A structural engineering firm in Cincinnati needed its first dedicated Office Manager as growth placed increasing administrative pressure on the firm's principals. Newly created, the role would consolidate accounting, human resources, and day-to-day office functions handled informally by leadership and a part-time bookkeeper.
The Client
The company employs seventeen people and provides structural engineering services. It is run by a president and a CFO. Its lean structure had served a smaller business well, but as the company continued growing, there was a growing need for a more structured operational function.
The Office Manager role was set up to take on various roles across several departments, including accounting, human resources, and general office administration. The client expected the hire to help shape and refine internal processes, not just execute a fixed set of tasks.
The Challenge
The position required knowledge of accounting, HR administration, and the ability to manage office operations in a small technical firm. A minimum of ten years in office management was preferred, as well as proven proficiency in payroll, accounts payable and receivable, and bank reconciliations.
The role required a candidate with dedicated human resources experience to manage employee onboarding, benefits administration, and the maintenance of personnel records. Experience with accounting and project management software was also preferred, including experience with the firm’s Unanet AE platform.
The firm also needed someone who was comfortable working without close supervision and could develop internal structures where few had been established.
The Solution
The candidate profile for this role was someone with a background in accounting, HR administration, and office management. The search was solely conducted by Keller Executive Search. The search was focused on candidates with multi-function administrative backgrounds, with preference given to those who had worked with a small professional practice.
Two candidates were selected and interviewed by the company’s President and CFO, and both were evaluated across the full range of necessary functions. Both candidates impressed, and the client highlighted the difficulty of choosing between the two.
The successful candidate demonstrated the initiative and willingness to take on the full practical range of the role. In the interview, the candidate was confident in the necessary software and proposed other ways they could contribute within the administrative scope.
The Results
An offer was made and accepted, background checks were done, and placement confirmed.
The organization hired a full-time administrative professional with the financial, HR, and operational experience the new position required. Keller Executive Search placed an Office Manager with the ability to fulfill the operational needs of the client and help evolve their internal processes.
The Impact
As the firm had grown, administrative, accounting, and HR functions had been informally absorbed by its principals along with their core engineering work. The appointment gave those functions a dedicated professional home for the first time. The new role in a small practice is not a backfill with a clean handover. It is for someone who is ready to build the processes as well as run them, and the chosen candidate was assessed as much on initiative as technical range. The firm has an operating function that can grow with it, and its principals can focus on the work they built the business to do.
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