Specialized Hiring Strategy for a New Geography: Preclincial Stage Biotech Exclusive Partnership

Challenge:

HireMinds partnered with a NYC-based preclinical stage biotechnology company, at the forefront of developing innovative, small molecule therapeutics for cancer. While the company was experiencing significant success in New York, it planned to expand into Boston, appointing a phenomenal chemist and industry veteran as their Chief Scientific Officer to build that team. The plan was for the New York team to focus on external partnerships, while the Boston team would concentrate on internal programs. To support this strategy, they needed to start building a strong team of biologists and chemists in Boston.

Solution:

HireMinds worked directly with the Boston-based CSO to develop and execute a successful recruiting plan. Our services covered the entire interview process: creating job descriptions, sourcing and qualifying, scheduling interviews, sending invites, and managing offer presentations and negotiations. The CSO valued our thorough approach and, as a result, chose to partner exclusively with HireMinds for all their Boston searches.

When it came to hiring their sixth Boston employee, our client encountered some budget constraints and decided to handle the Medicinal Chemist search internally. While we were disappointed not to be involved, we fully understood their situation. After a couple of months of sourcing and interviewing candidates on their own, they struggled to find the right fit and reached out to us for help. Within a week, they were interviewing two of our candidates and expressed interest in hiring one of them. Given their budget constraints and our strong relationship, we agreed to a flat fee to help facilitate the hire. We prioritize flexibility to meet our clients’ needs and align with their financial parameters, whether in great times or challenging ones.

Results:

  • Our client interviewed 27 candidates for the Biologist openings leading to 3 hires.
  • Our client interviewed 9 candidates for the Director of Biochemistry and Assay Development role leading to 1 hire.
  • Our client interviewed 6 candidates for the Senior Director, Medicinal Chemistry role leading to 1 hire.
  • Our client interviewed 2 candidates for the Senior Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry role leading to 1 hire.


Tricia Hanley is a Search Director on HireMinds’ Biotech and Life Sciences team, specializing in permanent recruitment for roles in Discovery Biology, Discovery Chemistry, Pharmacology, Data Science, Protein Engineering, Process Development, and Clinical Operations.