Our long-standing client is a mid-sized global pharmaceutical organisation that has an established presence in neurology and oncology. Due to growth and organisational restructuring, the business sought to appoint a newly created VP medical post, which would be a critical hire in the regional executive leadership team.

Although this organisation typically uses a small handful of agencies to recruit, given the seniority of the hire, they specifically chose Pharma-Partners from amongst their preferred supplier list to deliver this recruitment assignment on an exclusive basis.

• Qualified physician
• Significant medical affairs leadership experience such as a VP or executive medical director position
• Significant regional and/or global line management experience, leading across countries and therapy areas
• In-depth experience in either oncology or neurology, and preferably both
• Ability to work as part of a regional executive leadership team comprising various functions i.e., medical, commercial, regulatory, market access, and HR
• Preferred experience of managing cross-company collaborations and alliances/partnerships.

• This was a newly created role and therefore needed to be enticing to candidates from the outset as 90% of candidates at this level would be passive 
• Making sure we properly engaged with the right senior candidates and developed trusting relationships was absolutely critical
• Oncology and neurology are highly competitive therapy areas when it comes to securing the best talent, so this was a high pressure search.

• We created a thorough brief alongside the CEO and head of talent acquisition, then agreed a communication plan throughout the search process with opportunities for feedback sessions
• We held weekly catch-up meetings on process and prospective candidates we had identified
• We created highly detailed and informative CV cover sheets which fully explained each candidate’s current situation, motivations for pursuing the role, and what they knew about this particular client
• We managed a multi-layered interview process involving senior company stakeholders at CEO and CMO level
• Via our existing extensive network, market mapping and referrals, we identified 43 potential candidates with relevant experience
• We identified, briefed and met a total of 17 candidates
• Six candidates were submitted.  
• Four candidates were interviewed at the first stage, and two candidates moved to final stages. One candidate selected and offered. 
• We were able to deliver on all of the above within a period of seven weeks.

“My recent experience with Toby was that he was thoughtful and measured in steering a path forward, allowing me to process information and appraise a potential career opportunity. He is a good listener and communicator and importantly has the skill to build rapport and TRUST, enabling the optimal outcome. Thank you, Toby”