As part of its continued development, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) had key roles that it needed to fulfil, specifically an E-Learning Officer, an Events & Awards Officer, a Training Administrator, and a Finance Officer.

It was important to the CIPR that they were able to recruit exceptionally talented individuals to these positions. They needed to have very specific niche role experience and a commitment to building their careers with our client, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Our client – the CIPR

The CIPR is the world's only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners, with nearly 11,000 members.

Its members are recognised PR professionals, and the organisation works with and for them to set, maintain and advance standards. This is accomplished through industry respected qualifications; Continuing Professional Development scheme, Accreditation and Chartership programmes; open, in-house, and bespoke training; industry awards and conferences; and through the production of research, best practice, and skills guidance.

Through its ethical Code of Conduct and searchable PR registers, the CIPR makes its members accountable to their employers, clients and the wider public.

Our brief

We worked with the CIPR to find highly talented candidates for the organisation, in the following key roles:

  • E-Learning Officer – Needed to have experience of administering online learning.
  • Events & Awards Officer - Required someone who had particular experience of managing awards.
  • Training Administrator – Able to work as part of a small team and attend face-to-face training in central London.
  • Finance Officer – Required membership finance and sales ledger experience with credit control skills.

The CIPR needed individuals who could immediately add value, and so candidates who were experienced in similar niche roles in the membership sector were key to the success of the CIPR’s hiring strategy here.

Our solution

Recruitment in central London is an incredibly competitive market with the most talented individuals are highly sought after. We worked closely with the CIPR to ensure the package for the roles was ideally suited to attracting the best candidates, using our unique experience in this sector and the knowledge we leverage for our annual membership sector-focused Salary Guide.

As there are many employers seeking the same talented candidates, we invested time to understand the culture of the CIPR, so we were perfectly positioned to act as brand ambassadors for them, promoting its values to interested candidates, giving them a full appreciation and view of the culture and the potential of the organisation.

The most important aspect of the recruitment process was our commitment to delivering a fast turnaround.

In highly competitive recruitment situations, delays can lead to candidates looking elsewhere. We needed to work efficiently with the recruiting line managers, and proactively seek responses for and from candidates, ensuring there were no misunderstandings, at every stage of the process.

Our results

Each role had a two-stage virtual client interview assessment process.

The Events and Training roles were successfully filled by our team within four weeks. We were able to deliver six anonymous CVs, to meet the CIPR’s EDI requirements, to the CIPR’s line managers for each role within two weeks. The two-stage client interview process undertaken by the client, and the offer process, to successful applicants, were both managed within another two weeks.

Tamandra Christmas, Finance focused Recruitment Account Manager for Membership Bespoke, said “The Finance Officer position received an enormous response and we screened all of candidates for their motivation and understanding. For this role we identified ten very promising candidates with strong skills and the potential to step-up. Within one month of initially submitting CVs, the successful applicant had started in the role.

"We maintained ongoing communications with line managers and candidates at each step and remained extremely focused on the line managers’ briefings for each role, to ensure the high quality of each candidate and potential for a match."

We successfully made four placements, working with four CIPR line managers.

Claire Bloomer, Director of Operations at the CIPR commented “I really value the long-term partnership I have with Membership Bespoke. They take the time to understand our culture and our goals and provide expert guidance that assists with role development.

"They work in a very clear and highly methodical manner, with the end-result being that they find and secure great candidates that match our requirements.”

Contact us to discover the breadth of talent we have access to, and how we can provide you with the best-fit talent for your team, department, and membership organisation.