Development Director - Xusa Properties

As a Senior Manager, Austin heads updeverellsmith’s Land, Development & Construction team. He has background in real estate and over 8 years of recruitment experience the majority of which has been spent recruiting into the property sector within Australia and the UK. Austin specialises in sourcing the best talent in the market rather simply the best currently available. With a proven track record of creating alternative strategies designed to attract the best talent.

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Who was the client?

To revolutionise the property investment market, Xusa Properties aim to deliver both rewarding and life changing experiences through sustainable property developments. Quietly changing the perception of the world to our wonderful industry.

Xusa Properties target sustainability and as a business operate with radical transparency and openness in all aspects of investment, which stands true for clients, would be investors and staff. Xusa Properties feel this is the only way to operate and one which builds lasting relationships.

What was the situation?

After failing to source the right candidate whilst working with an alternative agency prior, Xusa Properties instructed Austin Mooney, Manager of Development and Construction at deverellsmith, to work on the search.

Xusa Properties engaged with deverellsmith and agreed to work on a retained basis to ensure the search was treated as a high priority.

The role was newly created and being an SME, the business was less known to the market compared to more established global organisations. Austin and his team spent a significant period of time connecting with the business and leadership team to have an in depth understanding of who the business is, the vision, mission, short-and-long term goals and which profile would not only want to work at Xusa Properties but also contribute positively to the culture.

Were there any challenges?

As Xusa Properties didn’t have a substantial online presence, it was imperative to be able to communicate effectively the key selling points of this opportunity with the right people.

The opportunity was focused on the co-living sector and due to the sector’s short existence, finding individuals with extensive experience in the space can be more challenging as it draws a smaller talent pool.

The role also required the individual to wear multiple hats, be a real team player and get stuck in with supporting the business outside of the job role’s typical scope, however this did reap additional rewards and job satisfaction – but this can also be less appealing to many Development Directors.

What was the process?

By reviewing the company needs, client expectations and budget, Austin was able to identify a pool of candidates which he felt would excel in the role. Working with Xusa Properties, Austin and the team put together a compelling narrative which would be attractive to the shortlist of applicants.

Austin utilised the full breadth of deverellsmith’s candidate sourcing resources which includes our unique data and research function, Linkedin Recruiter projects, job boards and accessing our 250k online database. Additionally, he was able to leverage the deverellsmith brand to gain more traction on the role.

The full search took around 6 weeks from initial moment of engagement after finalising a list of 18 matched profiles. After the significant screening process, a shortlist of 6 was then presented to the client who chose to take all 6 to the interview process, 2 candidates were taken to second stage and 1 candidate was then successful.

What’s the outcome?

The candidate has added an immediate value to the business form an investment perspective and has brought a network of contacts and breadth of knowledge that the business didn’t previously have.