Market Overview
INTRODUCTION
We have identified some striking trends within the market this quarter and pride ourselves on bringing you the most up-to-date information from the financial and professional services sector.
Overall the message remains a positive one despite another lockdown in the UK. With substantial growth across the marketplace, candidates and clients have become accustomed to flexible working and are keen to capitalise on the opportunities and new talent that this might present.
Finance
This quarter has seen a surge of new roles aimed at mid to senior level professionals in Finance and we are presently aware of at least 2 large financial services brands that are planning to increase their hiring in the North West from April 2021 onwards which is likely to impact hiring across the region.
We have also noticed an increase in competition for candidates. Good talent has been secured quickly, with the interview process currently taking less than 2 weeks from CV submission through to placement. Top quality candidates have found themselves receiving multiple offers to consider.
Clients are still onboarding remotely and flexible working is now sought as the most desirable trait of a prospective role.
Our most recent hiring demands have included:
– Finance Business Partners
– Cost Reporting Managers
– Financial Reporting Managers
– Commercial Finance Analysts
– Pensions Accountants
– Group Finance Directors
Pensions and Investments
The Pensions and Investments space has remained exceptionally busy throughout this quarter. Despite the pandemic, this area is one of particular growth and has continued to recruit throughout this period with no signs of slowing down.
The most common trend within this space lies with geographically mobile candidates applying for roles outside of their region as they have the capacity to work from home.
With this in mind, nearly every candidate has stipulated flexible working as a requirement, with a minimum of 2 days working from home and 3 days in the office.
We continue to witness a candidate-driven market, prompting the speed of recruitment across all of our clients to increase massively. The process from CV submission through to offer is now taking place within a week, as standard. Anyone falling behind that time window, could therefore miss out on the best candidates.
In addition to permanent staff, there has also been a notable increase in contractor use and due to an increased need to hire staff quickly, Third Party Administrators are winning a lot of work in this area.
Key hires within this space have included:
– Pensions Administrators
– Pensions Technicians
– Pension Analysts
– Investment Consultants
– Pensions Client Managers
A specific headhunt approach has been required to find good specialists in the Pensions and Investments area, with a need to build good candidate relationships so that when the right job is made available they can be forwarded for the role immediately.
Risk and Compliance
Risk and Compliance continue to be specialist headhunt areas. We have seen a massive increase in requirement for candidates in Credit Risk, Quantitative Model Development, Asset Liability Management, and Corporate Governance. As with other sectors, Geographically mobile candidates are now finding exceptional roles outside of the North West. Glasgow is a new and exciting hub within this space, offering a potential 1000 new opportunities before the end of 2021.
Team news
The regional team also have a new addition, Victoria Bottomley joins us as a part-time researcher during her ground-dwelling days, from her role as a commercial pilot for one of Europe’s largest airlines. Welcome to the team Victoria!
Although our regional team are seeing some of the busiest months they’ve ever experienced, they have continued to support any immediately available candidates to promote their employability. Unfortunately, the sad news surrounding Greensill Capital has sparked an increase in this area.
Looking forward, we have a number of webinars planned for Q2 including:
– Mental Health and Wellbeing
– Neurodiversity in the Workplace
– The Importance of LGBTQ+ Ally Training in the Workplace.
For more information on any of these please contact Chris or Rachael in the Manchester office.