Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology
Biotech, Pharma and Manufacturing companies
In a recent conversation with The Evidence Base, Carrot Recruitment’s Founding Director Martin Anderson shares why the industry’s shift toward partnership-based models is producing better outcomes and how we are evolving to meet it.
As Talent Partner to the Evidence Base, Carrot works closely with a community of professionals at the heart of market access, HEOR and RWE.
When Martin Anderson founded Carrot Recruitment in 2006, bringing with him nearly a decade of commercial experience across consultancy and European marketing roles in the pharmaceutical sector, the industry looked very different. Twenty years on, with his wife Debbie – herself a seasoned industry veteran – alongside him, Carrot has grown into a specialist hiring partner serving clients across the full pharmaceutical product lifecycle, from early-stage concept through to commercial launch.
In a recent conversation with the Evidence Base, Martin reflected on how the market has changed, what clients now expect from their recruitment partners, and why a relentless focus on quality is defining the next era of life sciences hiring.
Navigating a period of reset
The post-COVID boom that briefly accelerated hiring across the sector gave way to a more cautious environment. Macroeconomic headwinds reduced appetite for investment and tightened R&D funding, and confidence — along with headcount — fell across the board. Reorganisations and redundancies became common, and for many organisations, headcount decisions stalled.
“Confidence has started to return, albeit slowly. And there is a much bigger focus now than ever before on quality rather than speed or quantity.”
That recalibration, Martin argues, has ultimately been productive. Organisations are no longer hiring at pace for the sake of it. Instead, they are thinking carefully about which roles are truly critical, and taking the time to fill them properly.
From transactional to strategic
The shift in client behaviour has been significant. Where previously companies might have engaged multiple recruiters simultaneously in a race to fill roles quickly, the current environment has driven demand for something more considered. Clients are now approaching Carrot as a genuine strategic partner, which means mapping out critical hires, agreeing on ideal candidate personas, and building talent pipelines with a long-term view.
This means the partnership model, where Carrot acts as the sole recruitment advisor to a client over a sustained period, has moved from one offering among several to the dominant way the business works. Today, approximately 65% of Carrot’s assignments are run on a partnership or retained basis. Martin expects that figure to reach 90% within the next 18 to 24 months.
20+
Years placing specialist life sciences talent
65%
Of assignments now run as retained partnerships
~90%
Projected partnership rate within two years
60/40
North America vs Europe client split
Partnership in practice
The value of this model becomes tangible when you look at specific mandates. One that stands out for Martin is a project supporting a European pharmaceutical company building out its US leadership team. Seven VP, Director and Executive Director-level hires were needed, spanning sales, marketing, market access, medical affairs and business intelligence, and Carrot was brought in to manage the entire process.
Working closely with the client’s global head of talent and US General Manager, the team undertook structured talent mapping, agreed on personas for each role, and ran a sequenced process across all seven vacancies. A bespoke dashboard gave the client real-time visibility of candidate profiles and the ability to comment and ask questions as the process progressed. All seven positions were secured within five months, including a period that spanned the Christmas break.
“It was a true partnership. We really worked very closely with their global head of talent and their US general manager to prioritise the vacancies and plan a sequential process for each of them.”
It is precisely this kind of integration, where Carrot becomes immersed not only in the technical requirements of a role but in the cultural nuances and softer fit considerations that Martin believes drives superior long-term outcomes for clients.
What comes next for hiring in Life Sciences?
Looking ahead, Martin is cautiously optimistic. Hiring volumes are expected to pick up gradually over the next 18 to 24 months as confidence continues to rebuild, but the emphasis on quality is here to stay. For companies operating in niche areas of the life sciences – where talent pools are small and the cost of a mis-hire is significant – getting appointments right matters more than getting them quickly.
On the question of AI, Martin’s view is pragmatic. Carrot uses it selectively to improve internal efficiency, but in markets defined by specialism and relationship, the human element remains irreplaceable. “In a market where we are so specialist and the talent pools are so small and niche,” he says, “the human touch is absolutely vital.”
Watch the full discussion:
Here to help.
As the proud Talent Partner of The Evidence Base community, we are here to offer you support in whatever form it may take, from ongoing advice around your talent branding, recruitment processes and employee engagement, (all complimentary) to the delivery of specific recruitment assignments to aid growth, we’re here to help.
We’re dedicated to the Market Access, HEOR & RWE sectors and have been developing our network in these areas since 2011 across Europe, the UK and North America. We have offices in Manchester, London and Raleigh, US.
Please feel free to get in touch with Martin via email to discuss your requirements – [email protected]
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Martin Anderson
Founding Director
Expertise:
Market Access, HEOR & RWE
