Our client, a small but growing global medical devices organisation with a focus on oncology, were seeking to fill a senior medical affairs position for the first time. This was a brand-new hire at a senior level, and we were navigating different internal expectations as well as seeking a candidate with niche knowledge of the life sciences market within oncology. It was therefore a challenging, yet vitally important, assignment to get right from the start. The organisation engaged us on a retained search basis to ensure a true partnership and collaborative approach to the process.

• Qualified physician
• Expert in oncology, both in clinical and pharmaceutical medicine, with a pre-existing multi-country network of clinical oncologists across Europe
• Significant medical affairs experience, also proven at director or senior director level
• Experienced operator at a regional and/or global level in medical affairs
• Ideally small pharma/biotech experience, with a knowledge of working in smaller structures with limited resources
• Experience of or ability to line manage field-based medical affairs reports.

• This was a newly created role, and therefore needed to be enticing from the outset, especially as our pool of qualified candidates would be limited 
• Our focus was on a relatively small population of relevant candidates across a limited selection of European countries
• Although candidates with oncology expertise in clinical and pharmaceutical medicine are plentiful, they are generally passive in the market and enjoy their pick of enticing opportunities at any given time. We therefore needed to be accurate, detailed, and communicate at all times when engaging with candidates throughout the process. 

• We thoroughly discussed company and vacancy specifics with the regional general manager and head of HR, partnering with them closely from the outset and having weekly video calls to discuss progress, challenges, questions, and next steps
• We held weekly catch-up discussions on process and prospective candidates
• We provided a detailed retained search report on candidate numbers, sources, and progress 
• We helped to design and oversee the interview process, involving senior stakeholders such as the CMO and CEO
• Via our existing extensive network, market mapping and referrals, we identified 60 potential candidates with relevant experience
• We identified, briefed and met a total of 18 candidates
• Five candidates were submitted.  
• Four candidates were interviewed at the first stage, and two candidates moved to final stages. One candidate was selected and offered. 
• We were able to deliver on all of the above within a period of six weeks.

Hired Candidate

“I had the distinct pleasure of working with Toby last year. His professional and approachable manner and the thorough understanding of clients and candidates needs has been very useful in providing invaluable support. Toby is a real pleasure to work with and fully recommended.”