Finding a regional Engineer for Ridley's Maroota site

Ridley needed an engineer for its rendering plant at Maroota, on the outer edge of the Sydney metropolitan area. The role called for a specific combination of Continuous Improvement experience in an industrial setting, alongside environmental monitoring capability and the skill to automate it. The budget was set and fixed.

The hunt for an aligned skillset wouldn't be difficult, but findind someone to join an organisation at a remote industrial site, with a fixed salary, was going to take influence and deep understanding of both the oppportunity and the candidates needs. 

The Challenge

Two factors narrowed the field before the search began. Maroota sits well outside the metro area with few rental options, which rules out anyone who can't realistically relocate or commute. A rendering plant also asks something particular of a candidate - it takes an engineer who is drawn to the operational problem rather than the setting. Add a fixed budget and a dual-capability brief spanning Continuous Improvement and environmental automation, and the pool of genuine fits was always going to be small.

Our Approach

We first leaned into our relationships built over years in regional engineering:

• Direct outreach through our network of regional engineering managers, who recommend readily - engineering rewards people who are given harder problems to solve, and good managers know it
• The Six Degrees Executive talent pool, built over more than 20 years, including candidates we speak to regularly who actively want regional and remote work

On the other hand, we also knew Ridley very well. We had placed an engineer with them two years earlier who has  settled in perfectly, and through continuous conversations with the hiring manager we understood the kind of work ethic and culture that works on this particular site. The briefing sharpened it further - we came away clear on where the outgoing engineer had been strong and where the gaps sat, which told us precisely what they needed moving forward.

The search moved fast, with two work-in-progress meetings to share market trends, salary expectations and where the market would and wouldn't stretch.

The Outcome

Ridley interviewed three candidates and appointed one. Each had a concrete reason to want a regional role - one held a regional visa and could only work outside the metro area, one was building a house within thirty minutes of the site, and one came from an environmental engineering background suited to the work. Their interest held up because it was grounded, not a compromise.

We took the brief at the start of February and the appointed engineer started in March, carrying every technical skill the role required, on the salary Ridley had set out to pay.

A remote site and a fixed budget didn't cap the quality of the hire. It came down to knowing the client, reading the market honestly, and staying close enough to regional engineers to reach the few with a real reason to be there.