Biotech Case Study: Building an EMEA Associate Project Management Team

This page sets out the background and challenge behind the engagement. A growing organisation needed to establish and scale an Associate Project Management team across its EMEA operation, with the UK office as the primary hub. The core difficulty was that salaries weren't positioned competitively, making standard sourcing approaches unworkable. Resourcing pressures included a below-market pay offering in a landscape where candidates had a clear sense of their own value, competing employers actively promoting premium packages, a requirement for 15 or more hires to complete the EMEA build-out, and the need to attract candidates who could see past headline compensation to the broader value of the role.

This page covers Vector Talent's approach and the outcomes achieved. The solution involved partnering with internal stakeholders to develop employer brand and employee experience materials that gave every candidate touchpoint a consistent, authentic narrative covering culture, development, and project quality. This was supported by clear role scoping, proactive direct sourcing and outreach to passive candidates, and transparent candidate management that ensured candidates understood the full proposition before compensation was discussed. The engagement resulted in over 15 Associate Project Managers placed into the UK office, completing the EMEA function build-out at pace, with a stronger candidate experience throughout and a repeatable hiring model that didn't require the client to revise their pay structure. The search was led by Jenny Downing, Associate Director at Vector Talent.