Successful job board for black professionals set for upgrade

Press release

05 September 2023, for immediate release

More than 100 organisations have used the Black Leadership Job Board to post vacancies since its launch in March 2023, generating over 660 applications and nearly 87,000 job views. 

A collaboration between the not-for-profit organisation Black Leadership Group and leading recruitment firm Morgan Hunt, the Board was created to enable potential employers to reach a wide pool of qualified *Black professionals across the UK.

Latest figures reveal a severe lack of black representation in leadership roles in the UK – black employees hold just 1.5 per cent of top management roles in the UK private sector while the proportion of black leaders in the public sector remains static at 1 per cent.

Provided in 2023 as a free service, the platform has been a success and will now be upgraded and competitive fees will be introduced in early 2024. More than two thirds (69 per cent) of current users said they intended to use the Board when the new charges are in place, survey results found.

BLG Director Robin Landman OBE said: “We’re very pleased with the response to the Black Leadership Job Board, working with our valued partner Morgan Hunt. It’s clear the demand is there for a platform that gives employers better access to talented black professionals. 

“This is about giving every Black person the opportunity to secure a position in which their talents are recognised and valued, in organisations that want a representative workforce at all levels.”

A wide range of job roles have been posted on the Black Leadership Job Board since March – current positions advertised include a Deputy Chief Operating Officer vacancy in the NHS, Head of International Recruitment at a UK university and a Creative Design Lead at a college of further education.

Clare Keniry, Board Director and Head of D&I at Morgan Hunt, said: “We launched this job board with the Black Leadership Group because over the last number of years  working with the BLG as an affiliated organisation and on various projects, it just became more apparent how central recruitment is to tackling racial equality and addressing the lack of black leaders.

“And so the most positive action we thought we could take jointly was to create a job board platform to showcase opportunities for black talent and to give organisations and affiliates an opportunity to reach out to black members and other black professionals.”

The new revamped Black Leadership Job Board platform, scheduled for launch in January 2024, will offer the following benefits to advertisers and job seekers:

• Benefits to advertisers will include social sharing, podcast interviews, membership newsletter, sponsorship blog posts, client profiles and videos and client logos on the Job Board

• Integration with client ATS (application tracking systems), allowing for automatic job posting process

• Reduced user error, with each advertiser having their own account to view full data with job applications

• searchable candidate database is planned in phase 2 of development while in phase 1, candidates will be able to set up an account and receive job alerts for selected vacancy types

The Black Leadership Group and Morgan Hunt will hold a webinar on 05 October at 10:00 to showcase the upgrade and answer any questions from current users.

Catherine Wynn, Marketing Lead at Morgan Hunt, said: “The session will get people together to explain the positive changes coming. The intention was always to offer the platform as a free service as a trial, and now we can explain how the upgrade will become a fully integrated platform, making it much easier to post and access vacancies.”

Register here for the webinar Black Leadership Job Board – the next chapter

* BLG uses ‘Black’ as an inclusive definition for people from ethnically diverse backgrounds who share a lived experience of the effects of racism.