Case Studies
Our client, a major EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) company, approached us with a confidential brief to identify top-tier Engineering Managers across Australia. The role required individuals with proven experience in delivering complex process plants and materials/minerals handling projects, while also demonstrating strong leadership of multidisciplinary teams and exceptional stakeholder engagement skills. The primary challenge was achieving visibility of all qualified Engineering Managers within the Australian market. This talent pool is highly specialized, and finding candidates who combine technical depth with leadership and stakeholder management capabilities is rare. Additionally, the process had to be conducted discreetly to maintain the client’s confidentiality and protect their strategic hiring plans. To address these challenges, we implemented a structured market mapping approach. This included defining core competencies, conducting extensive research across EPC and engineering sectors, and leveraging proprietary networks to identify both active and passive candidates. By utilizing our consultant’s 25 years of experience, extensive industry network, and deep knowledge of projects and companies, we were able to tap into an extensive range of highly qualified candidates. We assessed technical expertise, leadership experience, and stakeholder engagement capabilities, delivering a comprehensive market intelligence report that outlined candidate history, salary benchmarks, qualifications, and competitor hiring trends. As a result, we successfully mapped over 60 potential candidates nationwide, providing the client with actionable insights to refine role specifications and compensation strategies. This proactive and confidential process positioned the client to engage with the right talent for future recruitment phases, ensuring alignment between business objectives and leadership capability.
A major EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) organisation required confidential insight into the Australian market for senior Engineering Managers with experience delivering complex process plant and materials/minerals handling projects. The role demanded rare capability, combining deep technical expertise, leadership of multidisciplinary teams and strong stakeholder engagement. Dean & Ling Executive (DLE) was engaged to provide independent market intelligence to support future leadership decisions. Led by Ian Quinn, the engagement focused on gaining full visibility of best-in-market talent while maintaining strict confidentiality and minimising market disruption. DLE undertook a structured, discreet market-mapping process across EPC and engineering sectors. This included defining critical leadership and technical competencies, targeted research and senior-level engagement with both active and passive candidates. Assessment considered technical capability, leadership experience, stakeholder complexity and project scale, supported by detailed market intelligence. DLE mapped more than 60 qualified Engineering Managers nationally, delivering a comprehensive market intelligence report covering candidate backgrounds, capability depth, salary benchmarks and competitor hiring trends. This enabled the client to refine role scope, remuneration strategy and future engagement approach. The engagement provided decision confidence, reduced hiring risk and positioned the client to engage strategically with scarce engineering leadership talent when required.

