Sourcing A EMEA Privacy Lead for Commercial Property

Opportunity

We were recommended to this new Barclay Simpson client by a contractor we had known for several years who was being replaced on a permanent basis. He was kind enough to report favourably on our knowledge of the data privacy and governance world but also the positive experience he had of dealing with Barclay Simpson people over a number of years. The position was for the Company’s first Privacy Lead, with responsibility for the EMEA region, reporting to the regional Data Protection Officer.

Approach

Working closely with the DPO and the client’s HR team, we gave input on the person specification and market conditions for the sort of individual they were seeking and current market rates for the skills and experience they sought. While this is a comparatively relatively niche market, we have an extensive data base and network of data privacy professionals we are constantly in contact with, and we were able to rapidly engage with these resources to provide a full briefing to target candidates.

Outcome

We were able to rapidly generate a shortlist of 5 strong candidates for this role. We knew all of the people already, and had good insight into their career histories, where they had worked and their market reputations. We presented the shortlist to the client within 10 days of winning the mandate. The client interviewed all 5 candidates and offered their preferred candidate with 2 others held in reserve. We provided support during a brief period of negotiations resulting in a final offer being accepted within 2 weeks of submitting the shortlist.