Insights

Anthony Nolan, a leading life sciences charity with over 50 years of experience, has been saving lives through stem cell transplants since its founding by Shirley Nolan. Her vision has enabled the organisation to assist four patients daily. To advance their new contract service offering to the pharmaceutical industry and replace their previous business development head, Anthony Nolan enlisted HRS to help recruit a new Commercial Director.

The Challenges

• Seeking a commercially savvy Commercial Leader with experience in private sector negotiations to support a team accustomed to working in a charitable environment.
• Achieving this within the budget constraints of a charitable organisation.

Our Solution

• Conducted a retained search to identify candidates in the CGT, Bioprocess, and CDMO sectors.
• Signed off a robust milestone roadmap to keep all parties aligned and informed.
• Direct interactions between the CCO & Head of People at Anthony Nolan with the CEO of HRS and resource team to address the technical,  strategic, and cultural requirements of the search.
• HRS performed market benchmarking to assess the competitiveness of the compensation package.
• Targeted market mapping, candidate outreach, and personalised service through the HRS network, both in person and online.

Following an internal promotion, Charles River Laboratories was looking to appoint a new General Manager for its Research Model Services (RMS) business at its Margate facility in Kent.

The facility specialises in providing a comprehensive range of research models and services, enabling clients to research, discover and develop new therapies. As a commercial breeding facility, it operates to rigorous genetic standards, with a strong focus on animal welfare and biosecurity to meet the specific requirements of its clients' research.

The Challenges

• Location: Hiring for a remote location in an area of the UK, which is less known for core CRO business.
• Site Focus: Limited talent pool due to the specialist nature of animal husbandry and candidates' personal views on animal research.
• Finances: Salary expectations varied significantly depending on candidates' industry backgrounds, particularly across Pharma, CDMO and CRO organisations.

Our Solution

• Conducted a retained search to identify candidates with Life Sciences, CRO or CDMO experience, capable of navigating complex global operations and international service delivery.
• Established a robust Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement (CDA) and a milestone-based roadmap to ensure clear deadlines and a focused search process.
• Worked closely with the HR Director and senior leadership to understand the required leadership style, strategic experience and ability to drive site-wide development.
• Conducted targeted market mapping and candidate outreach, leveraging the HRS network to deliver a personalised recruitment service both in person and online.

Kinomica were an early stage organisation that needed support in hiring highly skilled scientists on a flexible basis pre-funding. 

The Challenges

• Start up funding.
• Candidate attraction.
• Location.

Our Solution

• Provided a flexible contract solution with the cost spread over a weekly basis, as opposed to a one off fee.
• Spent time on site with the CEO to understand the reasons to work with them.
• Research on competitors within the radius, focusing on candidates that were able to relocate within the designated timeframe.