References
Industry-leading and innovative
businesses rely on Active Search to bring in exceptional talent.
They value our cooperative and quality approach to top talent recruitment. Through integrity and performance, we are proud to foster enduring and productive relationships that stand the test of time. Our valued clients, whom we may reveal publicly, include:
Clients who loved what we did
Thankful candidates
speak on our behalf
Some of the recent placements that we are proud of include.
PPA Originator
Super Energy Major, UK
CEO
Low-Carbon Fertiliser Start-Up, Spain
Sales Director EMEA
Carbon Ratings Start-Up, UK
Head of Growth & Strategy
Direct Air Capture Start-Up, Luxembourg
CCO
Electrolysis Start-Up, Germany
CFO
Energy Storage Start-Up, The Netherlands
Head of ESG
Climate Tech Investment Fund, Germany
Project Developer
Renewable Developer, Spain
VP Engineering
Thermal Energy Storage Start-Up, Germany
Case studies
Executive Search
The challenge
Via one of our venture capital partners, we were referred and retained to search for the CCO for one of their key portfolio companies. Our client, an electrolysis start-up, was seeking to hire their first commercial employee following a successful € 40+ Million Series B financing round. This was a key hire for our client to start building an order book of commercial projects.
The solution
The Active Search team organized an intake session with the company CEO and its key investors to understand the organisational growth plans and business needs.
As a next step the Active Search team supported the process of developing the job description together with providing external insights and learnings to help define the scope.
We then kicked off the search to map the global market to identify senior commercial talent with experience in a complex sales/bidding environment for capital goods and service agreements, preferably in the energy, process, chemical or steel industry.
The outcome
We presented a shortlist of 6 candidates who were employed at key competitors or had related experience in the Green Hydrogen Industry.
Our timeline from longlist to shortlist was 4 weeks. Active Search, together with the client, conducted an in-depth collaborative interview process to qualify and select the right candidate.
The client ended up hiring a CCO in Germany. 6 months later the Active Search Team helped build the rest of the commercial organization across Europe and North America.
Talent mapping
The challenge
Early 2024, our client, a leading Energy company, was seeking to identify Commercial talent across different renewable markets for its European energy business. The client had historically struggled to find suitable candidates through traditional recruitment methods.
The client recognized that the talent pool was both limited and in high demand, with intense market competition. They decided to secure a specialist talent mapping services to identify relevant talent across both the Energy, Utilites and Project Development and Industrial areas. We were tasked with conducting a detailed examination of the main geographical markets across Europe to ensure all qualified and relevant candidates were identified and presented to the client within a comprehensive talent map.
The solution
The Active Search team conducted an in-depth on/offline research to create a comprehensive talent mapping. We used Talent insight tools to understand the size of the talent pool, key employers and attrition. AI Sourcing tools were used to cover a wide range of data sources and uncover lateral talent.
We also conducted deep online research to identify candidates via events, company websites, directories etc. We supplemented our online mapping by conducting phone research to confirm that each individual remained in their current role and to verify job titles.
In addition to a detailed talent map, we conducted a talent pool analysis, generating a report that outlined key insights such as talent hubs, top employers, seniority levels, gender distribution, career backgrounds, specialized qualifications, and potential availability.
Our analysis revealed a disparity between the experience required for the role and the actual availability of such candidates in the market. This insight enabled our client to adjust their candidate benchmarks accordingly.
The outcome
Within 3 weeks, Active Search Partners identified over 320 candidate leads relevant to the skill set.
All identified candidates were categorized based on the strength of their profiles, enabling the client to prioritize whom to consider for the next phase. This talent mapping effort led to 11 assessments and 6 successful hires.
The project provided a solid return on investment for the client and was an effective way to find specialized and hard-to-locate skills.
Building high level teams
The challenge
Our client, a Thermal Energy Storage start-up, was seeking to strengthen their leadership team by hiring a COO, VP Engineering and CCO following a successful € 20+ Million Series B financing in 2023. Based on the new investment our client was ready to expand their business globally and deliver their technology at scale. The Active Search team was retained to support the CEO and key Investors in structuring and hiring the new leadership team.
The solution
The Active Search team organized an intake session with the CEO and its key investors to understand the organisational growth plans, company culture and align on the individual and team profiles needed.
As a next step, the Active Search team developed a resourcing strategy and briefed all key stakeholders on the process, roles and responsibilities of each member of the working group to help deliver the project.
Leveraging our energy storage market expertise, we kicked off the search by scouting within our network to generate, for each role, a long list of candidates, who combined relevant experience, expertise, and a likely “start-up” cultural fit.
The outcome
The assignment was completed, and we presented a final shortlist of 3 candidates per role, who had been qualified by our team via behavioural and functional assessments, in collaboration with the CEO and their key board members.
We supported the CEO through the entire recruitment process, all the way to job offer negotiations, and successfully managed to secure all candidates within budget.