After more than 40 years of growth, this family-owned food processing company had reached a stage where parts of its administrative and operational structure required greater professionalization.
With approximately 100 employees, the organization was looking for a leader who could strengthen processes, improve coordination across functions and bring greater structure to the business — without losing the agility and practicality of an owner-led company.
The Hiring Challenge
Finding the balance between structure and pragmatism.
The challenge went beyond finding an experienced administrative manager.
The role required someone who could operate across administrative and operational functions, introduce greater process discipline and work effectively within the dynamics of an established family business.
Candidates coming from highly corporate environments could bring sophisticated processes, but not necessarily the flexibility required by the organization.
At the same time, profiles accustomed to less structured environments might fit the culture but lack the experience needed to professionalize the operation.
The search therefore focused on finding the right balance between structure and pragmatism.
“The search was defined around what the organization needed for its next stage — not simply around a conventional job description.”
Our Approach
Evaluating how candidates think, not only what they have done.
Sync Talent evaluated candidates from administrative, operational and process-improvement backgrounds, looking for a balanced combination of experience, execution capability and adaptability to the company's specific environment.
The assessment went beyond CV review and interviews.
Finalists completed practical business cases designed to provide additional evidence of how they structured problems, established priorities and translated their previous experience into decisions relevant to real organizational situations.
This allowed the evaluation to focus not only on the positions candidates had held previously, but also on how they thought, exercised judgement and translated experience into actions relevant to the organization.
The Outcome
A successful appointment for the company's next stage.
The search resulted in the successful appointment of a new Administrative & Operations Manager, who joined the company in September 2026.
The selected candidate demonstrated the combination of administrative perspective, operational understanding and practical judgement required for the role, performing strongly across both the interview and case-assessment stages.
As the appointment is recent, Sync Talent does not yet attribute long-term business outcomes to the hire.
The engagement does, however, illustrate the value of defining a leadership role around the organization's next stage rather than around a conventional job description.
- Position
- Administrative & Operations Manager
- Industry
- Food Processing
- Company
- Family-owned · 40+ years
- Organization
- ~100 employees
- Outcome
- Successful Placement
- Start
- September 2026
Key Takeaway
“Professionalization does not necessarily mean adding more complexity. The right leadership hire can introduce structure while preserving the agility that helped a family business grow in the first place.”
Evidence beyond the CV.
For this engagement, candidate evaluation combined structured interviews with practical business cases, providing additional evidence of how finalists approached problems, established priorities and applied their experience to the organization's context.
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