Case Study: How 2Simple reduced hiring time and secured a high quality marketing hire through specialist recruitment

21 Apr Case Study: How 2Simple reduced hiring time and secured a high quality marketing hire through specialist recruitment

After struggling to find the right fit through internal recruitment, 2Simple turned to a specialist recruitment partner to secure a strong marketing hire, save valuable internal time and improve the candidate experience.

About 2Simple

2Simple is a UK-based EdTech company with a mission to transform teaching and learning through innovative, accessible and impactful software. Its award-winning portfolio includes products such as Purple Mash, Python in Pieces, Evidence Me and Know My School, supporting over 2 million learners in more than 9,500 schools worldwide.

Behind this global reach is a small but high-performing marketing team led by Sarah Heath, Head of Marketing. Responsible for marketing nine products across multiple international markets, the team plays a central role in generating pipeline, strengthening customer retention and delivering a strong customer experience. As the demands on the team continued to grow, 2Simple began the search for a general Marketing Executive who could provide broad support across the function.

The Hiring Challenge 2Simple Faced

2Simple was looking to hire for a general marketing executive role, but previous attempts to recruit internally had not delivered the right result. The team had previously received a high volume of applications, but many candidates were not suitably qualified for the role. 

Reviewing applications and interviewing unsuitable candidates was taking up significant time without leading to a successful hire.

On top of this, 2Simple needed more than just marketing experience. The ideal candidate also needed to align with the company’s culture and understand the nuances of working in and around the education sector.

Sarah said: “The challenge wasn’t just finding someone with marketing experience, we needed someone who could also fit our culture and understand the education sector.”

The GreatFind Solution

Key outcomes included:

To improve the process, 2Simple partnered with us at GreatFind Recruitment to support the search for the role. After an initial discussion with our team, including Ravi Patel (Managing Director) and Coleen Martin (Senior Recruitment Consultant), we went looking for the ideal candidates for this role.

GreatFind Recruitment has supported 2Simple for over 9 years, developing a strong understanding of the business, its culture, and its hiring requirements, enabling us to step in and assist with their hiring challenge. We know through our targeted search and pre-qualification of candidates that we would only put forward the right and best-fit candidates to fit 2Simple’s requirements.

Ravi Patel, Managing Director, said: “Hiring in the education and EdTech sector requires more than just matching skills on paper. It is about understanding the environment, the culture, and the long-term impact of the hire. Our focus is always on delivering a small number of high-quality candidates who genuinely fit both the role and the organisation.”

“Hiring in the education and EdTech sector requires more than just matching skills on paper. It is about understanding the environment, the culture, and the long-term impact of the hire. Our focus is always on delivering a small number of high-quality candidates who genuinely fit both the role and the organisation.”

Ravi Patel, Managing Director at GreatFind Recruitment

Rather than sending over a large volume of applicants, we delivered a small, carefully selected shortlist of five candidates. Each candidate came with a CV and a concise overview, giving the hiring team a quick snapshot of who they were and why they could be a fit.

Sarah said: “Rather than sifting through lots of unsuitable CVs, we were given a shortlist of pre-qualified candidates with a helpful summary alongside each one, and Ravi and Coleen really understood what we were looking for, both in terms of skills and the kind of person who would culturally fit.”

This made the process far more efficient for the internal team. Instead of spending hours filtering through unsuitable applications, Sarah and Dawn Hallybone (Chief Operations Officer at 2Simple) could focus their time on candidates who had already been pre-qualified against the brief. We also managed communication with unsuccessful applicants, ensuring candidates received feedback without creating additional admin for the 2Simple team.

Dawn said: “Whenever we advertise a role, it can take us days to trawl through CVs. Whereas with GreatFind, they can send us the best-fit candidates whilst saving us time. It means we know we’re interviewing the best candidates and therefore filling the role quickly and efficiently.”

The Impact of Hiring with GreatFind Recruitment

The partnership ultimately led to the successful hire of Sophy for the marketing executive role. Sarah mentioned that “It genuinely saved us days of time compared to trying to run the process on our own, and Sophy has slotted into the team really well and has already started supporting across the areas we needed.”

Sophy’s knowledge of generalist marketing support and email marketing fits well within 2Simple’s skills-based team structure, alongside colleagues with different specialisms, such as events.

Sophy said:“When I was looking for a new role, the GreatFind team could place me in not only the right company for my skills, but the right company for the culture fit. It’s so important as a candidate that the job will be the right one professionally and personally.”

Just as importantly, the process gave 2Simple confidence that they were seeing candidates who not only matched the job requirements, but also understood the business, its culture and the wider sector.

Sarah said:“Both Ravi and Coleen were very personable, easy to contact and delivered strong candidates without us having to spend days reading CVs to find the right fit.”

The experience was positive enough that Sarah said 2Simple would consider using our expertise again for future marketing recruitment.

Final Word

For 2Simple, the value of working with a specialist recruiter went beyond filling a vacancy. It was about saving time, reducing pressure on the internal team, improving the candidate experience, and finding someone who could genuinely add value to the business. Sophy’s successful appointment is a strong example of what can happen when recruitment is handled with care, precision and a clear understanding of both the role and the organisation behind it.

If you need hiring support for your next marketing hire, drop us an email: info@greatfindrecruitment.com

About GreatFind Recruitment

GreatFind Recruitment is a specialist recruitment partner supporting organisations across the EdTech and technology sectors.

The business is led by Ravi Patel, who brings over 25 years of experience in technology and education recruitment. Across the wider team, we offer over 30 years of combined experience supporting EdTech organisations, schools, multi academy trusts and IT companies, delivering high quality hires across Sales, Marketing, IT, data and leadership functions.

We work closely with our clients to deliver high quality, carefully targeted shortlists rather than high volumes of unsuitable applicants. Through a structured and consultative approach, we reduce time to hire, improve candidate quality and support better long term hiring outcomes.