University of Leeds: Doing Recruitment Differently

13 successful appointments. A completely different approach to finding talent.

When the University of Leeds approached Valued, they had a challenge. They needed exceptional fundraising talent in an already fiercely competitive market and the traditional approaches to recruitment weren’t delivering the people they wanted.

They weren’t looking for more of the same. And neither were we.

What followed was a brilliant partnership with a team who were genuinely open to challenging convention, trying new things and rethinking how universities attract talent.

The result? 13 successful appointments and candidates unlike those they’d previously accessed through other recruitment agencies.

Challenging the traditional university recruitment model

University recruitment can be quite traditional. Established processes, familiar advertising channels and an expectation that the right candidates will come forward.

But what happens when the people you really want aren’t looking?

Rather than follow the usual recruitment playbook, we worked with the University’s Development team to explore a different approach.

We challenged assumptions about where talent might come from, looked beyond the obvious candidate pools and introduced more creative, proactive ways of identifying and engaging exceptional people.

We weren’t interested in finding more candidates. We wanted to find talent we weren’t expecting.

That meant innovative headhunting approaches, embracing flexible working models, reaching people who might never have considered working in higher education and opening conversations that traditional recruitment methods simply weren’t generating.

And the best part? The University of Leeds team embraced it.

They were curious, collaborative and willing to try something different. They trusted us to challenge their thinking and we worked together to push beyond what had been done before.

The talent they hadn’t been finding elsewhere

Our brief focused on building the University’s fundraising and Development team which included appointments such as:

• Head of Global Philanthropy
• Senior Development Managers
• Alumni Managers
• Prospect Research Specialists

But what made this partnership particularly rewarding was the feedback. The University told us they were meeting talent they simply hadn’t encountered through other recruitment agencies.

Not because those people didn’t exist, but because finding them required a different way of thinking.

The success of that initial project led to further opportunities, and our partnership has since grown to 13 successful appointments across the University, spanning fundraising, development, research and other specialist roles.

Great recruitment happens when both sides think differently

We’re proud of the 13 appointments, of course. But what we’re most proud of is how we achieved them.

The University of Leeds gave us the freedom to be creative, challenge established approaches and bring new ideas to the table.

In return, we brought our networks, our curiosity and a determination to find people who wouldn’t necessarily appear through conventional recruitment channels.

It’s proof that when clients are prepared to think differently, recruitment can deliver something quite extraordinary.

And sometimes, the best candidates are the ones who would never have applied in the first place.

Ready to rethink how you recruit?

If your university is struggling to attract exceptional fundraising or specialist talent, perhaps it’s time to try something different.

At Valued, we don’t just advertise jobs and hope for the best. We find the people others aren’t reaching.

Looking for exceptional talent?

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