Dickinson Smith Buss LLP is a ‘generalist’ Executive Search & Selection Consultancy, with a successful track record in assisting its clients across many sectors to make successful senior level appointments in:

• General Management; Operations; Finance; Commercial; Engineering/Technical; and other functional areas.

The business has been successful in gaining a place within the Cabinet Office Senior Civil Service Framework Agreement on the basis of the team’s experience and capabilities on Commercial & Procurement Roles. This potentially covers any roles that significantly impact on procurement strategies and activities, plus those influencing commercial and contractual relationships with suppliers, sub-contractors etc.

We have handled such roles for clients in various sectors including:

• Airlines; retail & distribution; building products; food; automotive; engineering; consumer electronics; chemicals; steel distribution; and government agency;

The types of roles include:

• Director of Purchasing; Head of Supply Chain; Supply Chain Director; Purchasing Manager; Category Manager; Outsourcing Manager; Global Commodities Manager; Materials Manager; Head of Capital Programmes; Leasing Manager; Commercial Director; Investment Manager (outsourced pension fund management).

At salaries:

• Ranging from £60,000 to £120,000+

These are some particular case studies that demonstrate our approach.

Commercial Director National Laboratory Service, Environment Agency

• The National Laboratory Service (NLS) is part of the Environment Agency carrying out environmental testing/analysis and offering expert guidance to the Agency and commercially to a wide range of external customers. With ambitious plans for growth, the business was undertaking a significant change programme, restructuring operations to face key commercial markets. Having recently appointed a Finance Director for them, the General Manager approached us again to assist with the recruitment of a Commercial Director to develop and implement sales & marketing strategies and ultimately deliver long-term sales growth. Having already developed a strong relationship with the General Manager and an excellent understanding of the business, we were able to challenge the initial brief, providing specific input regarding the potential backgrounds of suitable candidates, as well as identifying the correct process. We continued to challenge preconceptions at the shortlist stage and, in fact, the successful candidate was probably the least favoured candidate on paper, but demonstrated the drive, enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit that we knew the business was looking for. Over 2 years on, he has proved to be extremely successful, having restructured the department and instilled a commercial mindset in the team; developed the marketing proposition and external client base, as well as achieving considerable sales growth.

European Procurement Managers Leading UK Low-Cost Airline

• A dynamic, fast-paced low-cost airline, this client has a strong track record of growth and is continuing to expand its operations across Europe. They had tried unsuccessfully on a number of occasions to recruit several Procurement Managers into their business in order to develop an ever-expanding portfolio of European airports; control and reduce airport costs through professional, modern tendering practices, as well as manage budgets in excess of £200m each. Having taken a comprehensive brief and challenged the existing mindset that the individuals must come from an airline background, we recommended a broad advertising plus “Search” methodology, utilising several generalist recruitment Internet sites. The resultant breadth and depth of response was excellent, offering the client an opportunity to interview several highly qualified candidates across a broad range of backgrounds. The transferable skills of modern procurement practice were evident and, in fact, the client subsequently appointed four candidates, one from an airline services background, with remainder from industries such as Retail, FMCG and Industrial Engineering. The mix of European Procurement Managers in the team has proved powerful, enabling a strategic development of the department, implementation of modern procurement practice, as well as driving out cost from their single biggest budget in the business.

Head of Supply Chain Manufacturer/Supplier of Fitted Furniture for Public & Private Housing

• A traditional, formerly privately-owned business, this client had become part of US multinational and was looking to sharpen its sourcing and procurement processes – especially in the face of increasing cost pressures from the house-building market in 2007-08. Having tried to source a suitable individual themselves, and having approached agencies to supply candidates from databases, it was clear that this was going to be a difficult role to fill. On a recommendation, they asked Dickinson Smith Buss to handle the assignment. We were able to advise them on aspects of their candidate expectations and on the process. It still proved tough to find the right person to fit their culture and deliver the change they needed, and it took some time, but their new Head of Supply Chain joined them in Autumn 2008. The supply strategy has been reviewed and revised; the team has been restructured; and they are now well into a two-year plan to deliver significant cost savings and improvements in supply chain effectiveness. Interestingly, we ultimately used a combination of advertising and search to source candidates, and the appointee came through an Internet database search, emphasising the importance of using all available methods to find and attract high calibre individuals.

Investment Manager Environment Agency Pension Fund

• The Environment Agency’s Pension Fund is one of the largest and most solvent in the Local Government Pension Scheme; but in 2008 an approaching strategy review combined with impending changes to LGPS coincided with the need to bring in a new person to head up the management of the outsourced fund management. Previous experience had suggested that bringing in the right combination of specialist fund management knowledge, commercial and contractual capability, and people skills to work with all interested stakeholders, was not going to be easy. By working closely with the Head of Environmental Finance & Pension Fund Management, we were able to fully understand the requirements, advise and implement a recruitment strategy that involved both advertising and direct search, and ultimately deliver a successful appointment. In fact, we also worked on a pension fund accounting role, in parallel, which was also filled successfully, first time – despite the highly specialised nature of those skills and experience, with a consequent shortage of suitable candidates.

Please read these comments from clients within the public sector who have used Dickinson Smith Buss to help fill key commercial and procurement roles.

“During 2008 we commissioned Dickinson Smith Buss to search for two "hard to recruit to" specialist pension fund management roles with responsibilities for procuring and managing outsourced services. By working in partnership with us to clarify our needs and packages, I am pleased Dickinson Smith Buss then sourced some "difficult to find" candidates. These were screened by the consultant before interview with me, helping to ensure they fitted the roles. The outcome was that I recruited to both jobs and the people are now with us.”

Howard Pearce – Head of Environmental Finance & Pension Fund Management, Environment Agency.

“We engaged Dickinson Smith Buss to help us with the recruitment of a couple of key director level appointments. This was linked to an initiative to transform a public sector business unit so that it could compete and hold its own in an increasingly commercial marketplace. We were looking for individuals with skill-sets that we knew we wouldn’t find in the public sector and therefore it was important to work with a consultancy who understood both the public sector and the commercial world. Dickinson Smith Buss have that knowledge, but most importantly, they listened and correctly interpreted our requirements.

In particular, we worked with them to recruit a Commercial Director. This was a challenge from the outset because, as an organisation, we had no coherent commercial aspect to our business. We needed a person who had the energy and entrepreneurialism of the private sector, and yet could adapt to the different culture and, frankly, the frustrations of a public sector environment. The person also needed to be able to graft a ‘commercial front-end’ onto a sizeable business unit that had operated for 40 years without this. Dickinson Smith Buss presented us with a range of candidates, and stretched our thinking as to the type of person we wanted. The successful candidate was put forward as a “wild card” because the person was not the obvious ideal candidate and in a number of ways did not exactly match our preconceptions. As the process progressed, we recognised that this candidate offered a range of skills and experiences that were a little out of the ordinary but were nevertheless very valuable. The candidate has gone on to be a very real success in the role and the commercialisation of the business unit has gone from strength to strength. Dickinson Smith Buss played a pivotal role, not just at a transactional level by sourcing a shortlist of candidates, but also at a conceptual level by helping us to think through what we really needed.”

Hugh Taylor – Operations Director, LGC Forensics, Previously General Manager Environment Agency – National Laboratory Service