Gafta

Gafta is a worldwide membership organisation that supports the international trade of grains, animal feeds, pulses, rice and spices. Their head office is in London.

A newly created role

The Head of Legal role was created in order to increase the level of in-house expertise surrounding the Gafta arbitration process as well as improving the service to members in the area of commercial contract negotiation.

International search

Robert Walters presented a detailed hiring strategy to the Director General of Gafta, which included a broad advertising campaign and an international search, in order to find a shortlist of the best legal professionals for the role. It was important that the shortlist of candidates encompassed a mix of specialist knowledge and experience, and that they’d fit well into the organisation’s culture.

Bridging the gap between employer and candidate

Robert Walters specialist legal recruitment consultants understood the importance of the new Head of Legal fitting with the client’s culture, so provided a face-to-face candidate screening service of all suitable candidates and presented a shortlist to the Director General of Gafta.

The interview process

This was followed by two-stage interview process in London. As a result of the consultants’ thorough research of the legal market, it was commented that any of the three candidates who attended the final interview could have been offered the job. Robert Walters then assisted with the final selection process by managing the offer to the chosen candidate and providing feedback to all candidates who interviewed. Our consultant was very helpful in assisting us with our job specification and advising on the skills, competencies and background that would be most suitable for our role

The results

“We were impressed by the professional approach of the Robert Walters legal recruitment team, “ said Jaine Chisholm Caunt, Director General – Gafta.

“Gafta created a new post of Head of Legal, and our consultant was very helpful in assisting us with our job specification and advising on the skills , competencies and background that would be most suitable for our role. His advice and analysis supported our decision making and enabled us to appoint exactly the right person.”

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