Our partner is a Build to Rent developer focused on delivering high-quality homes for the UK rental market.

Their vision is to create exceptional rental experiences in sustainable homes and communities. With a diverse portfolio, they offer a variety of housing options, from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom houses, tailored to meet the needs of their customers.

Recruitment project team

Chris Gladwin has worked in the Real Estate sector for 6 years, in both Estate Agencies and Tech Startups. Chris is now a Senior Consultant on the Finance and Accounting desk focusing on hiring for Part-Qualified and Accountants. From graduate level to finalists in their ACCA, ACA or CIMA qualifications, he covers a range of roles from Accounts Payable/Receivable to Management Accounting.

Chris is committed to deverellsmith’s clients, consistently delivering tailored recruitment solutions that align with their specific needs and helping them secure the best talent in the market.

Recruitment project breakdown

Established in 2021, our partner is a relatively new business backed by a well-known national banking organisation. They are aiming to double their property investments, targeting growth from 1,500 to 3,000 properties—a 100% increase within the next year.

With this ambitious expansion comes the need for top talent to help achieve their goals, which led them to seek a new Operations Finance Manager. After previously collaborating with deverellsmith’s Living team to fill other roles within their business, they consulted with Chris from the Finance team to find a candidate with specific skills. They were particularly looking for someone with strong software knowledge, transactional finance experience, and previous people management experience.

Due to these precise requirements, they engaged Chris’s expertise to assist them exclusively in their search.

The recruitment project solution

A consultative approach: Before beginning the search, Chris prioritised meeting with our partner to gain a comprehensive understanding of their ideal candidate. He delved into the specific skills required to support their business and got a clear sense of the company culture to ensure a strong cultural fit for the prospective candidate. During this meeting, Chris and our partner also established the project timelines, setting clear expectations and aligning on deadlines and the desired start date for the new hire.

Market mapping: Chris conducted market mapping, identifying businesses comparable to our partner and Build to Rent developers of a similar scale. He then pinpointed professionals within those companies who were in roles similar to the one our partner was looking to fill and approached them with the opportunity.

deverellsmith’s extensive database: Chris also tapped into deverellsmith's extensive database of property professionals, built over the past 17 years. He leveraged his network of candidates previously shortlisted for similar roles and presented this new opportunity to them, targeting those who were actively seeking new positions.

Results

Chris interviewed 14 candidates, thoroughly reviewing the job specifications and evaluating their skills. He then compiled a shortlist and sent it to our partner within a week of launching the search.
90% shortlist to interview rate.
One of the candidates Chris sent over in the shortlist our partner was hesitant to interview, however, Chris was confident that this candidate was the perfect fit, and ultimately, they ended up hiring them.
Despite a talent short market, Chris demonstrated an ability to source not one but two candidates for their business.
Both candidates have now passed probation and the company has returned to Chris to support them in recruiting another role.