Case Studies | Proven Talent Partners

THE CLIENT
Lookers PLC is a leading UK automotive retailer and distributor. Listed on the London Stock Exchange their divisions include
Automotive, Parts, Leasing and Agriculture. Through their automotive divisions - Lookers, Taggarts and Charles Hurst – they
offer a wide range of quality and prestige new and used cars as well as tailored aftersales and Motability services. With
over 160 dealerships all managed locally but connected nationally through their UK-wide infrastructure. This agile approach
ensures that customers benefit from specialist knowledge from their local dealer, while also being able to take advantage of
offers and stock from all over the country. The business is underpinned by a customer service led philosophy which is deliv-
ered through an industry leading experience by Lookers talented and experienced staff. This is embodied in the ethos of ‘For
You, For Life’ which is integral to their values.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
Integral to Lookers is their digital strategy, which has been heavily invested in. This investment will allow Lookers to develop
the functionality for customers to dynamically browse, book and engage with their cutting edge digital platform and social
channels, via the device of their choice. We were approached by Lookers CIO to support them in the growth of their “digital
transformation” team. The key being to ensure candidates were the right cultural fit with the ability to work within an un-
structured, fast paced environment whilst it continues to grow
• IT Transformation Director
• IT Operations Director
• Head of Enterprise Architecture
• Head of Software Testing
• Head of Infrastructure
• Portfolio Manager
• Programme Managers
• Project Managers
• Business Analysts
• Solutions Architects
• Test Analysts
• Technical Consultants
THE SOLUTION
Uniting Ambition, working closely with the CIO, have continued to build a high profile and performing team. Due to the num-
ber of initiatives Lookers wanted to undertake, the preliminary solution was to provide a number of high performing interim
resource to instigate a number of key projects. This has been followed by an exercise to exchange these interim personnel for
the top quartile in the industry to continue to build and shape the business there on. Placements have included:
Uniting Ambition partners
with Lookers plc to build a
highly functional interim IT
solution to support growth.
D E L I V E R I N G E XC E P T I O N A L TA L E N T TO G R O W YO U R B U S I N E S S
This was successful due to Uniting Ambition’s approach to ensure not only culture fit but aspirations of both Lookers and the
candidates were met to give Lookers technology division the skills and the capability to deliver the changes that will bring the
board strategy to life.

THE CLIENT
NEXT is a UK based retailer off ering exciting, beautifully designed, excellent quality fashion and accessories for men, women
and children together with a full range of homewares. NEXT distributes through three main channels. NEXT Retail, a chain of
more than 500 stores in the UK and Eire NEXT Directory, a home shopping catalogue and website with almost 4 million ac-
tive customers & international websites serving around 70 countries NEXT International, with almost 200 mainly franchised
stores around the world.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
NEXT came to Uniting Ambition with a business critical project, it needed a team of people to work on its in-store Technology
Refresh Project; a £10million programme to upgrade both the software and hardware of every single in-store till across the
whole of the NEXT store network. As NEXT was changing its project delivery method from Waterfall / Prince 2 to an AGILE
approach. Uniting Ambition was tasked with finding a new team of experienced IT contract, permanent and fixed-term per-
sonnel to develop, install and confi gure the new systems. The roles included:
3 x Development Lead/Scrum Master
18 x Developers (C#. .net)
4 x Architect/ Designers
7 x Testers
3 x Business Analysts
7 x Build Manager
7 x Database Administrator
3 x UX Designers
THE SOLUTION
Uniting Ambition provided a fully managed service to NEXT, and as such was responsible for sourcing the right candidates,
undertaking all candidate assessment in accordance with a strict test framework, conducting telephone and face to face in-
terviews, supporting NEXT with inductions as well as carrying out all regulatory checks. The entire recruitment project, from
initial scope to the start date of the final candidate, was delivered in 3 months. The partnership has been a huge success and
Uniting Ambition has be en instrumental in helping NEXT reach its next stage of growth. As such, Uniting Ambition has since
been providing regular support to handle management of contract staff and any further resource demands.
with NEXT plc to build a
scalable IT transformation
solution to support retail
growth.

THE CLIENT
RB are a global FMCG business renowned for producing a number of health, hygiene and home products including Dettol,
Durex, Air Wick, Nurofen, Vanish, Harpic, Strepsils and Clearasil amongst others. These products are sold in over 200 lo-
cations worldwide. RB are dedicated to investing heavily in research and development to find new ways for people to look
after themselves, their families and homes. With a Central Headquarters in Slough, RB truly are a global business with over
37,000 staff across 60 locations and a turnover of over £10 billion.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
Over a period of time RB strategically acquired a number of businesses globally, resulting in an extremely fragmented IS
function. The CIO was tasked with driving innovation and transforming IS into one shared service to support the Global
business. Uniting Ambition were retained by RB’s IS Director to initially support the creation of an Enterprise Architecture
Function in addition, delivering key hires to allow the rationalisation of its outsource partners to one key supplier. Due to the
size and scale of RB, UA were presented with a number of challenges around culture, integration of existing business units
and availability of top quartile talent with the relevant Global experience.
• IS Directors within Enterprise Architecture, Supply
Chain, R&D, Technical Services & Vendor Management
• Programme Managers
• Architects
• Project Managers
• Business Analysts
• Service Delivery Managers
• Global Licensing Managers
THE SOLUTION
Uniting Ambition initially worked closely with the IS Director and HR Business Partner to help build a highly influential En-
terprise Architecture function. Following the success within this area we have since delivered on a number of key roles within
RB across interim and permanent solutions. This has included the placements:
with RB to support the
Global transformation
programme of the
IS Function
A number of RB’s Strategic Programme’s are still in flight and we continue to support them in terms of talent within a num-
ber of key areas including Transformation, Process Improvement, Regulatory Projects, Technical Integrations and Merger &
Acquisition Activity.

THE CLIENT
Secret Escapes is a UK based online travel club specialising in ‘flash sales’ – limited time sales at heavily discounted prices – of
luxury hotels and holidays.
Having already become market leaders in the UK since their 2011 launch, Secret Escapes has now expanded internationally
into Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and the USA, with further growth into multiple markets planned for 2015.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
Due to its plan to build business overseas, Secret Escapes approached Uniting Ambition with an on going project: to support
its growth by helping to develop their digital marketing division.
Secret Escapes needed a team of gamechanging professionals capable of hitting the ground running and providing competi-
tive advantages to sustain international company growth. Uniting Ambition was therefore tasked with finding candidates to
fill highly technical roles. These included:
12 x Product Director 7x Lead Designer 1x German PPC Executive
THE SOLUTION
With a reputation for deep specialisation in digital marketing recruitment, Uniting Ambition provided a boutique service to
Secret Escapes, sourcing top tier talent with vigorous search and selection methodology.
In an end to end solution that incorporated extensive marketing campaigns, a robust screening process and interviews based
on both competency and culture, all roles were filled to the satisfaction of client and candidates alike.
Due to delivering consistent results, Uniting Ambition has now been briefed to find a further team of specialist Digital Mar-
keting Execs with language skills in Italian, Benelux, Spanish and Nordic, as well a UK Display Manager to help Secret Escapes
expand further into international markets.
with Secret Escapes to
build a scalable solution
to support international
growth plans.

THE CLIENT
Mars is a multi-channel manufacturer with over 3,800 employees in the UK alone, producing much loved global brands
across 3 main divisions:
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
Mars Petcare approached Uniting Ambition with a critical business project key to accelerating growth. With current sales
via online channels standing at $500m, Mars plan to increase this figure to $2bn over the next 2 years. The company’s global
focus is now on building digital awareness, capability and relationships to meet sales projections. As part of this strategic
growth plan, Mars Petcare created a newly formed Digital Capability UK team which had been tasked with increasing sales
through key online channels such as Ocado, Tesco.com and Amazon. Uniting Ambition was therefore asked to recruit pivotal
roles into the department to help build an end to end approach to their digital capability campaign. Roles recruited include:
15 x Customer Development Managers
4 x Insights and Analytics Executive
5 x Merchandising Manager
1 x Search Engine Co-ordinator
THE SOLUTION
Uniting Ambition delivered a structured, thorough and UK-wide headhunting exercise to source candidates who were a
strong match in terms of both culture and skill. In a comprehensive recruitment operation that involved advertising, aware-
ness campaigns through relevant media and rigorous candidate assessment, all roles were filled to great success.
The quality of placements and their valueadding skillsets meant that Uniting Ambition acted as a catalyst to the growth of
Mars Petcare. Following this initial partnership, Uniting Ambition is now also the recruitment supplier to the Mars
confectionary and food divisions.
with Mars Petcare to
build a digital team that
supercharges online sales.
- Confectionary, including some of the
best-loved and widely available choc-
olate such as Mars, Snickers and Twix
- Food and drink, with household
brands such as Dolmio and Uncle Ben’s
within the range
- Petcare, including familiar products
such as Pedigree, Whiskas and Cesar.

THE CLIENT
Selling online women’s fashion, Missguided is now one of the fastest growing companies in the UK and has fast established
itself as an innovative fashion-leader. Having experienced rapid growth since its launch in March 2009, Missguided has now
expanded into the USA, Australia, France and Europe. With ever accelerating sales, the business continues to look for new
global expansion opportunities.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
As Missguided ramps up its international growth at a super-charged rate, significant investments are being made into web-
site functionality to better understand the customer and her shopping journey. As such, the business approached Uniting
Ambition with a critical and continuing project: to support the development of its website capabilities by building a leading
ecommerce function. Missguided tasked Uniting Ambition with finding the brightest ecommerce talent that the market has
to offer, with the initial brief being to find a Development Manager to lead its existing team. The role recruited was:
1x Development Manager (Magneto)
THE SOLUTION
Supporting recruitment for the role on a retained, exclusive basis, Uniting Ambition worked closely with Missguided to iden-
tify the highly specific skillet and culture fit needed.
By thoroughly mapping the market and undertaking a rigorous screening methodology, Uniting Ambition was successful in
headhunting a senior Development Manager for the role. Following the success of this initial placement, Missguided part-
nered with Uniting Ambition to build a business-enabling IT/ecommerce team. As part of this, a series of digital campaigns
complementing Uniting Ambition’s tried and tested search and selection tactics have resulted in a total of 9 further perma-
nent placements being made into the team
with Missguided to build
an ecommerce team that
can support rapid growth.

THE CLIENT
MandM Direct is a leading discount online retailer with over 1.3 million active customers and 50 million website visits a
year. Originally operating within the UK, the business currently has dedicated local websites covering the German, French,
Austrian, Dutch and Polish markets and dispatches to a further 20+ countries worldwide. With a current revenue surpassing
£120m, MandM Direct is now undergoing its next phase of growth.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
Due to its location in Leominster, MandM Direct is constantly faced with the challenge of attracting quality candidates. Hav-
ing worked with the business previously, Uniting Ambition was aware of the difficulties M&M Direct faced in recruiting top
candidates into the area.
In this scenario, the client did not approach Uniting Ambition with a brief. Rather, Uniting Ambition took a proactive approach
in selling in an influential IT candidate to the business, correctly identifying that the candidate would add significant value to
the company. The role:
1x IT Director
THE SOLUTION
Possessing strong relationships with some of the market’s most talented candidates, Uniting Ambition became aware that a
commercial IT Director with strong online and multichannel retail experience was moving to the Leominster area. Seeing an
opportunity to aid MandM Direct in their growth ambitions, Uniting Ambition liaised with client and candidate to establish a
link between the two and facilitate an interview.
Due to the candidate’s outstanding skills, experience and cultural fit, M&M Direct subsequently created a new, value-adding
role and made the hire. As a result of the effective nway that Uniting Ambition managed the client and screened the candi-
date as part of an indepth process, a further 2 senior roles were given to the consultancy by the M&M Direct CEO.
with MandM Direct to
deliver a business-enabling
IT leader.

THE CLIENT
Soak.com designs and sources its own product range of bathroom furniture, equipment nand accessories to sell directly to
the public online. In 2013, Soak.com secured an £8.5million investment, allowing it to more than double the size of its head-
quarters in a £5million move. The business has been recognised as one of the fastest growing private companies in the UK
by The Virgin & Sunday Times Fast Track 100 league and is now focused on ramping up its range and brand recognition to
garner further success.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
Soak.com had identified a need for highperforming technical talent to grow its digital presence. With ambitious growth plans,
the business approached Uniting Ambition with a business-enabling challenge: to source two senior digital hires central to
growth. The business required an SEO Manager and a Head of Design to play key roles in leading digital development. Re-
nowned for specialisation in digital recruitment, Uniting Ambition was tasked with finding market-leading candidates to fill
these positions and support Soak.com in its growth journey. The roles:
1x SEO Manager 1x Head of Design
THE SOLUTION
As ever, Uniting Ambition gained full and ncomplete understanding of the roles, the business and its culture to ensure that
the candidates put forward would be able to hit the ground running. In a comprehensive recruitment nsolution that involved
extensive advertising nsupplemented by digital campaigns, some of the market’s most high calibre talent came forward for
the role.
By utilising a thorough screening and interview methodology, Uniting Ambition was able to select the candidates that would
best be able to integrate into the company and deliver development. As a result, both placements were filled to huge success
and Soak.com was able to catalyse the progression of its digital department.
with Soak.com to develop
a digital team capable
of accelerating brand
awareness.

THE CLIENT
Wolseley is the world’s largest distribution company of plumbing and heating supplies. With 39,000 people in around 2,900
global locations, huge clients and UK revenue alone of £1,700m, the business thrives due to its reputation of delivering the
right products, at the right price, at the right time, on every occasion. Wolsley supplies over 1 million customers with prod-
ucts sourced from 50,000 trade vendors. It has won accolades such as Supply House of the Year, Distributor of the Year and
Merchant of the Year, to name just a few. Now, the company is placing greater emphasis on accelerating profitable growth in
order to become the world’s best local contributor of plumbing, heating and building materials products.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
Wolseley came to Uniting Ambition with a unique request: the business wanted to create its first proactive team to be based
out of the Ripon office. Previously, inbound sales and customer service had been the priority for Wolseley. With a newly
sharpened focus on profitable growth, however, creating further revenue streams with existing and previous customers was
becoming more important. To build this proactive team, the roles required were:
40x proactive Sales Executives
3x Team Manager
4x Inbound Team Manager
THE SOLUTION
As part of a bespoke, end to end process, the Uniting Ambition was fully responsible for sourcing compatible talent. A thor-
ough screening process ensured that each person selected was not only able, but also encapsulated the values that Wolseley
was so keen to keep intact. On-site assessments were held at Wolseley premises, providing the opportunity for hiring manag-
ers to see the potential candidates in a number of contact centre settings. This tactic allowed recruitment choices to be based
on personality and drive, not just experience alone.
Once the team had been successfully placed, Uniting Ambition could then identify the type of team manager necessary to
lead the recent placements. With the aim of upskilling these new team members, the manager would play an integral role in
increasing profit within the branch network. Since Uniting Ambition had previously taken the time to understand the busi-
ness and the people within the Ripon office, an exceptional calibre of candidates was sourced. Due to the high standard of
candidates selected for interview, it was difficult to choose just a single candidate for the role. As testament to this, one of the
unsuccessful management candidates had an inbound sales role created specifically to match their skills.
with Wolseley to build a new
proactive team which would
power profitability

THE CLIENT
Game is a major video games retail company with over 500 stores across the UK and Spain, as well as operations in Portugal.
In fact, Game is recognised as being the leading specialist video game retailer in both the UK and Spain, with a market share of
over 30% in each of these countries. With up to 15 million individual customer interactions per week and an estimated retail
value of over £50 billion, Game’s focus is to excel in all digital areas and be the number one destination for gamers.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
Game’s strategy is to drive profitable growth by building on its position as an omni-channel video games retailer. As part of
this, the business is looking to extend its online offerings and requires leading IT contracting talent to do so.
Uniting Ambition was therefore tasked with delivering highly skilled and multi-disciplined contract resources to work along-
side Game’s existing staff and help accelerate business change. The roles included:
2x Project Managers
2x Project Support Manager
4x Business Analysis
2x Test Analysts
THE SOLUTION
With a specialist IT contract team in place renowned for delivering top talent, Uniting Ambition conducted a full search and
selection campaign to ensure the best candidates in both the active and passive markets were targeted.
Not content with merely finding the necessary level of technical skills in candidates, Uniting Ambition conducted a thorough
culture screening to deliver contractors who would be the strongest possible team fit for Game. Consequently, Uniting Am-
bition delivered talented, business enabling contractors and received excellent feedback. Due to the culture-based recruit-
ment approach utilised, all placements made were able to integrate seamlessly with Game’s permanent team and work in
collaboration to further the company’s mission.
with Game to extend their
online offering through
market-leading talent.

THE CLIENT
Betfred is a UK-based bookmaker which has experienced a meteoric rise since its launch as a single shop in 1967. Now the
fourth largest bookmaker in the UK, Betfred employs over 10,000 staff, has in excess of 1370 betting shops and boasts gross
profits of £362m. The business prides itself on staying true to its core values: offering real value and providing an exceptional
and exciting experience for its customers.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
Despite Betfred’s extensive commercial successes, the business was facing an attrition issue and was at risk of acquiring a
poor reputation in the job market. In order to support and sustain its growth, Betfred required ongoing recruitment to build
and stabilise its IT team. Uniting Ambition was therefore tasked with partnering with Betfred on a continuous recruitment
basis to secure business-enabling IT talent and therein solve its attrition issues.
THE SOLUTION
In a bespoke, in-depth approach, Uniting Ambition worked closely with Betfred to educate the management team on alter-
nate recruitment tactics. Due to a fixed way of approaching hiring, Betfred had not previously considered looking outside of
the gambling sector to make hires. Uniting Ambition therefore brought fresh ideas into the business, suggesting that Betfred
explore alternate but related markets such as retail and ecommerce when sourcing game-changing candidates. As well as
sharing expertise on new and untapped recruitment avenues for Betfred, Uniting Ambition went further and provided up to
the minute information non competition as well as valuable benchmarking information. Uniting Ambition talked the Betfred
team through possible team structures and offered advice on various approaches, going above and beyond in the recruit-
ment partnership offered.
As a result of this tailored and highly personal approach, Uniting Ambition was instrumental in building a technology sen-
ior management team at Betfred. Not only did Uniting Ambition sell in quality hot candidates through robust requirement
screening, skilled head-hunting ad targeted campaigns, the consultancy also held regular face to face meetings and service
reviews to ensure that the service provided was consistently hitting the mark. Due to the quality of the IT team built and the
extensive support offered, Uniting Ambition are now seen as Betfred’s number one partner for recruitment.
with Betfred to develop and
stabilise their IT function.

THE CLIENT
WageDayAdvance is one of the UK’s leading cash loan companies with over 150 employees based in Leeds and Nottingham.
The business prides itself on providing innovation, reliability and security for those who need cash loans online.
WageDayAdvance is owned by SRC Transatlantic Limited, who employ over 3,000 people across the United Kingdom, United
States and Canada in over 300 locations. Founded in 1997, the parent company is a well-known financial services organisa-
tion that provides a variety of cash loans as well as other financial products.
CASE STUDY
THE BRIEF
As a company currently embarking on a dynamic upwards rise, WageDayAdvance is searching for several senior hires to
provide the business partnering and commercial analysis needed to drive development. The business approached Uniting
Ambition with a vital need: it required a Head of Marketing to strategically steer and oversee its growth plans.
Reporting to the WageDayAdvance CEO, this high-flying hire would be responsible for recruiting a full marketing team of 12
by the end of 2015. Uniting Ambition was tasked with finding a candidate that could rise to the challenge of the role and build
a new, engaging and customer-centric digital presence. The role:
1x Head of Marketing
THE SOLUTION
Recruiting for the influential Head of Marketing role required an in-depth, intuitive recruitment process. Based on their
proven capabilities, WageDayAdvance selected Uniting Ambition to support recruitment for the position on a retained, ex-
clusive basis.
A dedicated senior Uniting Ambition consultant managed the project, utilising a mix of contingency and search and selection
recruitment methodology to source high-calibre candidates. After making a successful placement with a business-enabling
candidate, Uniting Ambition is now recruiting for the rest of the Marketing team.
with MandM Direct to
deliver a business-enabling
IT leader.

OUTSOURCING ANY PART OF YOUR BUSINESS MODEL IS A
RISK, NOT LEAST RECRUITING FUTURE TALENT TO DRIVE THE
ENTERPRISE FORWARD.
UNITING AMBITION OVERCOME THIS THROUGH AN EXPERT
KNOWLEDGE OF OUR BUSINESS AND EXEMPLARY LEVELS OF
INTEGRITY, EVIDENCED THROUGH GREAT RESULTS
S T E V E N N O B E S - C F O | W E B U YA N YC A R .C O M

S T E P H E N LO M A X | G LO B A L H E A D O F A R C H I T E C T U R E
THERE ARE RECRUITMENT / SEARCH AND SELECTION
CONSULTANTS AND THEN THERE IS UNITING AMBITION.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO RECRUIT NOT ONLY THE RIGHT PEOPLE,
BUT PEOPLE WHO CAN ALSO DELIVER AND AS A CANDIDATE
LOOKING NOT JUST FOR A ROLE BUT A CAREER, THESE GUYS
WORK.
T I S H J OYC E - D I R E C TO R O F C H A N G E | LO W E L L G R O U P

UNITING AMBITION ARE ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC, FORWARD
THINKING, ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESSES THAT I HAVE HAD
THE PLEASURE TO WORK WITH. THEY PRIDE THEMSELVES ON
DELIVERING THE BEST OF THE BEST IN OUR FIELD OF WORK.
C H R I S A I R E Y | T R A N S F O R M AT I O N A N D D I G I TA L C I O

UNITING AMBITION LIKE TO SPEND THE TIME GETTING TO KNOW
THEIR CLIENTS, TO UNDERSTAND THEIR BUSINESS NEEDS AND
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE. THIS ENABLES THEM TO DELIVER
THE HIGHEST CALIBRE CANDIDATES WHO ARE THE RIGHT
FIT FOR THE ORGANISATION, ALL DELIVERED WITH GREAT
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
P E T E R E D WA R D S , C I O | D O M E S T I C & G E N E R A L

CONTACT
Head Office
IC2 Keele Science & Business Park
Keele
ST5 5NH
Phone
Mainline: 0300 456 9000
Online
General: info@unitingambition.com
Web: www.unitingambition.com
Offices
London
Manchester
Birmingham
Keele

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