Siobhan Farlow and Nik Shah join Government arm of Odgers Interim

The government consulting team of Odgers Interim has appointed two new professionals to its UK wing, as it works to accommodate heightened demand. Nik Shah joins Odgers Interim from iPeople, where he held the position of Associate Director, while Siobhan Farlow arrives from the Cabinet Office DDAT (Digital, Data & Technology) team.

Odgers Interim is a global provider of interim management services with 20 years’ experience in c-suite and director-level interim placements. The firm’s 26 consultants advise public and commercial organisations across 24 different sectors. In the last six months, the firm has seen an explosive demand for senior executives on a part-time basis, particularly in the fields of local and national government.

The public sector represents a £1.5 billion consulting industry, around 40% of which ends up in the pocket of independent consultants. At the same time, demand for interim managers in the public sector is increasing, with a majority of firms either reporting the same level of work or an improvement last year. They are either hired on a sole basis, or through interim and placement firms such as Odgers Interim.

To meet with this spiking demand, the interim management arm of executive search firm Odgers Berndtson has expanded its Government Practice with two senior consultants. Siobhan Farlow and Nik Shah have Odgers Interim, and both consultants will be working alongside Jes Ladva, Partner and Head of the Government Practice at Odgers Interim.

Commenting on the growth of the Practice, Jes Ladva remarked, “Government organisations, whether central or local, face the increasingly difficult challenge of delivering high-quality services against a backdrop of tighter regulation, limited resources and Brexit turbulence. We’re finding a growing demand from government organisations who value the critical skills and outside-of-the-box thinking interims bring to programmes and services.”

Siobhan Farlow has arrived at Odgers Interim as a Consultant, via the Cabinet Office DDAT (Digital, Data & Technology) team, where she specialised in the appointment of technical architects. She brings over two decades of experience in search and assessment, and has held other previous roles including Director at iPeople, an executive search business specialising in the Public, Private and Third Sectors. Farlow also held a Senior Manager role at Advanced Human Resources, an HR consultancy specialising in local and central government.

She will work with central government departments, bodies and agencies to place interim managers in digital and technology roles. Farlow will seek to blend sought-after technical skillsets with critical requirements, in order to help clients source interims that add value quickly, deliver outcomes within a tight timeframe and ensure the organisation is equipped to continue even after the interim assignment.

Farlow said of her new challenge, “The uncertainty emanating from the current political and economic climate is hampering the progress of much needed digital and technology programmes across central government. Interim managers are proving to be a cost-effective resource for re-engaging projects and putting digital development back on track.”

Nik Shah has joined Odgers Interim to take responsibility for middle and senior interim assignments across local authorities. His remit covers children’s and adult’s social care, as well as general project management, improvement and transformation.

Prior to joining Odgers Interim, who also takes up the position of Consultant, Shah also spent time with iPeople, where over a four year spell he ascended to the rank of Associate Director. Previously he also worked as a Process Improvement Engineer with RB, after spending a three year period in Dubai with the Noble Insurance Broker Company, where he was latterly a Business Development Manager.

Shah stated, “Having to work with constrained resources, People Services face ongoing challenges to meet capacity demands. As a result, local authorities are increasingly looking for transformation and improvement specialists who can be parachuted into organisations to plug gaps at the same time as improve the quality of services delivered across social care.”