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CleanTech Partner
The way forward, is up
0
days time to hire
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hires across 20 specialist engineering divisions
£
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K
Saved vs agency models
locations:
- UK
Overview
The way forward, is up!
Vertical Aerospace is creating a new mode of electric, sustainable air travel envisioned to be a game changer for congested cities. They are working to rethink the way aviation is defined as air travel makes sense when it comes to efficiency, but not emissions. With the VX4’s zero emissions and 100+ mile range, Vertical Aerospace is trailblazing sustainable transportation while unf*cking the planet.
We embedded our talent partner model with Vertical Aerospace in July 2023 and partnered with them for 3 years.
Results at a glance
- 125 hires across 20 specialist engineering divisions
- 81% offer acceptance rate
- 27-day average time to hire
- Over £780,000 saved in agency fees through direct hiring
After three years we handed back a talent function that runs on its own, with a migrated ATS, interview tooling in place and hiring managers trained to a consistent standard.
In the last few months Vertical has completed multiple piloted transition flights of the VX4, one of the most significant technical milestones in eVTOL development, and flown the aircraft publicly at the Farnborough International Airshow, the first eVTOL demonstration flight in the show’s history. Watching that from the ground has been the best part of the job.
testimonial
Day one in the TA control tower
Before Bond embedded with VA in July 2023, VA had a 3-person talent team and was using RPOs who were sub-contracting into other agencies, which was proving expensive. Not an ideal flight plan, so we were cleared for take-off.
One key focus was exec search. Bond was trusted as part of the internal talent team to deliver on this, hiring for roles such as Lead Flight Test Engineer and other confidential senior appointments. We also navigated complex hiring in areas like propulsion, flight controls, flight test and system integration + avionics systems, no turbulence there!
Across three years we hired into 20 specialist engineering divisions, using our head-hunting capability to land key positions:
- Senior Flight Test Engineer
- Advance Systems Engineer
- Mechanical Design Engineer X2
- Powertrains Systems manager
- Structural Test Engineer
- Vehicle Systems Engineer
- Hiring for those niche roles that require relocation – Principle Cockpit and Cabin Architect re-location from Abu Dhabi
Bond as a trusted co-pilot
Bond’s relationship with VA really took off. We sat in SLT people meetings alongside VA’s COO, HR Director, Chief Engineer and Chief Test Pilot, working on high-level strategy alongside the hiring. Bond was asked to represent VA at Farnborough Airshow as part of their talent attraction campaign, and to map out their cross-functional Global Mobility Framework, a six-month consultancy project defining relocation and overseas pay processes for VA’s future international setup.
Fitting out the talent function
Alongside VA’s core team, our Talent Partners took on project work outside day-to-day delivery. Each piece started with a problem the team was living with.
- Greenhouse migration and Ashby implementation: ran the migration, then tested and implemented Ashby, so hiring data could be captured, retrieved and reported on properly.
- MetaView implementation: rolled out interview intelligence tooling after comparing transcription tools, giving hiring managers a consistent record of every conversation.
- Hiring manager training: delivered interview training to standardise practices and bring more rigour to assessment, then ran a feedback survey that showed where managers needed more support.
- Insight reports: competitor analysis on Rivian and Volocopter, plus market research into hard to fill areas including airworthiness, build, PLM and electric propulsion. These shaped hiring priorities and improved VA’s ability to reach scarce engineering talent.
- Talent mapping and salary insight: identified critical capabilities, mapped the market against them and benchmarked salaries in key growth areas.
- Payroll and relocation groundwork: assessed international payroll providers and set out relocation expense guidance to support hiring globally.
