Our recruitment team (L-R in the image below: Eilidh Robertson, Candice Thompson, Laura Brownhill and Jude Fletcher) has been super busy during the first half of the year, so whilst they pause briefly to catch their breath over summer, they thought it would be nice to update everyone on what they’ve been up to.
Firstly, a quick recap on the team structure and their roles and remits:
And now a bit more about them individually:
Eilidh Robertson – Search & Selection
Eilidh leads our retained search capabilities. Her track record includes UK and international assignments covering a breadth of roles from Senior Leaders to Non-Executive Trustees. Eilidh also provides career transition coaching services.
Recent assignments include:
- Head of People Transformation, London
- Director, Corporate Services, Lagos
- Head of Talent, Performance & Learning & Development, London
- Financial Planning & Analysis Manager, Aberdeenshire
Fun Fact about Eilidh:
“I love tequila and used my birthday this year as an excuse to host a Tacos & Tequila party. I roped in some friends to help with the prep. It was a super fun night and a big success, we fed and watered (maragrita’d 😊) almost 30 people. I loved it so much that I’m currently planning a pop-up night in one of our local venues.”
Candice Thompson – Permanent and Fixed Term Contracts
With a proven track record in HR recruitment for the North of Scotland, Candice also partners with clients in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to fill senior permanent HR and Talent Acquisition positions, particularly focusing on the London area.
Candice has strong experience in the following HR specialisms across all Business Sectors:
- Generalist HR
- Employee Relations
- Learning and Talent
- Reward
- Change & Transformation
- Organisational Design and Development
- Recruitment and Resourcing
A strong relationship-builder, clients love Candice for her focus and determination in finding them their ideal candidate, fast.
Fun Fact about Candice:
“I like to think of myself as a bit of a sister suffragette, this started back in 1999 when a group of my closet friends and I decided to call the Evening Express newspaper to come down to the front of our school gates at Aberdeen Grammar School to photograph us wearing trousers. Now this was due to the fact that back in the 90’s at Aberdeen Grammar School girls were not allowed to wear trousers, something that my friends and I were outraged with. It ended with our headmistress marching out to get us, a slight telling off but, in the end, we got our way and we went down in history at Aberdeen Grammar School allowing girls the choice to wear trousers if they wanted to!”
Girl Power 🔥
Laura Brownhill – Interim (UK)
Laura’s remit sees her focusing on interim HR and Talent Acquisition roles across the UK.
Below are just some of the interim roles that she has successfully supported clients with in the first part of the year:
- Senior HR Advisor – Aviation
- HRBP (M&A) – Oil and Gas
- Reward Analyst – Professional Services
- Senior Reward Specialist – Financial Services
- Employee Relations Consultant – Professional Services
- HR Project Manager – Pharmaceuticals
- Recruitment Specialist – Hospitality
Laura is recognised by clients and candidates alike for her personable approach and her strong attention to detail. She takes time and care to understand client organisations and role briefs as well as candidate objectives and skillsets.
Fun Fact about Laura:
“I’m obsessed with following home accounts on Instagram and secretly wishing I could achieve ‘influencer status’, renovating our Victorian house in Aberdeen has been a little bit of a labour of love over recent years. With budgets quickly running out, I’ve managed to turn my hand to a couple of new DIY tasks that I’d never have thought possible – and also found too many things that can be held to a wall with an overuse of command strips and a lot of crossed fingers!”
Jude Fletcher – Permanent and Fixed Term Contracts
A leading recruiter for HR roles in Central Scotland, Jude also specialises in placing mid-level HR and Talent Acquisition professionals in permanent and fixed-term positions across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a particular focus on London.
She has a robust cross-sector experience across all HR disciplines recently working on and placing the following roles:
- Learning & Development Manager – FMCG
- HR Business Partner – Hospitality
- HR Advisor – FinTech
- Head of Culture and Capability – Professional Services
- HR Coordinator – Arts
- People Operations Manager – FMCG
Jude excels in building strong, lasting relationships. She gets to know and understand both her clients and candidates and has an uncanny knack for creating perfect matches between them.
Fun Fact about Jude:
“One of my favourite things to do, when I get the chance, is to go hillwalking (20 year old me would be laughing at this!!) Maybe it is my age, or being Scottish but there is something really therapeutic about getting outdoors, in the fresh air and walking. It doesn’t need to be Munro level although I have climbed Ben Lomond and Ben Ledi and loved the challenge and the views! It is always nice to end up in a country pub afterwards as a reward (20 year old me would approve of this).”
Market Insights
Click on the link below to read our full H1 Market insight by Jude Fletcher:
Despite the challenge that we’ve faced, Economic progress and the conclusion of the general election have removed some uncertainty and we hope that this will create a positive environment for the remainder of 2024.
Our Advice
The complex economic landscape has undoubtedly challenged numerous organisations and since January, we have unfortunately seen redundancies and restructures across multiple sectors, which has increased the number of available candidates and created a very chaotic and competitive job market.
Candice Thompson has put her top tips below on how you can make sure you stand out from the crowd:
🌟 Your CV should emphasise key achievements in each role, instead of just listing out the tasks carried out.
🌟 Ensure your LinkedIn profile is professional, up to date, and showcases your accomplishments.
🌟 Leverage LinkedIn networking by sharing your knowledge, posting about successful initiatives, and engaging with others.
🌟 Not always easy, but make sure you maintain a positive attitude throughout your job search; positive interactions are memorable.
If you’re looking for a new role or considering making a move and would like to discuss this further, please reach out to any of the Team, who would be happy to offer support.
Out and About
The CHeRries Awards 2024
Candice Thompson, Senior Recruitment Manager and Laura Brownhill, Senior Recruitment Consultant enjoyed an excellent evening at this year’s CHeRries Awards held at P&J Live, Aberdeen. Attending with fellow Hunter Adams colleagues and clients, once again Hunter Adams were delighted to have sponsored the Culture Transformation Project of the Year award. A big congratulations again to all the winners and nominees on the evening.
HR Network Conference 2024
Jude Fletcher, Senior Recruitment Consultant attended the HR Network Conference at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh in May, along with Hunter Adams colleagues Fraser Sked, Jennifer Marnoch and Wendy Atkinson. This year’s “Future Leaders” Conference and Exhibition was a great event filled with inspiring keynote speakers and plenty of networking opportunities to catch up with familiar faces and meet some new ones, as well as offering plenty of takeaways.
The Scottish MBA Conference 2024
Eilidh was invited to attend this event to provide career advice to delegates, there were MBA cohorts from the University of Strathclyde, University of Edinburgh Business School and University of Glasgow (Adam Smith) with employers, alumni, and industry experts. The conference aimed to build a dialogue and exchange of information between the diverse participants, creating an understanding of the challenges companies face and the skills required to meet these challenges, both now and in the future.
Employee Engagement Summit 2024
Eilidh joined our MD Jennifer Marnoch at this summit in London in April. The industry’s largest event of its kind welcomed over 1000 attendees.
From case studies to live interviews and panel discussions the event highlighted the importance of investing in creating an environment that promotes employee learning, growth, and career development and how this is linked to customer satisfaction, corporate reputation, and shareholder value, showcasing its multifaceted impact on overall organisational success.
What’s Next?
Now that the dust is starting to settle and we’re facing the future with a change of UK Government, our Director of HR, Sarah Beaumont, reflects here on what could be in store for businesses across the UK with the proposed updates to Employment Law.
The proposals indicate a significant shift towards strengthening workers’ rights and protections, with a focus on equality, flexibility, and fair treatment in the workplace.
Read Sarah’s piece in full by clicking the link below, where she lays out each proposed change in turn:
Hunter Adams will be keeping a close eye on the proposals, amendments to these, and their progress; and will keep our clients informed as things develop.
If your business requires additional HR support now or in the coming months, please get in touch with us to find out how we could support you
Throughout this update, we’ve shared an insight into market trends, introduced you to our amazing recruitment team and provided a snapshot into what the first half of 2024 held for us. If you’d like to continue to stay up to date with our news and live vacancies, please follow Hunter Adams on LinkedIn, or sign up for our fortnightly Roles Round up by emailing us a copy of your CV to recruitment@hunteradams.co.uk.
