Recruiting a Flight Director for IW Aviation’s UK Operations | Oaklands Global

AT A GLANCE…

IW Aviation are independent advisors to individuals and businesses in all aspects of private aviation: charter, jet cards, block hours, fractional or jet purchases. Established in 2015, IW Aviation has grown year on year and is regarded by many as a leader in the private aviation advisory industry.

THE SITUATION…

Due to continued growth, IWA decided to recruit a Flight Director to take sole responsibility for delivering industry-leading communications and flight management for their retained clients. This role needed to lead an elite team of Flight Managers, providing day-to-day management for each individual, overall team well-being, and longer-term strategic development of the team.

Oaklands Global is a specialist aviation & aerospace recruitment business working with industry leading organisations looking to take their business to the next level through access to the highest-calibre talent. With over 60 years of combined industry specific experience, Oaklands Global is the number one aviation recruitment business known for its established network, guaranteed discretion and pinpoint accuracy.

IWA engaged Oaklands Global in January 2024 to deliver this business-critical hire.

THE SOLUTION…

After conducting a number of briefing meetings, the Oaklands Global research team commenced its market-mapping process taking into consideration a number of key prerequisite requirements defined by the IWA leadership team. With strict geographical constraints the team identified a short-list of approximately 20 suitable profiles. The Oaklands Global search team further reduced this to 10 candidates who were systematically approached and engaged. Five candidates in total were presented for IWA’s perusal and interviews commenced. With one clear front-runner meeting the skills, experience and culture fit required, an offer of employment was presented and accepted resulting in a start to finish process of 4 weeks.

THE RESULTS…

After carefully supervised negotiations the preferred candidate accepted their new role of Flight Director with IWA and started with the business in May 2024.

Client Comment: “We had a positive experience with Will and his team and they were happy to think outside the box and source candidates from other areas in aviation. We felt we reached a wider pool of candidates with the focus on the skill set required’”

Emily Williams

Co-Founder

“From the outset IWA set the bar high with this business-critical mandate and based on their reputation of excellence it was clear the search would require a seamless process and hand-picked professional. It was a pleasure working with the IWA team and I look forward to future collaborations”

William Finden

Head of Aviation Search Practice