Overview
The Council of the Isles of Scilly commissioned Attenti to lead an Executive Search campaign to recruit an entirely new senior leadership team across its People Services directorate. This included the Director of People
Services (DCS/DASS), Head of Children’s Social Care, and Head of Adult Social Care—the three most senior statutory and operational leaders responsible for safeguarding, workforce, service improvement, and regulatory compliance across the islands.
With the Children’s Service operating under an Inadequate Ofsted judgment and the unique geographic challenges of island life, appointing credible senior leaders required a precise, proactive, and highly tailored
recruitment strategy.
Attenti was engaged on a retained basis to design and deliver a full end to end Executive Search campaign.
Challenge
The campaign required navigating several significant constraints:
Extremely limited candidate pool
- The Director role combined both Children’s and Adults’ statutory responsibilities—meaning only a very small number of credible leaders nationally were suitable.
- Senior-level recruitment in social care is already challenging across the UK, and particularly acute in the South West.
Regulatory and Service Pressures
- Children’s Services were under Inadequate judgement, subjecting incoming leaders to high levels of scrutiny from Ofsted, DfE and government advisers.
- Candidates needed proven resilience, credibility and a track record of stabilising and improving challenged services.
Geographical isolation & Practical Barriers
- Travel to and from the islands is complex, weather dependent, and time limited.
- Local accommodation is extremely scarce and expensive.
- The Council’s small scale restricts salary competitiveness compared to mainland authorities.
- The Council required hands on support in managing a multi post senior search, including HR processes, scheduling, logistics and stakeholder briefings.
Together, these factors meant the Council needed a search partner able to understand the local context, provide intensive market engagement, and manage every stage of a complex campaign.
Our Approach
Attenti delivered a comprehensive Executive Search process tailored to the unique needs of the Isles of Scilly:
In Depth Discovery & Positioning
- Gained a thorough understanding of the islands’ context, service pressures and workforce challenges.
- Attenti visited the Isles of Scilly in person to ensure absolute clarity on cultural, operational and environmental conditions
Targeted National Search
- Built longlists for all three roles through direct headhunting, professional networks and market outreach.
- Positioned the roles authentically—highlighting both the strategic challenge and the unique attraction of leading small, close knit services with system wide influence.
Candidate Assessment & Shortlisting
- Conducted structured suitability assessments and detailed briefings.
- Provided full logistical coordination for all informal and formal interview stages.
Full Campaign Management
- Managed candidate communication, travel arrangements, references and HR compliance.
- Briefed the Chief Executive and elected members on shortlist recommendations.
- Ensured a supportive process for both candidates and the Council throughout.
Key Achievements
- Successfully appointed to all three senior leadership posts, securing high calibre individuals for each role despite nationwide shortages.
- Strengthened the Council’s senior leadership capacity across statutory services, safeguarding, workforce, and improvement delivery.
- Delivered a smooth and professionally run campaign, highly praised by both the Council and candidates.
- Enhanced the candidates’ understanding of the unique context, with on island engagement helping secure commitment and long term fit.
- Built future resilience by positioning the Council more competitively withing a challenging recruitment market.