclusion.<br />
We’re a team of skilled search<br />
professionals. We enjoy headhunting<br />
talented people and placing them into<br />
exciting new roles where they can have a<br />
really positive impact.<br />
Our team possesses particular expertise<br />
in higher education, schools, retail and<br />
consumer goods, hospitality and leisure,<br />
technology, health and social care,<br />
charities, and NGOs.<br />
<strong>Society</strong>’s clients come from a range of<br />
different industries and niches across<br />
the private, public and not-for-profit<br />
sectors. We work broadly across many<br />
different functional areas, tackling<br />
everything from CEO and Board-level<br />
appointments, through to mid-level roles,<br />
and programmes of recruitment resulting<br />
from expansion or restructure.<br />
<strong>Society</strong> is a signatory of the Voluntary Code<br />
of Conduct for Executive Search Firms. We<br />
are passionate supporters of equality of<br />
opportunity, and genuine believers in the<br />
value and importance of diversity.
201 Montgomery Street | Second Floor | Jersey City | New Jersey | 07302 | United States of America<br />
+1 (917) 882 9827 | hello@society-search.com | www.society-search.com<br />
SOCIETY <strong>US</strong> INC REGISTERED IN DELAWARE | EIN 81-2887456<br />
10% OF OUR PROFITS GO TO CHARITY VIA THE SOCIETY FOUNDATION