FAQs

If you want to work with an organisation in a partnership, with a team who really understands your goals, ambitions and challenges, contact us today. When you use Oxford HR, you gain the experience of consultants that have worked in the sector themselves, who care passionately about sector-specific issues and who have the knowledge, networks and experience to bridge your leadership gaps. We are proud to look beyond the obvious choices and encourage leaders with refreshing perspectives, grounded in solid skills and diverse experience. Working with us will ensure an enjoyable, straightforward and effective experience, ensuring that your whole team is a part of the process. 

We specialise exclusively in the social and environmental impact sector, with the vision of a world that puts purpose before profit. Unlike many executive search firms, our team all have experience working for charities, UN agencies and INGOs, so really are the best placed people to help you find and retain exceptional leaders.

Our team is truly global; our headquarters are in Oxford, UK, and we also have offices in Amsterdam, Nairobi and Singapore. Our associates are based in Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Portugal, Morocco, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, the US and Venezuela. 

A retained search is where you use Oxford HR as your only search firm to find a role. We take great pride in our relationships with our clients and candidates and believe that through this and our extensive experience within the social and environmental impact sector, we truly understand what you need. We interview all our candidates before presenting them to you, so we trust their ability and that they will be able to hit the ground running for your organisation. We are wholly invested in our search for you, so you get the perfect person for your role. 

Our search typically involves 6-8 weeks of desk research and another 2 additional weeks for interviewing and reporting. This, of course, all depends on availability of key stakeholders throughout the search process. 

At Oxford HR we understand the shifting nature of intersectionality and we are committed to addressing these challenges in our assignments, as well as our internal and external communications.

To fulfil this commitment, we have set our own ambition of ensuring at least 50% of our longlist is made up of under-represented candidates (for example people with disabilities; people who identify as being LGBTQIA; people who are neurodiverse or from a minority group). In all our recent work, we have successfully promoted roles globally to diverse audiences and have produced long lists and shortlists, in line with gender and diversity targets. For example, ensuring the inclusion of targeted percentages of men and women from both the Global South and the Global North.

To help achieve this, all of our team have received EDI training and each assignment has a dedicated EDI advisor on hand. From job description through to search and assessment, we ensure that principles of equity, diversity and inclusion are embedded into our approach. On request, we can provide similar training for your selection panel.

Our Leadership & Change practice helps leaders take a holistic approach to organisational strategy creation and execution. We assist organisations and help them achieve their goals and increase their effectiveness through facilitating success. We do this by aligning structural, cultural and strategic realities of work to respond to the needs of an ever-evolving business climate. Our team of Organisational Psychologists, Coaches and Organisational Development specialists focus on organisation, group, and individual level solutions. The solutions include the administration and interpretation of psychometric assessments, for selection and development, leadership development solutions and coaching for individuals.

We have a global team of associates and permanent consultants spread across several regions. This allows us to provide localised services in several languages.

We approach every assignment with an acute attention to detail and awareness of the organization, the global position of the organization and the general global environment.

There is a significant amount of research to suggest that the assessments we use are internationally valid, reliable and fair to those that complete them. The assessment tools are available in over 40 languages and used by organisations in more than 50 countries. The consultants and associates go through robust and rigorous training before they can administer, interpret and feed back these results to candidates and clients, which are vetted through psychological professional bodies.

The tools we use also have no significant adverse impact, this means they don’t disproportionately discriminate those from minoritised groups. The tools we use are not used in a way to eliminate, we use them to give us a better insight into individuals and to help to explore areas within feedback sessions or interviews. This allows our selection and development processes to be holistic, robust and on the whole strengths based, to increase the likelihood of a successful appointment or meaningful development conversations.

Our team is multifaceted and have a wide range of specialisms across several geographical regions such as Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific.

We offer the following services and provide bespoke solutions having understood your requirements:

Organisational Level

• Board Effectiveness and Governance
• Analysing and realigning the organisations values and operating culture
• Strategy planning and development
• Defining the organisation’s vision, mission and purpose
• Navigating Strategic Change
• CEO Founder Transition Facilitation

Team Level

• Peer Learning Sessions
• Team Strengths Profiling and gap analysis
• Creating High-Performing Teams
• Team and Board Development
• Various Workshops

Individual Level

• Psychometric Assessment
• Executive and Leadership Coaching
• Leadership Onboarding
• Soft Skills Development
• 360 Performance Appraisals
• Individualised career planning

We know that in current times, funding and budgets can be difficult, especially for organisations that put purpose before profit. Our fees are reflective of this, are tailored for each assignment and are totally transparent, ensuring the highest quality service for your search. 

In the unlikely event that we don’t find your ideal candidate with the first search, then Oxford HR will work with you to understand why this has happened and adapt and continue the search until we find the right person. However, our success rate for first time placements is 92%. 

In the past 27 years we’ve completed assignments in over 70 countries, covering Europe, the US, Asia, MENA and Africa. We also have a number of Consultants and Researchers fluent in several languages. 

We work across all levels senior leadership appointments within social and environmental impact organisations. From C-suite roles such as Chief Executive Officers (CEO), Chief Operating Officers (COO) and Chief Finance Officers (CFO), to Country and Regional Directors, and senior director placements such as People and Culture Directors, Communications Directors, Fundraising Directors and Presidents/Vice-Presidents. We also work on technical roles and Board placements, including both Chair appointments and Trustees.