The Challenge
Monaghan Mushrooms is one of the world’s largest mushroom growers and packers, supplying the majority of major UK retailers. Tunnel Tech, their vertically integrated substrate division, operates two UK sites producing high-quality compost essential to Monaghan’s growing operations.
Following a senior leader’s transition into a consultancy role, Monaghan required a strong operational leader to take responsibility for their South site in Leckford, Andover. The facility had recently undergone more than £10 million of investment, incorporating state-of-the-art technology and automation. We needed the incoming leader to maximise efficiency, protect output, and ensure the wider UK growing operations consistently met production targets.
The Approach
Having recently supported Monaghan in appointing their UK Operations Director, the HR Director engaged us again to identify a leader capable of combining industrial operational expertise with an understanding of agricultural manufacturing environments. The ideal candidate needed to align with Monaghan’s commitment to innovation and sustainability while bringing the capability to run a complex, high-investment site.
Recognising that the talent pool for substrate production is extremely niche, we broadened our search to adjacent sectors with similar operational challenges, including general composting, animal feed manufacturing, and agricultural processing environments.
Using a combination of targeted industry mapping, network engagement, and proactive headhunting across multiple platforms, we built a focused longlist of candidates with the right blend of leadership, technical capability, and sector relevance.
After consulting with Monaghan, we refined this into a high-quality shortlist and guided candidates through a structured three-stage assessment process, including full referencing.
One standout candidate demonstrated a genuine passion for the sector, strong leadership credentials, and relevant experience in green waste processing and project delivery, making them an excellent fit for the future direction of the site.
“We have recently used More People for two Senior Roles in our organisation, both in Horticulture.
Jack was clearly knowledgeable about the wider industry, took time to understand what we were looking for, and supported us with options to ensure we accessed a strong range of candidates. There were clear timescales agreed and weekly updates on the progress of the roles. It was clear that Jack had invested time with the candidates to understand their skillset and motivations before presenting them to us. Really pleased with the process and support. We look forward to continuing to work with More People.”
Ruth Acheson, HR Director, Monaghan
