When the next hire could define your funding future
For boards, CEOs and HR directors across the development sector, the next senior hire is more than a personnel decision. It is a strategic bet on your organisation’s resilience, reputation and ability to unlock new sources of funding in a shifting landscape. Yet even the most seasoned hiring panels can struggle to differentiate between strong interviewees and leaders who will truly thrive in complexity.
Well‑designed case studies change that. When crafted and run professionally, they bring your real strategic challenges into the assessment process, so you can see how candidates think, partner, influence and deliver under pressure. Designing and running effective case studies, however, requires time, specialist expertise and sector nuance. Not every organisation can or should build this capability in‑house. That is where a partner like SRI Executive adds value, across the full recruitment cycle.
High stakes, low signal: why traditional hiring misses funding innovators
Senior roles in INGOs, NGOs, multilaterals, DFIs and private philanthropy now demand leaders who can catalyse innovative funding, steward complex partnerships, and navigate geopolitics and localisation imperatives. Yet the typical executive hiring toolkit still leans heavily on CVs, references and semi‑structured interviews, inputs that can privilege polish over proof.
- Impressive track records are not the same as transferable capability. A fundraising leader who excelled with legacy donors may struggle to build blended finance partnerships or mobilise private capital.
- Unstructured interviews are vulnerable to bias and inconsistent scoring, leading to false positives (or missed gems) when candidates come from adjacent sectors such as the private or product‑development partnership world.
- Panels often lack a shared, concrete definition of “what good looks like” for the role, especially where funding models and stakeholder ecosystems are evolving rapidly.
Research backs this up: work‑sample assessments and structured evaluations consistently outperform unstructured interviews in predicting on‑the‑job performance. In short, if your goal is to find leaders who will secure new revenue, diversify partnerships and steward trust, you need evidence from tasks that mirror the work.
Build evidence, not opinion: how to design and run case studies that matter
We design case studies to simulate the real decisions your next leader will make, and to generate high‑quality signal that reduces bias and increases decision confidence. Here is how we do it.
Design cases that mirror your reality
- Anchor to strategy: We translate your strategy and operating context into a practical brief, whether it’s crafting a three‑year resource mobilisation strategy post‑budget cuts, structuring a blended finance facility with a DFI, or repositioning a global programme for localisation.
- Stress‑test complexity: Scenarios incorporate competing stakeholder priorities, governance constraints, risk, and ethical considerations, exactly what leaders in the sector juggle daily.
- Reflect your sector specifics: From PDPs needing private‑sector fluency to UN‑style multilaterals navigating procurement, we tailor cases to your governance and funding environment.
Score what success looks like—before you meet candidates
- Define outcomes, not just activities: We co‑create a competency framework that is specific to the role, e.g., innovative funding acumen, systems thinking, influence without authority, safeguarding, and equity‑centred leadership.
- Build rubrics with behavioural anchors: Each competency has clearly defined levels of performance with observable behaviours. Panels know exactly what to look for, and how to score it consistently.
- Weight what matters most: If the role’s core challenge is diversifying revenue, the rubric prioritises opportunity origination, partnership structuring and risk‑aware decision‑making.
Run a fair, inclusive process—without slowing down
- Standardised yet human: Candidates receive equitable information, timelines and expectations. Accessibility and localisation are built in, for example, providing case materials in relevant languages or accommodating bandwidth constraints for remote assessments.
- Diverse assessors, calibrated judgements: We brief and calibrate panels to align scoring standards, reduce affinity bias and ensure consistent evaluation across candidates.
- Evidence you can defend: Every rating ties back to behavioural evidence observed in the case. Decisions are transparent and stand up to internal and external scrutiny.
Use the case as a thread—across the full recruitment cycle
- Role definition: Insights from your strategic needs shape the case and the competency model from the outset.
- Search: We target leaders from both within and beyond the sector who fit the brief, e.g., bringing proven private‑sector fundraisers into PDPs or INGOs.
- Assessment: Case study, structured interview and reference approach combine to triangulate evidence.
- Onboarding: Case outputs inform a 90‑day plan, clarifying priorities, stakeholders and initial risks.
What this looks like in practice
- A global health PDP needed a Head of Strategic Partnerships to unlock non‑traditional capital. We designed a case around forming a multi‑party partnership with a DFI, a pharmaceutical company and a regional ministry of health. The candidate who topped the rubric came from the private sector. Within six months, they had advanced two blended finance opportunities totalling over $40m in potential impact funding.
- A regional NGO facing 40% donor contraction hired a Director of Resource Mobilisation. The case required re‑positioning a flagship programme for localisation and designing a pipeline across corporates and high‑net‑worth philanthropists. The appointed leader delivered a diversified pipeline within their first two quarters and strengthened board confidence through clear metrics and governance alignment.
Reduce bias. Raise the bar. Protect your reputation.
Professionalised case design and evaluation reduce common hiring risks while advancing your mission and values.
- Decision confidence: Your board can see, not just hear, how finalists think and deliver. That transparency builds trust across stakeholders.
- Risk reduction: Structured rubrics and calibrated panels limit bias, support compliance with procurement or governance standards, and provide audit‑ready documentation.
- Reputation enhancement: A rigorous, fair process signals seriousness to candidates, donors and partners, strengthening your employer brand and sector influence.
- Social responsibility: Equity‑centred design, fair access and transparent evaluation align with your mission and duty of care.
Why partner with SRI Executive
- Cross‑sector reach with trusted access: We are recognised for moving exceptional talent between private and development settings, particularly for roles that demand innovative funding expertise.
- Global development fluency: From multilateral governance to grassroots localisation, our cases are rooted in the realities your leaders face.
- End‑to‑end partnership: We support the full cycle, from role design and search to case development, panel calibration and onboarding.
- Proven impact: Clients consistently share that our approach surfaces candidates who outperform on strategy, stakeholder trust and revenue generation.
Practical guidance you can use now
Even if you are not ready to overhaul your entire process, these steps will materially improve your next search.
- Name the core challenge you are hiring to solve. Be precise: “Diversify revenue with at least 30% from non‑grant sources within 18 months” beats “grow fundraising”.
- Turn that challenge into a case scenario. Include constraints you truly face: procurement rules, safeguarding, reputational risk, or political sensitivities.
- Define must‑have competencies with behavioural indicators. Share them with candidates upfront to level the playing field.
- Build a scoring rubric and calibrate your panel. Run a 30‑minute calibration before the first assessment to align standards.
- Separate performance from polish. Prioritise how candidates frame trade‑offs, stakeholder engagement and risk, over presentation theatrics.
- Close the loop. Use insights from the case to inform references and the first‑90‑day plan.
What you gain by professionalising case design and evaluation
- Better signal, faster: Focus your time on what predicts success, not what merely impresses.
- Stronger, fairer decisions: Reduce bias and increase consistency with structured rubrics and calibrated assessors.
- Leaders who thrive in complexity: Identify people who can navigate funding shifts, governance, localisation and multi‑stakeholder influence.
- Confidence your board can stand behind: Transparent, evidence‑based decisions that are defensible and aligned to your values.
Make your next executive hire your most defensible
The stakes are high, and so are the opportunities. By professionalising your case design and evaluation, you reduce bias, make confident decisions, and identify leaders who will thrive in complexity and drive sustainable impact.
If you would like to see sample case designs, discuss a current or upcoming search, or benchmark your process, we would love to connect.