THE CHALLENGE
Our client, a publicly listed downstream petroleum company with its operations focused in Africa, recently announced a pilot project to aid their mining and industrial clients in reducing their costs and CO2 emissions by developing innovative products and services that reduce impact on the environment.
The Power business unit already had a small team in place and were looking to augment this with 3 more hires without delay, namely two regional Heads of Business Development and an Engineering Director. For all hires, a track record of developing power projects in Africa was a must to ensure immediate credibility with stakeholders and clients alike. The Head of Business Development roles were focused on identifying new markets and new businesses where the client has an established presence, and then closing and developing these viable power projects, working with the executive team and having full management responsibility of the portfolio and customer relationships throughout the process. The Engineering Director role was placed to lead and drive all the technical engineering, construction and operations projects associated with the development and implementation of the Power projects. Deep engineering knowledge and experience of managing multiple power projects across Africa was key for this role.
THE SOLUTION
Miramar, searching for three top performing executives within the African power sector geographically we began by targeting local individuals from African Francophone countries but also engaged with exceptional candidates in other African regions, as well as expat hires. Although the specific skill sets required for the commercial and engineering roles were very different, we felt these candidates would be found in the same target groups. Primarily we targeted the clients’ direct competitors who were the IPPs that have, or were currently, developing power projects in Africa. These candidates had the direct knowledge and track record of establishing power assets across the continent whether that be in gas, solar or other renewables. The second target area we pursued were the engineering consultants & contractors, OEMs and EPCs that design and build power projects. As a third route to market, we looked at the specific solar developers that are currently operating in the region.
THE RESULT
A total of 400 plus candidates approached across the power sector for the 3 roles. 28 candidates represented and 8 offers were made resulting in 3 hires. Miramar’s ability to deliver the resource required for a multiple candidate, global search meant we presented several excellent candidates for each of the roles, providing our client with genuine choice in who they engaged with to help build such a significant part of their ongoing business model.
