Recruiting a Chair of Trustees and Operations Director for HACT

Discover how Adecco supported a charitable organisation to source and select two crucial leadership positions.

About the Client

Founded in 1960, HACT has been a pioneer in driving change and creating key innovations in the social housing sector and community-based organisations. HACT has proudly led the introduction of the UK Social Value Bank, the UK Housing Data Standards and the Centre for Excellence in Community Investment.

The Challenge

HACT needed to fill two crucial roles – a new Chair of the board of trustees and a newly created role, an Operations Director.

The key aspect of the Chair role was to find someone who would play an ambassadorial role in promoting the organisation and raise its national profile. The new role of Operations Director would also be crucial for ensuring programmes were effectively delivered, improving operational efficiency, and driving a people-first approach to organisational change.

Key to both roles would be Adecco’s ability to find the right leadership candidates who could integrate commercial strategies with the charity’s mission-driven goals.

“HACT is a small and ambitious charity and social enterprise that works UK-wide in driving innovation, collaboration and insights. This needs people with sometimes an unusual combination of skills, qualities and passions. The team at Adecco understand this and know how to build on our own expertise as we go out to recruit senior leaders.”
— Chief Executive, HACT.

Our Solution

We established a three-stage approach:

Briefing & Consultation – We carried out detailed briefings with all relevant stakeholders and discussed the most appropriate methodology for recruitment. We then designed the recruitment process to ensure the client were involved in the decision-making process and candidates would have the opportunity to interact with the organisation to understand the challenges, culture and ambitions.

Search & Attraction – We analysed data across local, regional, and national markets to deliver a tailored talent intelligence platform. Next, we created a target list of candidates based on client discussions, utilising our specialist access to talent pools across the UK.

We also worked with the client to build a positive Employee Value Proposition (EVP), including a bespoke social media and advertising campaign to support this. Our wide network of experts meant we could tap into our proactive talent pool to reach passive and recommended candidates.

Shortlisting & Assessment – We worked with the client at every stage, from application assessment and in-depth competency interviews to recommendations submission, panel interview support and assessments. We also managed offers, referencing and onboarding support. As part of our wider assessment process for the Operations Director, we employed Leadership Birkman profiling to analyse candidates and the wider Executive Team.

This looked at deeper personality traits, behavioural perceptions, mindsets, and motivations in order to determine the best fit for the role.

“We completely trusted our lead Consultant and her team. They understood us and what we needed. They advised and challenged so that we got the best out of the recruitment. They worked as a team with us to keep everything on track. And they took care of us. Nothing was every too much and we and our candidates felt really valued. They were creative, insightful and always went the extra mile.”
— Chief Executive, HACT.

Key Results

Two successful appointments for both positions.
Overwhelmingly positive feedback received from all candidates.
Leadership Birkman profiling for Operations Director rolled out to wider leadership team.

“Adecco understand who we are, why we do what we do and why our mission and impact matter. They have a strong focus on EDI, expertise in the housing, charity, health and local government sectors and know how to bring us great candidates. This is the kind of organisation that we want to work with.”
— Chief Executive, HACT.

Manage Your Recruitment Needs with Adecco

At Adecco, we have over 20 years of experience helping clients manage their permanent recruitment needs across housing and the public sector, including recruiting senior and niche candidates.

We are ready for any challenge, with the proven ability to scale up and down and change course as needed.