Our Approach
Aspen People specialise in high-quality leadership appointments, acting as trusted advisors and an extension of our clients’ teams – supporting strategic priorities and contributing to long-term success. In each of our six key sectors, we can evidence a genuine depth of knowledge and a vast range of experience.
We work in an honest, transparent partnership, taking the time to understand each organisation’s context, challenges and culture. Combining a rigorous, well-considered selection process with a carefully nurtured network of candidates, we’re able to identify the right individuals for the right roles at the right time.
Charity & Not For Profit
We work in partnership with many Charities and Not-For-Profit organisations across Scotland helping them to find the best leadership talent available and to remain agile, effective and commercially robust. For each we provide Leadership, Executive Search and Board services and are resolutely focused on ensuring that we expertly match roles and responsibilities with people and purpose.
Education
We work across the entire education, qualification, and skills sectors, identifying inspirational talent for the most sought after professional and academic leadership roles in Universities, Colleges and Schools as well as the sectors that support the advancement of learning, skills, and economic development. We bring a measured, knowledgeable and empathetic approach to finding our clients remarkable talent.
Local Government
Aspen People are committed to identifying and recruiting inspirational leaders who enhance the effectiveness of critical services delivered to the public and within this remit, Local Authorities are no different. We have delivered senior executives including CEOs for big cities as well as to remote and fragile communities. We have also provided bespoke services to the leaders of all service functions where our independence, market intelligence and professional experience adds tangible value to the partnership.
Health & Care
Our National Healthcare system provides a vital public service and Aspen People have always supported the search for critical talent within the corporate management structure of both acute sector and other critical support agencies. We deliver many clinical specialist and leadership appointments across the NHS and other organisations who support the delivery of health and care.
Housing Associations
As Scotland’s ‘go-to’ executive search consultancy in Housing, we understand the people needed to lead the sector, the services that Registered Social Landlords provide and the regulatory and compliance issues that often present challenges. Aspen’s partnership approach offers guidance that is bespoke to each individual client and our track record of successful delivery is second to none.
Government Agencies
Aspen People are trusted by many Non Departmental Public Bodies of Government who deliver public services, strategic policies, commercial, executive and regulatory functions on behalf of ministers. Although the corporate skills are entirely transferrable at leadership levels across many sectors, Aspen appreciates the uniquely differing complexity nuances that exist, as well as the depth of organisational understanding required in each leadership team.
Executive Search
We offer a fully bespoke solution to our clients search requirements, designing individual attraction strategies to deliver a shortlist of high quality, pre-screened candidates. Creativity sits at the heart of our approach, meaning that we look beyond the obvious to identify exceptional leadership talent, thus ensuring our clients are able to make the best possible appointment.
The quality of personalised service we provide differentiates us from our competitors, and we enjoy high levels of repeat business from clients who welcome our partnership focus and our ability to build robust, long lasting relationships.
CV & Application Support
In partnership with City CV, we support individuals to stand out and progress with confidence.
Whatever your ambition, we work with you to turn it into reality – combining deep sector insight, strategic career development and personalised support to position you for success. To learn more, please visit: CityCV.com/Aspen-People
Board Appointments
Aspen People work with many organisations to support the appointment of motivational and dynamic board members across a number of specialist sectors. These sectors form a vital part of the fabric of our society and we pride ourselves on finding the leadership talent that helps drive positive transformational change.
Appointments at Board level always require highly targeted search methodologies to identify appropriately qualified and experienced senior leaders. Our track record in finding these inspirational individuals speaks for itself, and is testament to our commitment towards a thoughtful and rigorous search and selection process.
Functional Expertise
Aspen People’s track record is extensive across a wide range of corporate management functions including Finance, Human Resources, Marketing and Project/Programme Management. If you have a specific senior role that you are looking to fill, please contact us and we will discuss your particular requirement.
Interim Positions
Aspen People work with a select number of seasoned professionals who specialise in key leadership functions and are available to operate on a contracted basis. This is particularly helpful when organisations are managing change or simply require additional support.
We provide leadership resources who can offer support across short-term, long-term, fixed-term or rolling contracts. Business-critical interim roles typically include CEO, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing & Communications, Project Management, as well as Transformation & Turnaround.
To discuss further please contact Debbie Shields, you can visit our Aspen Interim page for more information.
Consultancy Services
- Structural Review
With years of experience across our specialist sectors, Aspen is extremely well placed to understand what works best within organisational structures and what does not. Our consultancy team can assist clients to decide the best structure for their organisation with a view to attracting the best leadership talent where necessary.
- Executive Assessment
As a part of a robust recruitment process, our consultancy team is fully trained and licenced to deliver a suite of assessments that empower talent strategies. Our psychometric and algorithmic assessments are valid, job-related tools that clearly map to specific business needs and outcomes. Used as part of the recruitment process, these evaluations provide further insight to finding the most suitable candidates for selection.
- Executive Coaching & On-Boarding
The considered risk involved in any new appointment comes within the first six months when appointed candidates may struggle to adjust to new cultural environments, whether that be working with a new board or within an unfamiliar business strategy. Aspen can provide specialist on-boarding support during this time to smooth out the transition.
- Talent Pool
Identifying future talent is fundamentally important to any organisation and Aspen works closely with our clients to assist with their internal succession planning processes. These identify where internal talent presently exists and where it might be necessary to search for a talent externally.
- Salary Survey
With long-standing specialist knowledge of each of our industry sectors, we have the undoubted benefit of working with several organisations within the same sector and across related sectors. This means that we are well placed to provide clients with up to date, highly accurate salary benchmarking to ensure that benefits packages are competitive and capable of attracting the very best individuals.
Candidates
Through the first-class networks developed by our Directors and Consultants, we access unique leadership opportunities, many of which are not publicly advertised.
Clients
Our reputation for going the extra mile with clients has become synonymous with our brand and we’re immensely proud of the powerful track record we’ve managed to build across our six specialist sectors.
Our genuine partnership approach can be evidenced through our client and candidate testimonials.
“Following a tender process SFHA appointed Aspen as recruitment partner for appointment of a new CEO. Within the proposal it was evident that Aspen understood senior roles within Membership organisations and within the Social Housing Sector. Once appointed Nigel and his team ensured we were supported throughout the whole process, particularly shortlisting and interviewing. There was the perfect balance of professionalism and partnership working. I would recommend Aspen People to other organisations that wish to attract and recruit high calibre, talented people for Senior Leadership roles.”
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
“On behalf of Nominations Committee, I want to thank you and your colleagues for all the work you put into this appointment process. We were impressed with the quality and number of candidates presented to us, and it was clear you had put in a good deal of time nurturing the candidates alongs. From the administrative side, all went very smoothly and professionally. It was a great pleasure working with you again.”
Cardiff University
“Thank you once again for your amazing support. Our Directors are genuinely grateful for the insight and expertise Aspen brings to the table.”
George Houliston – Recruitment Manager, SRUC
“My experience with Aspen People has been exceptional. Their prompt response, diligent follow-up, and genuine keenness to assist throughout the application process have been truly commendable. Their professionalism and support made the entire experience seamless and positive.”
Waleed ElSalmi – Candidate
“The team at Aspen have a very people-centric approach, going beyond simply matching the skills and experience of applicants with the specifications for the role. They consider the ‘fit’ into our culture and take the time to ensure they have a deep understanding of what we need and expect the role to deliver. The Team invests a lot of time supporting the candidates through the whole process, from people thinking about applying to providing valuable feedback to unsuccessful candidates. Having trust and confidence in a recruitment partner is critical and Aspen deliver on both fronts.”
Audrey Cumberford – Edinburgh College
“I engaged with Lauryn for a prospective role and she displayed the excellence that I have always experienced when I’ve engaged with Aspen People. She had clearly done a considerable amount of work to fully understand the role and the organisation recruiting. I was struck by how many of the questions I thought she would have to follow up on she was able to instantly answer. It showcased just how much work she had done to understand the work and needs of her client. Her communication was prompt, concise and clear. I would wholeheartedly recommend Lauryn as someone to consider for engaging with for recruitment purposes and would certainly do so again myself.”
Kenneth Fleming – Candidate
“Having worked with Aspen for the first time in a few years we were delighted to get such a strong field of applicants for the post within a challenging recruitment market, their expertise throughout the process added value to the executive recruitment process.”
Gary Dalziel – Elderpark Housing
“Debbie recently supported me in finding a new senior leadership role within the Third Sector. Throughout the process, Debbie was really supportive and attentive to my needs, always making sure I had the information I needed and was across all communications, reaching out continuously without leaving anything to drift. Debbie has the right balance of really making you feel she is batting for you while maintaining a professional approach to the recruitment process. I very much enjoyed the process, not something I have often felt in a recruitment and that was largely down to the way Debbie managed it. I would have absolute confidence in recommending Debbie to any organisation or individual.”
Jeremy Miles – Candidate
“Working with Gillian to find my new position was great. She was really supportive, helpful and easy to engage with. I felt like I knew exactly what was going on at every stage of the process and that I could ask questions and would get a candid and genuine answer. That was really important to me. I’m so grateful for all of Gillian’s support and would more than happily signpost anyone in my network to work with her or one of her Aspen colleagues.”
Anna Vogt – Candidate
“Aspen really pulled out all the stops for our non-executive recruitment over two campaigns in 2024. The quality of their engagement with candidates was vital to the successful appointments we made.”
Andrew Harvey – CIEH