The Brief
Chester Zoo are the largest zoological gardens in the United Kingdom and the seventh largest in the world. In a period of transformational change since the opening of the groundbreaking £42m ‘Islands’ project in November 2015, the zoo had identified a number of key new senior management roles. Key to achieving their wider conservation objectives both in the UK and overseas, would be the appointment of a highly-experienced and strategic Fundraising Manager. After a failed attempt to recruit through conventional advertising and contingency recruitment partners, Sherrington Associates was contacted by the zoo’s Managing Director and asked to support the zoo in this critical search.
The Search
Sherrington were retained with a very specific brief to identify candidates with a strategic fundraising background in a large charity environment with specific emphasis on developing fundraising strategy to work with major donors and corporate partners. With a lengthy track record of recruiting senior management roles in the charity sector we were able to identify a number of experienced senior fundraising managers within a geographical radius of the zoo. Candidates were invited to attend a competency assessment managed by Sherrington Associates and successful candidates were introduced for selection by the zoo.
The Result
Following a highly targeted search process, a shortlist of four strong fundraising managers was presented to the client and an appointment was made in December 2016. The client fed back that any one of the four candidates was of the calibre they would expect for the position and it simply came down to selecting the candidate with the best ‘fit’ for the zoo.
Sherrington Associates delivered a very successful headhunting campaign to recruit a new Head of Fundraising for the zoo. I would have no problem recommending them.
Jane Hubbard – Director of HR, Chester Zoo
Rob has helped place a crucial manager role at Chester Zoo and more recently within Marketing Cheshire. I was impressed with Rob's ability to take in and quickly learn about two very different organisations which enabled him to source a group of high calibre candidates resulting in both roles being filled successfully.
Jamie Christon - Chief Operating Officer, Chester Zoo
I would recommend Rob to any company who want a no nonsense, efficient company who understand the "fit" required. We will use Sherrington Associates without hesitation in the future.
Picture: (Left to right) Caroline Sanger-Davies Director of Marketing Chester Zoo, Julie Platt Fundraising Manager Chester Zoo, Rob McKay MD Sherrington Associates
