The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the government department responsible for protecting and promoting British interests across the globe.

Their board were looking to appoint a Head of IT Delivery. The team they would be leading would be charged with stepping up their knowledge and technology capability.

A crucial and high-profile role, the Head of IT Delivery would work closely with the CIO, and Knowledge & Technology Directorate.

Thanks to our demonstrable executive search methodology and our innovative Pulse assessment being cited as a key reason, we were chosen to conduct the search.

We devised a bespoke recruitment method, incorporating everything from a full delivery timetable and executive search to online advertising and candidate packs.

A key differentiator for us is always our online Pulse psychometric assessment tool. We made sure to present Pulse to members of the FCO team. That way, they could be reassured of its value to the process.

As ever, we tailored the assessment to the competencies FCO specified to us.

Following the interviews, FCO eventually selected the incumbent who was already performing the role on a fixed term contract.

While the shortlist was strong, ultimately our process served to validate the internal hire. Nonetheless, both we and FCO were delighted to be reassured that they had the right person for the role.

Furthermore, the Pulse assessment allowed FCO much greater insight into their incumbent’s leadership style and behavioural preferences – invaluable insight for the team and even the organisation as a whole.