Crop protection is a niche market, and CropLife's roles needed candidates who could be credible within it, though what "credible" meant varied by role. For Head of Policy, the successful candidate didn't have a direct sector background, but her academic grounding in plant science gave her the credibility the role demanded. The Policy and Regulations Manager role needed sector knowledge and regulatory experience as a baseline, plus the ability to grow into policy work. The Communications and Business Specialist role, by contrast, was junior enough that sector background wasn't required at all, however candidates needed to be credible on skills.

None of this came down to budget, timeline or location: salaries were competitive and positions were fully remote, open to candidates across the country. The constraint was one of awareness and fit, finding candidates who understood, or could quickly grasp, a genuinely specialist regulatory environment. The Policy and Regulations Manager role presented a further complication: a newly established post, created to sit between Regulation and Policy, with no internal precedent to define it, a brief previous agencies hadn't been able to deliver against.

Murray McIntosh built the search around CropLife's distinctive process. Shortlisted CVs came with a recorded video Q&A, set by CropLife's senior team, standing in for a first-stage interview. Candidates then had an informal, unassessed conversation with whoever at CropLife was available, to explore the role before deciding whether to go further. Those who did went straight to a single ninety-minute interview in central London, with food, drink and travel covered so candidates could arrive early and settle in. Senior staff sat in wherever relevant, reflecting how much team dynamic mattered in a business this size. Run end to end, the process averaged six weeks from brief to appointment.

Every process Murray McIntosh has conducted for CropLife has concluded with the preferred candidate accepting appointment at first attempt. The Communications and Business Specialist was promoted to Communications and Business Lead within a year of appointment. When the original Policy and Regulations Manager departed following approach from a rival organisation, CropLife responded swiftly, and Murray McIntosh secured a replacement within approximately one month of the search reopening.

Candidate feedback throughout the engagement has been exceptional. Candidates travelling considerable distances have consistently reported feeling welcomed and given appropriate time to prepare.

The relationship with CropLife reflects Murray McIntosh's approach across the policy and public affairs sector: as a retained partner engaged consistently, search after search.