We’re seeing an interesting shift in the roles our clients are asking us to fill. Companies are running leaner, technology and AI are changing how work gets done, and teams are being asked to accomplish more without necessarily adding more people.
Increasingly, that means roles that would have looked like two separate jobs a few years ago are being combined into one.
Sometimes that makes perfect sense:
- A Controller who can also think strategically about the business
- A Project Manager who builds real client relationships and spots new opportunities
- An Operations leader fluent in people, process, systems, and technology
These broader roles can be genuinely valuable, and plenty of professionals actually prefer them. They offer more exposure, more responsibility, and a bigger seat at the table.
But there’s a point where a broad role becomes something else entirely, and lately we’ve found ourselves asking clients a version of the same question more often: are you actually hiring one person, or two?
When the Wish List Gets Too Long
Most searches start with reasonable requirements. Then, as we talk it through, the list tends to grow. Could they also have business development experience? It’d be great if they could oversee HR. Ideally, they’ve implemented an ERP. Can they manage the team and still stay hands-on? And, oh, while we’re at it, could they eventually be the person to step into the CEO’s shoes?
None of that is unreasonable on its own. The trouble is finding all of it in one person. At some point, we’re no longer defining a role, but describing a unicorn. And unicorns, when they exist, know exactly what they’re worth.
How This Unfolded in a Recent Finance Search
A client came to us looking for what initially sounded like a fairly traditional Controller. As we dug into what they actually needed, the scope kept expanding.
They wanted someone who could own the accounting function, manage and develop the team, improve systems and processes, oversee budgeting and forecasting, provide meaningful financial analysis, and serve as a strategic partner to the CEO, all while staying hands-on with day-to-day accounting when needed.
There are people who can do all of that. But once we started talking to real candidates, we discovered something important: the market didn’t view this as a traditional Controller role.
Candidates with the breadth and strategic capability the client wanted were operating closer to a VP of Finance or CFO level, and their compensation expectations reflected it. Candidates within the client’s original range could handle the core Controller responsibilities well but didn’t necessarily bring every strategic and operational skill on the list.
So we went back to the client for a different conversation and asked a few important questions:
- What did they truly need this person to own?
- What could be learned on the job?
- What could stay with someone else on the team?
- And which items were really just nice to have?
Once we separated the must-haves from the wish list, the candidate pool opened up considerably. The client didn’t necessarily need two people. They needed clarity about the one role that mattered most, and which responsibilities truly belonged in it.
More Responsibility Changes the Market
This is the piece companies sometimes underestimate: when you add responsibilities from another position onto a role, its market value shifts too.
Ask for Controller-level accounting expertise alongside CFO-level strategic capability, and you’re competing for candidates at the higher level. Ask a Project Manager to also generate significant new business, and you’ve added a skill set with real market value of its own. Ask an Operations leader to simultaneously own HR, technology, and process improvement, and you’ve narrowed the pool of people who can genuinely do the job well.
It’s not the title that determines what candidates are worth — it’s the scope.
When Broader Roles work:
Some of the most interesting searches we’re working on today are for people who can cross traditional functional lines, because businesses are changing and roles should change with them. But building a broader, more strategic role and simply stacking responsibilities onto an existing position because the company doesn’t want to add headcount are two very different things. The first creates real opportunity. The second usually creates an unrealistic search and, eventually, an overwhelmed employee.
When we’re presented with a broad role, we’ve started encouraging clients to answer a few questions first.
- What absolutely has to be accomplished by this person?
- Which skills do they need on day one, and which could they learn along the way?
- Which responsibilities could reasonably sit elsewhere?
- And if the answer really is that you need someone who can do it all, are the title and compensation aligned with the person you’re trying to attract?
Those conversations can dramatically change a search, because sometimes the problem isn’t that the right candidates aren’t out there. The real issue is that we’ve created a role the market doesn’t recognize at the price we’re willing to pay.
As companies continue operating leaner and roles continue evolving, we expect to see more of these blended positions. Some will be smart, modern jobs that attract exceptional people. Others will simply be two jobs wearing one title. Knowing the difference before you start recruiting can save a lot of time, frustration, and money.
If you’re struggling to find candidates who check every box, it may be worth taking another look at the boxes. We’re always happy to help you pressure-test a role before you take it to market.
