WIREDGOV

A combination of low unemployment rates and skills shortages in some areas can make it difficult for the public sector to attract the right talent in a competitive marketplace.

The Home Office was struggling to fill an important senior civil servant role in their digital, data and technology team, which combined technical expertise with stakeholder engagement.

The requirement

The successful candidate needed to be able to bridge the communication gap between 43 regional police forces, the Home Office and wider Homeland security organisations. They also needed demonstrable experience of working in a high volume data environment. 

The solution

After two failed attempts to fill the role, the Home Office turned to the CCS Permanent Recruitment framework. Lot 6 of the framework covers executive search for digital, data and technology giving the Home Office access to the specialists they needed. Following a further competition they appointed Sanderson Government & Defence to help them fill the role.

Sanderson Government & Defence created a bespoke advertising solution, including a website and branded advertising on 5 external job boards and LinkedIn. They also used their extensive network across the public and security sectors to conduct market mapping and targeted headhunting. 

Online equality and diversity monitoring was also used to improve the response rate and diversity of the applicant pool.

The results

The recruitment campaign resulted in 51 applications, of which 12 were longlisted and presented to the Home Office. 

From there 5 shortlisted candidates progressed through occupational psychology and independent leadership assessments. This enabled the interview panel to develop bespoke areas of questioning, alongside the standard interview questions.

Following this the successful applicant took up their new role at the Home Office – a complex role successfully filled in just 8 weeks. 

Find out more

To find out how the CCS Permanent Recruitment framework (RM6002) can help you with your vacancies:

Call 0345 410 2222

Email info@crowncommercial.gov.uk

Visit https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6002