Specialising in the growing and packing of soft fruit for selected major retailers and Michelin star restaurants throughout Yorkshire and the UK, the successful Leeds-based family business Makin Soft Fruits sought to recruit a Head of Finance to work closely with Annabel Makin and her father, Chris in a wide ranging role incorporating financial reporting, systems and processes as well as commercial activity such as product development, pricing and commercial negotiations.
THE CHALLENGE
From the very first conversation, the family’s passion for their business clearly shone through. With a close and supportive working relationship needing to be fostered quickly, it was vitally important that the ideal candidate had to be an excellent cultural fit as well as possess the broad skillset required to help drive forward the growing and diverse business portfolio that also included premium soft drinks manufacturing, storage, office leasing and private airfield.
THE SOLUTION
Consultative meetings with Annabel ensured a strong understanding of the role requirements, the nature of the business and the personalities within the organisation prior to commencing a meticulous search and selection process. Face-to-face pre-screen interviews with potential candidates and a thorough assessment against a skillset competency matrix resulted in a shortlist of five exceptional individuals to be presented to the client for interview. As well as saving the client a significant amount of time to
reach this stage, each candidate they interviewed displayed the relevant knowledge, skills and experience required for the role enabling Annabel to select the very best match from a high quality shortlist.
With guidance provided at every stage of the recruitment process – from development of a comprehensive job profile and person specification to advice on building an attractive salary and benefits package - the relationship has gone from strength to strength and we have supported the successfully appointed Head of Finance to subsequently recruit a Management Accountant and two finance assistants for their growing team.