History
Bishop Burton College approached Protocol to recruit their new Chief Executive Officer & Principal, based on Protocol’s reputation for success on previous recruitment projects for other specialist Land Based Colleges – including Askham Bryan College and Moulton College.
As one of the largest land based colleges in the sector, Bishop Burton’s new CEO & Principal would have to oversee two large campuses, several commercial enterprises, and over 2,500 students: so it was imperative that an experienced and strategic person was appointed to the post.
Protocol were invited to submit a proposal to outline their plan for recruiting for this key post; the team at Bishop Burton College were impressed with the proposal and granted exclusivity to the Protocol team to take on this recruitment project.
The recruitment process
Protocol began by arranging several meetings with the team at Bishop Burton College to ensure they fully understood the specific needs of the client in recruiting for this post.
To explore this further, Protocol also held a focus group with a cross section of staff at the college to understand the organisations priorities, in addition to what the staff felt the new CEO & Principal’s priorities should be. The findings of this focus group were reported back to the Governors to further inform and finalise the requirements of the post.
Once the requirements were finalised, Protocol worked with the college to create the job description and application pack, which then informed a dual branded recruitment campaign across multiple channels. In addition to building a microsite to host the application pack and invite inbound applications, Protocol also placed recruitment advertisements in industry publications, and undertook extensive social media promotion. To support this, the Protocol Senior & Management Recruitment team used their contacts and skills to undertake an extensive headhunting campaign within and outside of the land based education sector.
Protocol found some fantastic and keen applicants for the post and presented a strong shortlist to the Governors.
Due to other commitments, flexibility was key for the Governors when it came to organising the assessment centre; Protocol were keen to oblige and the assessment centre was run phased over several days, including a Sunday.
The outcome
The phased assessment centre was a great success, and enabled the Governors to put the applicants through their paces. After a rigorous selection process, the Deputy Principal proved he was ready for the step up to CEO and Principal, and as successfully appointed to the post.
“We worked with Protocol to appoint to the post of Chief Executive & Principal at the College. Ian and David worked with Governors, senior managers and other staff to support the process from the development of the job description through to the final appointment. They have a detailed knowledge of the sector and worked in partnership with the College to make a successful appointment.
They were supportive, engaged, dependable and responsive to our challenging timescales! I have no hesitation in recommending Protocol executive recruitment services.”
– Kate Calvert, Deputy Principal HR & Organisational Services, Bishop Burton College
