Supporting Indigenous Leadership Through Relationship-Led Hiring

The Challenge

An education-sector organization set out to expand Indigenous legal services within a university law faculty, but needed the right person to lead the way. The role required Indigenous lived experience, strong legal services coordination skills, and deep community connection, making it a uniquely specialized and difficult search.

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Our Approach

To support this complex search, our team took a highly tailored, relationship-driven approach.

• Collaborative intake and strategy

• We partnered closely with the hiring manager to clarify priorities, timelines, and long-term goals, ensuring alignment with the organization’s vision for the role.

• Proactive, transparent communication

• We maintained open communication throughout the search, sharing regular updates, flagging challenges, and adjusting the strategy as needed.

• Targeted Indigenous talent sourcing

• Our team conducted focused searches using LinkedIn and other methods to identify Indigenous professionals with relevant experience while expanding Indigenous talent networks.

• Referral-led recruitment

• We leveraged our national referral network, community connections, and local job boards to reach qualified, often passive, candidates.

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The Results

A successful referral emerged through our extended network, connecting us to an Indigenous professional with experience in Indigenous events and community-focused roles. This connection led to strong referral candidates and ultimately a successful placement.

By leaning into relationship-based recruitment and our established referral ecosystem, we were able to solve a highly specialized and sensitive search—while maintaining respect, care, and alignment with the organization’s mission.

44% of all Altis placements come through referrals and word of mouth, reinforcing the strength, reach, and diversity of our national network.

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Building a specialized team?

We partner closely with organizations navigating complex, community-connected searches — bringing care and clarity to every step.

Let’s find the right leader: Get started

Altis is a Canadian-owned staffing firm supporting organizations across the private and public sectors. We focus on relationship-driven recruitment, clear process and consistent delivery, helping employers hire with confidence and professionals build meaningful careers.