The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international non-profit organisation that sets standards for responsible forest management and sustainable timber production. FSC also established the FSC Indigenous Foundation, focused on advancing Indigenous Peoples’ rights and supporting sustainable forest-based solutions.
During a period of growth, FSC was recruiting across multiple functions, regions and leadership levels simultaneously. Many of the positions were newly created or significantly redesigned, requiring individuals with deep functional expertise alongside the ability to operate effectively within a complex stakeholder environment.
The target talent pool sat at the intersection of sector expertise and international development experience. Identifying suitable candidates required proactive international search across Europe, Africa and Latin America, often in multiple languages.
At the same time, several senior recruitment processes were running concurrently across different functions and hiring managers. Some involved both internal and external candidates, creating a requirement for a consistent, transparent and objective assessment process.
With limited internal recruitment capacity and increasing hiring demands, FSC needed a partner able to provide immediate delivery support while also contributing to longer-term organisational development and talent planning.
I felt you immersed yourself in my shoes, absorbed what we needed and then helped us find the talent that was necessary. It wasn’t a ticking box exercise. It was genuinely thoughtful and deliberate.
Chief Operating Officer, FSC
Millar Cameron acted as FSC’s strategic talent partner, supporting leadership hiring across both FSC and the FSC Indigenous Foundation. The engagement combined executive search, embedded recruitment support and talent advisory, helping the organisation meet immediate hiring priorities while strengthening recruitment capability, consistency and decision-making over the longer term.
Executive search
Retained search for executive, programme and specialist appointments across multiple functions and geographies. Searches covered newly created, business-critical and strategically important roles, helping FSC secure leaders capable of operating effectively within complex stakeholder environments.
Embedded recruitment support
A dedicated recruitment consultant was embedded within FSC’s People & Culture team during peak hiring periods, providing immediate additional capacity and helping multiple concurrent recruitment processes progress efficiently without increasing permanent headcount.
Competency design & assessment
Tailored competency frameworks supported the consistent assessment of both internal and external candidates. This created a more transparent and objective recruitment process, improving comparability and confidence in hiring decisions.
International talent access
Leveraging multilingual research capability and international networks, Millar Cameron identified candidates across Europe, Africa and Latin America. This expanded access to highly specialised talent pools that would have been difficult to reach through conventional recruitment approaches alone.
Through its partnership with FSC and the FSC Indigenous Foundation, Millar Cameron delivered more than individual appointments, helping strengthen organisational capability, improve recruitment consistency and provide additional support during a period of growth.
Strengthening leadership & specialist capability
More than 15 appointments were delivered across executive, programme, technical and specialist functions within FSC and the FSC Indigenous Foundation, helping strengthen organisational capability across multiple areas of the organisation.
More consistent & transparent hiring decisions
Competency frameworks and structured assessment processes enabled internal and external candidates to be evaluated against the same criteria, supporting greater consistency, transparency and confidence in recruitment decisions.
Additional recruitment capacity without permanent headcount growth
Embedded recruitment support provided FSC with the additional capacity needed to manage increased hiring activity across multiple teams and functions without expanding its permanent internal recruitment resource.
A partnership that evolved with organisational needs
What began as individual search assignments developed into a broader talent partnership spanning executive search, recruitment support, competency design and workforce planning, allowing FSC to access specialist expertise as organisational priorities evolved.
With bigger firms, you feel like one client among many. With Millar Cameron, I felt they had the time and space to really hear me. They punched above their weight in all areas, with strong
results to show.Chief Operating Officer, FSC