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Meet Martin, the newest team member at BPA Search. For his final thesis at University, Martin expanded on a business initiative already in existence (on a small scale) at BPA and helped to create BPA NexGen. He has large ambition for the initiative and believes it has the potential to transform tax recruitment for both clients and candidates.

What’s your role at BPA?

Since joining BPA in July 2017 I have been learning on-the-job from my colleagues – focusing mainly on junior tax roles and also on tax technology recruitment projects. I have also been involved in NexGen from the very start and am now working on putting this idea into practice. 

In a few lines, what is NexGen?

BPA NexGen offers young, talented tax professionals the chance to informally meet with tax leaders of major corporates, in any location that is of interest to them. As far as we are aware, this is a unique service, particularly from the perspective of the potential applicant. This gives tax professionals the chance to gain an insight into what a career ‘in-house’ might be like, without the need to prepare a CV or formally apply. From the clients’ perspective, this is a chance to meet (who we think) are the really talented tax leaders of the future.

What gave you the idea for NexGen?

For my University dissertation I had to prepare a business plan for an existing business. I decided to create a new business venture for BPA that would focus on the junior tax market, looking for the very best candidates who could go on to become the leaders of the future.

BPA had, in the past, used the NexGen model for one of their major clients. We thought that it would be a good idea to expand this idea and roll it out to additional clients. The key part of writing the business plan, was to really think through how NexGen could work for clients, candidates and BPA in the short and long term.

What’s in it for the client/candidate?

For clients:

It is chance for companies to keep an eye on the market, and be introduced to exciting professionals, so that if/when a position becomes available, these candidates can be fast-tracked into the company.

For candidates:

It is an opportunity to network with great companies and tax leaders so that if they ever do decide to make a move, they will have a very good idea of the company and what it would be like to work there. They also have an opportunity to build relationships with tax leaders who can become mentors and help them understand how to become a tax leader themselves.

What are the next steps for NexGen?

Next steps are to see how it works long-term i.e. whether clients we connect together with candidates actually begin to hire the people they have met through this service – this could take a year or more, although we are already seeing progress.

For more information on BPA NexGen, please contact Martin Pallen at: martin@bpasearch.co.uk / +44 7788 433749