Our Services – US
urban provides a range of custom talent sourcing services to a large portfolio of clients based primarily in the USA and UK.
Our expert consultants, working solely within the architecture and interior design space, tailor the service they provide to each individual client’s needs, ensuring a smooth recruitment process and successful outcome.
We offer the following solutions:
- Direct Staffing and Contingent Labour
- Retained Search
- Managed Services
- Ancillary Services
Direct Staffing and Contingent Labour
An end-to-end recruitment service to enhance your workforce – we’re here as and when you need us.
urban‘s consultants continuously build their contact and candidate relationships, and clients benefit greatly from the connections we develop, which provides them with a greater window into the architectural and interior design talent market, whether you’re seeking new direct staff or contingent labour.
The roles we typically recruit for cover a wide range of design spaces, including retail, hospitality, residential, workplace, transportation and infrastructure. We are trusted by clients to fulfil roles on a permanent, interim, contract, or Statement of Work basis, ad hoc or as part of a PSL.
Retained Search
A bespoke, comprehensive program to identify, shortlist and deliver high-level talent.
Whether you are seeking to engage a high-level executive, appoint a position of critical importance or confidentiality, or have a role requiring extremely scarce niche skills, we can deliver a tailored, comprehensive and confidential program to nominate the ideal candidate shortlist within the timeframe your business requires.
With our reach spanning the Atlantic ocean, urban collaborates with leading industry organisations to provide a confidential retained search tailored to individual requirements that will source you exceptional candidates.
Our Retained Search methodology ensures that all candidates are fully briefed, the client role and employer value proposition are presented consistently, and enhanced selection techniques are used to screen candidates. These processes ensure that the candidates presented to our clients meet the cultural, knowledge, and experience requirements of the role.
Key features of a Retained Search Assignment
- Dedicated consultant with the research team
- Candidate and client brief
- Access to our talent pool network
- Focused multi-channel search campaign
- Tailored screening
- Longlist and shortlist presentation
- Offer and candidate management
Our Retained Search specialists
Charlotte Northam
Charlotte is the Global Operations Director for urban, leading strategic initiatives across the architecture and interior design sectors. With a client and candidate network spanning New York, Chicago, and Washington DC, she is known for her passion, expertise, and commitment to diversity, serving as program lead for #BeMoreInclusive USA. Since joining urban in 2016 as a trainee consultant, Charlotte has risen to Operations Director, where she now oversees the entire urban brand, fostering team development and managing high-level recruitment, with a strong focus on promoting diversity and empowering future female leaders.
Naomi Murdoch-Smith
Naomi is our Principal Talent Consultant with over 11 years’ experience in the interior architecture and design sector. With her primary focus on the New York market, Naomi’s drive and dedication ensure she provides her clients with the highest levels of service and success with their retained search requirements.
Managed Services
Tailored, outsourced solutions covering all your staffing and labour needs and activities.
We can provide you with Consultancy Services and Staffing Solutions such as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) for direct and permanent, direct hires, and Managed Service Provision (MSP) for contingent labour.
With the competition for talent intensifying, it’s critical that companies adopt innovative solutions for the identification, attraction, and retention of their workers.
Key features of a Managed Service
- Dedicated and accountable team
- Visibility and control over all recruitment activity
- Enhanced staffing processes and compliance
- Consistent brand promotion and candidate experience
- Effective careers site, direct hire and supplier sourcing channels
- Greater choice and enhanced quality of candidates
- Reduced HR and manager time
- Process efficiency delivering reduced time-to-hire
- Controlled and reduced cost per hire
- A scalable solution that aligns with your needs
Ancillary Services
We also provide services as bolt-ons to one of our main solutions listed above, or on an ad-hoc basis.
Market surveys and benchmarking reports
urban will undertake market benchmarking investigations on your behalf to ensure your employees’ salary and benefits packages are competitive with comparable companies. We can cover all your roles from junior to senior executive level, or focus on one or two key roles within the business.
Following our investigations, using the latest tools and techniques, we provide a detailed report of our findings, advice on your market position and the best way forward considering current industry trends. We will help to ensure you are positioned as an employer of choice within the architecture and interior design space.
To understand more about our capabilities, or to discuss the challenges your company faces, please contact us by email at ir35@strgroup.co.uk or call Darren or David.