Derry firm to put together Galway Capital of Culture team

The local recruitment specialists, which is headquartered in Catalyst Inc (formerly NI Science Park), will be bringing their 2013 UK City of Culture experience to bear on sourcing and attracting the entire staff complement for the new Galway 2020 company.

Connected Talent’s role as official ‘Talent Partner’ of Galway 2020 will involve selecting dozens of key people to provide the executive and delivery function of the company.

The trawl will begin with a recruitment drive to fill the roles of CEO and Creative Director.

Securing the contract reflects the rise of Connected Talent in the Republic of Ireland following the opening of the firm’s new office in Galway.

The project will be delivered with support from the company’s sector-leading sourcing team in Derry.

Connected Talent CEO and founder Ryan Williams said his team’s knowledge of Derry’s 2013 City of Culture adventure was crucial in winning the tender.

He said: “The experience of many members of the Connected Talent team across Derry’s fantastic UK Capital of Culture experience provided a strong foundation for our approach, methodology and focus in winning the Galway 2020 tender.

“We’re delighted to be selected as ‘Talent Partner’ as this significant project will see Connected Talent source and attract the entire staff complement to deliver the executive and delivery function for Galway’s exciting new culture company.

“We’re recruiting for executive roles from CEO and Creative Director to posts in marketing, programming, event management, HR, finance and many others.”

Mr Williams said delivering the Galway 2020 talent project represents “significant success” in the growth of Connected Talent.

“When we set up the business two years ago we made it clear from the start that we were going to use our Derry headquarters to reach out to national and international markets in the pursuit of both the very best talent and flagship clients.

“Today our business generates more than 60% of its revenue from clients located outside Northern Ireland.

“ More than 50% of our revenue emanates from on-site recruitment solutions (Recruitment Process Outsourcing), offering clients a much broader range of services including talent diagnostics, testing, process improvement, HR and outplacement support, FDI consultancy and much more.”

Catriona Donnelly, Operations Director at Connected Talent and Project Director for the Galway 2020 project, added: “The Galway 2020 project is a five-year commitment which involves attracting the finest talent from local, national and international markets for what will be one of the finest cultural programmes the world has ever seen.

“The Derry and Galway teams could not be more excited about kick-starting this ambitious and captivating programme.”

Connected Talent consists of a 15 strong team who works with flagship clients across the island of Ireland – from local export brands such as Learning Pool and Bubble Bum to international businesses such as Deloitte, XLCatlin, Allen and Overy and CDE Global.