Practice Groups are niche recruiting groups of NPAworldwide members specializing in the same occupational fields. NPAworldwide introduced this concept to help specialist recruiters involved in global recruiting who share similar industry issues, challenges, and demands.
- Increased productivity. Practice Group recruiters interact with other experienced members to complete searches and placements faster and more profitably.
- Competitive advantage. Practice Group members develop strong relationships with other partners, creating a competitive advantage over recruiters working without the support of an industry network.
- Professional interaction. Recruiters in Practice Groups support each other by sharing information, insight, and best practices via meetings, newsletters, and personal correspondence.
NPAworldwide presently has several Practice Groups to support the needs of its global recruiting network.
- Technology – information technology, hardware and software engineering, and electrical engineering. The market sectors covered are across the board: finance, healthcare, banking, technology, software, engineering, retail, manufacturing, and aerospace / defense.
- Common positions include: mid- to senior-level software engineers, architects, network engineers, system administrators, embedded software engineers, electrical engineers, controls engineers, optical engineers, designers, program managers, project managers, business analysts, ERP specialists, implementation specialists, data scientists, database developers, database administrators, security analysts, data center specialists, IT managers, CIO, CISO, and CTO.
- Accounting / Finance – accounting, audit, tax, finance, operations, compliance, regulatory, treasury, credit and IT
- The Accounting and Finance Practice Group works in these market sectors: Big Four and second tier accounting firms, CPA and accounting consultancies, banks, retail and investment banks, alternative asset firms including hedge funds, private equity and broker dealers and general finance firms. Common positions include, but are not limited to: mid- to senior-level placements in: accounting, audit, tax, compliance, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, compliance officer, chief security officer, commercial loan officer, controller, portfolio manager, financial and business analyst, and many others.
- Healthcare – focuses on supporting hospital systems, clinics, laboratories, public health and dental practices. The types of positions will cross all business departments: acute and outpatient care, finance, legal, IT, marketing, therapy, radiology, etc.
- Common positions include: medical director, CFO, physician, nurse, physician assistant/nurse practitioner, claims processor, medical biller, discharge planner, utilization review, EPIC programmer, mental health provider, pharmacist, lab technician, radiologist, physical therapist, public health administration, dentist, dental assistant, and environmental service
- Chemical Process – chemical, pharmaceutical, oil / gas / refinery, environmental, food, pulp and paper, engineering (process, chemical, environmental, etc.), biotechnology, alternative energy
- Member recruiters focus on engineering, environmental health & safety, technical, and management positions. The group’s clientele span the range from upstream to downstream operations. Upstream focuses on the exploration and production of oil; midstream is the transportation of product (pipeline, rail, barge, oil tanker). Downstream includes refining, petrochemicals, plastics, rubber, organic / inorganic/ fine / specialty chemicals, consumer products, flavors and fragrances, and pharmaceuticals.
- Cross-Industry Functions – specialties are specific functions within an organization that can cross many different industries. The types of roles focused on can include but are not limited to sales, marketing, business development, legal, human resources, etc.
- Some common positions include: executive level positions in sales, human resources, marketing and legal, as well as sales executive, business development manager, channel sales, sales executive, inside sales, director of marketing, HR benefits and compensation, recruiting manager, HR generalist, HR consultant, attorney, partner, associate partner, general counsel, manager and legal consultant
- Engineering / Operations / Manufacturing – consists of four main categories: manufacturing (including engineering such as mechanical, electrical, design, etc.), operations and supply chain, construction and mining
- The Engineering / Operations / Manufacturing Practice Group includes industries such as automotive, consumer products and pharmaceutical products (anything under a roof). Supply chain is the moving of products used in all the industries above. The construction industry includes everything in infrastructure development such as roads, bridges, and homes or building. The mining area includes open pit mining and underground mining.
- Legal Specialty – lawyers, attorneys, and other legal professionals
- Agribusiness Specialty – agricultural production including agri-chemicals, breeding, crop production (farming and contract farming), distribution, farm machinery, processing, and seed supply
The percentages shown above reflect a percentage of the total number of global recruiting placements made in NPAworldwide in 2017.