How to hire...a Chief Commercial Officer in PropTech

How to hire…a Chief Commercial Officer in PropTech

Built-ID, a B-Corp software company that enables decision-makers to deliver more socially impactful and sustainable places, required a lead growth specialist to drive the business forward to achieve its short- and long-term objectives.

The PropTech business provides a community engagement platform which enables the community to have a voice when they might not usually have one. Built-ID is extremely socially and sustainably aware, are a company grounded and founded on morals and doing the right thing.

The initial search assignment was for a Head of Growth as Built-ID’s industry leading product ‘Give My View’ was operating without a leader to run their sales function. The company needed an individual who understood the development world, had existing relationships, and could lead the growth strategy.

From the start of the assignment lead search consultant, Nicola Broomham, knew this would be an attractive offering which would trigger the challenge of filtering through many prospective applicants who showed interest and finding the best person for the business.

When it came to the individual that was secured, they needed to have a strong moral compass, and culturally align with the beliefs of the business.

The solution…

The search assignment began with a thorough and extensive briefing conducted by executive search director, Nicola Broomham, whose sole goal was to understand every element of Built-ID and its values. She was able to visit their offices and spent a significant amount of time learning about the business where she could really drill down who the business was and its identity.

As expected, the opportunity gained huge interest through online advertisement due to the attractive package and company. The project utilised one of deverellsmith’s unique advertisement tools a ‘Microsite package’ which on average gains 6x the interest than a standard advert.

Receiving well over 100 applicants for the role, Nicola took the time to screen just under 50% as the calibre of applicants was so high.

One of the biggest challenges throughout the search was timing. The interview process fell into the summer holiday period which meant interviewers and interviewees were on holiday causing diary clashes or unavailability.

It was imperative that Nicola stayed close with the candidates, keeping each one engaged and communicating the delay in the process clearly.

The final shortlist was filtered down to 12 individuals which was revised by Nicola and the hiring manager together and they both filtered the shortlist down again to a final 6.

After an initial video call the hiring manager proceeded to interview the final 3 face-to-face.

The result…

The successful candidate was appointed as Chief Commercial Officer (a step up from the original job on offer) as Built-ID recognised the skills and experience which they could bring to the business were invaluable.

This provided the candidate with larger share options, a position on the board and an even more attractive package recognising how this individual was a world-class member of the team and to ensure they not only accepted but stayed for the long haul.

Obi Bamidele – Chief Operating Officer

I had the great pleasure of working with Nicola and deverellsmith on a key executive hire. I was most impressed by the lengths Nicola went to gain an in depth understanding of the role and our business to ensure she had the right calibre of candidates. As a result, she produced an excellent shortlist of talented candidates.

Nicola was patient, transparent and meticulous throughout the search, bringing great insight and wisdom which helped immensely in our final decision on the best candidate for our organisation.

I highly recommend Nicola and look forward to working with her as we scale.

Jacob Perkins – Chief Commercial Officer

It’s difficult to be objective with a recruitment recommendation when you successfully move into your dream job, but to be honest, I thought I already had it before interacting with Nicola…

Throughout the entire process, Nicola was caring, understanding, knowledgeable, precise, honest - literally everything I could want from a recruiter. She pushed when she needed to push and listened at the right times.

I really felt like everything was done with the best interests of both me and the hiring company in equal measures, which gave me the headspace to make a logical decision on my next step. I couldn’t recommend her any more highly. It’s a shame I’m not looking for another job so I can go through it again! I’m sure I will be using her/DS to continue to build my team in the future. Thanks Nicola.