London College of Fashion: Finding the Perfect Professor for a Vibrant New Enterprise

The newly established Centre for Fashion Business & Innovation Research operates at the intersection of fashion business and the economy, culture and society. We helped them recruit their first professor, who would lead the direction of research, funding and collaboration.

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS

  • FINDING RARE CANDIDATES WITH RESEARCH EXPERTISE
  • IN-DEPTH CANDIDATE RESEARCH PHASE
  • BLENDED MEDIA CAMPAIGN AND INTERNATIONAL SEARCH TO ATTRACT ACTIVE AND PASSIVE CANDIDATES

SCOPE AND SCALE

London College of Fashion has been nurturing creative talent for over a century. They offer courses in all things fashion, from business to design and fashion curation.
The Centre for Fashion Business & Innovation Research is an exciting new addition in the Fashion Business School and this role will lead its development and success.
As the chosen candidate will set the direction for the Centre, they wanted very high-calibre candidates to shortlist from.

SITUATION

Challenge: Professors could come from different disciplines but would need relevant research interests aligned with the Centre.

Approach: Extensive international candidate research to ensure they met the criteria.


Challenge: Professors needed experience in motivating and mobilising other researchers.
Approach: All candidates were consulted on their REF leadership and co-ordination experience.


Challenge: London College of Fashion has a leadership team that is open, creative and generous. This Professor would need to thrive in that culture.
Approach: All candidates were consulted on their leadership style and culture preferences to ascertain their fit.

SOLUTION

An in-depth, face-to-face brief was taken, followed by profiles benchmarking to explore the parameters of the brief in more depth.
Exhaustive research built an international target which was approved before engagement commenced.=
WIP reports and calls were diarised weekly so everyone was fully informed on progress and could contribute to the direction of activity.
Strong, professional relationships were fostered with candidates ensuring they had an excellent experience whether they applied or not.

RESULTS

Our comprehensive solution created results the client was delighted with:

  • 16 final applications
  • Four shortlisted for interview & assessment
  • One offer accepted

The successful candidate was a referral from another passive candidate on the target list. If we hadn’t undertaken the research, she wouldn’t have been aware of the opportunity.