Talent Search / Specialist Recruitment
Two COINS Specialist Business Systems Partners Placed for the Price of One Hire Under Our Day Rate Model
Sector: Engineering and infrastructure
Role: COINS Specialist Business Systems Partner (Project Manager, ERP and digital transformation)
Outcome: Two successful placements, no duplicated recruitment fee
The client
Our client is a major engineering firm operating in the infrastructure and construction space. They were in the middle of a significant systems transformation. Their core ERP platform, COINS, supported hundreds of users. Although it had seen recent upgrades, many critical business processes were still being handled manually or outside the system.
The brief
The client needed a COINS specialist Business Systems Partner to join their Business Systems team and lead meaningful, lasting improvement. This was not a standard project management hire. The ideal candidate needed to:
Have a proven track record delivering construction-related systems and software
Have hands-on experience delivering enhancements to COINS
Lead complex IT and systems projects to time, cost and quality
Hold a recognised project management qualification such as PRINCE2, AgilePM or APM
Act as a COINS super user, supporting end users and coordinating updates and upgrades
Understand process detail, challenge inefficiencies and drive modernisation
COINS expertise is a narrow talent pool. The essential requirements combined construction sector experience, specialist COINS delivery and strong change management capability, and the client also wanted someone who would engage with technical detail rather than defer on it.
Our approach
As a research-led recruiter, we assessed candidates against the client's five shortlisting criteria: construction systems delivery including COINS, ERP and IT project leadership, project and change management, governance and methodologies, and process improvement.
We put forward a small, carefully screened and validated shortlist, each candidate tested against the essential criteria and the hands-on, ownership-driven attitude the client wanted.
The result
The client had planned to make one hire. After interviewing our shortlist, they saw two COINS specialists who each brought strong, complementary strengths to the wider programme of change, and chose to appoint both.
Because Talent Acumen works on a day rate model rather than a percentage-of-salary fee, the client paid for the time and expertise actually used. There was no second placement fee, and no extra cost for adding a second hire. Under a traditional agency structure, a second appointment would have meant a second fee calculated on salary.
Why it matters
Flexibility without a penalty: The client could follow the quality of the candidates, rather than being held to the original headcount by cost.
Transparent, predictable cost: A day rate means clients know what they are paying for.
Better outcomes for the programme: Two strong COINS appointments gave the client more capacity to deliver their transformation goals.
Looking to hire a COINS specialist or another niche systems role?
Talk to us about how a day rate model could work for your next hire.