Case Study - University of Notre Dame

Executive Director

THE APPROACH

The University of Notre Dame approached us with the need to recruit for an important senior role.

Notre Dame chose to work with us on this project as they were impressed with the way we do business. The client liked the transparency that we offer and the close-collaboration that we provide throughout the headhunting service.

Notre Dame needed a headhunter with expertise. They needed a headhunter who could work with them to create the best recruitment process possible for their needs. We were that headhunter.

THE ROLE

The University of Notre Dame was looking to hire a new Executive Director for their London Global Gateway Executive Committee. The LGG is the administrative group responsible for implementing the client’s strategy in London.

This was a very appealing opportunity for candidates, due to the client’s reputation.

Notre Dame is one of the most successful universities in the USA, and focus on providing an excellent academic service through their experienced staff and superb facilities.

As a result, the opportunity to hold such a vital role in the establishment was an exciting one.

This Executive Director role involved providing leadership and supervision for the LGG staff, as well as developing academic policies and supervising senior leadership teams.

The role would involve working with and supporting the Academic Director in creating and maintaining partnerships with universities and government organisations and representing the university in the wider community.

THE BUSINESS - UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

THE ROLE - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The University of Notre Dame is a private, non-profit research university founded in 1842.

Based in Notre Dame, Indiana the university is extremely prestigious, and is considered one of the top universities in the world. Notre Dame provides top-tier educational services for its 8,000 undergraduates, the majority of which live within their prestigious campus.

The university has a strong reputation for producing exceptional graduates through its mix of academic, sporting, and pastoral support.

Case Study - University of Notre Dame

THE SEARCH

In order to source the best candidates possible for Notre Dame, we set out to conduct a detailed, highly-targeted executive search.

We wanted to submit only the most relevant candidates to our client, and as such made sure to take the time to listen to our client’s specific needs and tailor the search process towards them.

We focused our search on the higher education sector, targeting universities in our search for experienced candidates with strong operations backgrounds and excellent academic experience.

THE CHALLENGE

As with every headhunt, we encountered some challenges along the way.

The education sector typically functions a bit differently from other sectors when it comes to recruitment.

Education places more focus on networking, with universities approaching each other with opportunities. The use of headhunters and recruiters is less common as a result.

Because of this, some candidates can be wary when approached by executive search consultants such as ourselves.

In response to this, we decided to adapt our approach for this headhunt. We determined that we needed to give candidates more confidence about headhunting.

To achieve this, we made the effort to communicate clearly with candidates about our process. We walked through the process with them step-by-step.

By doing this we provided our candidates with the confidence to progress through to interviews.

Case Study - University of Notre Dame

OUR CANDIDATES

As a result of our detailed headhunt, we sourced a strong selection of high-quality candidates for the role.

We submitted a shortlist of 5 highly-skilled candidates who were bespoke to the client’s opportunity. The client was very happy with this shortlist.

In fact, they found it difficult to choose between two top candidates in particular.

Both of these candidates were found to be ideal for the role, and each brought their own key strengths. This meant that it was very difficult for Notre Dame to decide between the two.

There was, however, one candidate in particular who stood out to the client.

This candidate was an experienced international Director within the education sector. The candidate had strong experience in promoting their university and building partnerships both locally and overseas.

They had a wealth of achievements including setting up and implementing exchange programs, as well as setting up a university campus and making important strategic business decisions.

The candidate was deemed to be ideal for the opportunity, and was taken on by the University of Notre Dame as their new Executive Director.

CONCLUSION

This experience is a great example of our ability to work with international businesses and source ideal high-level candidates.

We conducted a highly-detailed, targeted executive search, taking our client’s wants and needs into account.

We utilised our skills and knowledge of the sector to source a selection of high-quality candidates for our client’s opportunity. In the end, we provided Notre Dame with their ideal candidate, resulting in yet another successful executive search for us here at Executive Headhunters.

We’re very pleased with our experience working with the University of Notre Dame, and are happy to have provided them with the high-quality of service that we’re known for. We look forward to working with the client again for any future opportunities they may have.