When Bie's Økoproduktion ApS needed a new, ambitious operations manager for the company's agricultural property in Jutland, Denmark, the management realised that their existing network was insufficient to find a suitable candidate.

"We initially approached the local farmers' association, but their recruitment department couldn't help us. So, we contacted JobAdvice and Anni Kohl, who turned out to have a broader and deeper network in the industry than we did," says Bie's Økoproduktion Director Henrik Bie Jensen.

And the headhunting agency JobAdvice's deep knowledge of the agricultural sector and its profiles was essential because the company had high demands for the new operations manager's skills and level of ambition.

Goal: A highly experienced and ambitious profile

Bie's Økoproduktion was seeking a turnaround manager who was able to develop the agricultural property into an attractive business that could be divested – perhaps to the new operations director himself.

"It was important for us to get someone with experience in running agriculture, especially dairy production, but also plenty of experience in managing fields and overseeing operations, including staff management.

We discussed with Anni which profile we should be looking for. She suggested that it should be a project-based appointment, where the candidates might be able to envision themselves for a shorter period of 3-5 years and then possibly move on to other challenges."

Fine-tuning of dairy production

The task was defined: the new operations director was to lead the optimisation of a large dairy production, aiming to be among the most efficient in Denmark. At the same time, the cultivation of more than 600 hectares of land was to ensure returns above average.

"Anni also asked us if it could be a profile with experience from a larger farm abroad, and indeed, it could."

Candidates were surprisingly well-qualified

After Anni Kohl had surveyed the landscape, Bie's Økoproduktion had six candidates for the first round of interviews.

"I must say they were surprisingly well-qualified, most of them. From there, we chose two to work with before hiring our new operations manager four months after the initiation of the efficient recruitment process."

Discreet and highly professional process

To avoid the need for interim management, the entire recruitment process with the agency was conducted confidentially, with anonymised postings and discreet industry research.