West Ham United

About

West Ham United sought to confidentially identify and appoint a new Head of Communications in a tight time window.

Challenge

The club had already attempted to recruit for the position directly and felt they hadn’t been able to reach a pool of candidates at the level required.

They hoped to find an individual who could blend both football and corporate communications. From a footballing perspective they were experiencing real success on the pitch, meaning they would be enjoying European club competition alongside playing in the Premier League. From a corporate perspective they sit in quite a unique situation as tenant in the London Stadium which brings a level of complexity and need for excellent stakeholder / fan engagement.

Solution

Our Communications lead, within our research team, maps the communications departments of teams, leagues, governing bodies and agencies on a daily basis. Using advanced sourcing technology he provided a snapshot of talent to the club within 24 hours, within 72 hours had spoken with his key influencer network in communications, and he also reached out to various groups such as Women In Football and DiBs (Diversity In the Business of Sport) to seek recommendations from under represented communities.

Working to a tight timeline, we gave West Ham daily updates on the search, via our client portal, and had check in calls every 72 hours as we discreetly searched for high calibre individuals who are typically too busy doing a great job in their own roles to see / hear about new opportunities.

Result

West Ham appointed Executives In Sport as they trusted our network, discretion, and ability to move at pace.

We in turn identified and appointed a highly experienced sports communications professional who had experience in both Premier League football but also brought extensive corporate communications and stakeholder management experience.

The process took four weeks from start to finish, with a diverse shortlist of candidates for interview.