The Gillian Young Memorial Award for the Researcher of the Year.
THE GILLIAN YOUNG MEMORIAL AWARD FOR THE RESEARCHER OF THE YEAR.
Nominations have now CLOSED for 2026!
The Gillian Young Memorial Award for the Researcher of the Year is an annual award given to an ERA member in recognition of outstanding work in Executive Research and Talent Intelligence.
The award was established to commemorate our dedicated colleague and committee member, Gillian Young, who sadly passed away in September 2024. Given Gillian’s commitment to the ERA we feel that this award, which celebrates the achievements of the Executive Research community, is a fitting tribute.
We would like to extend special thanks to Tim Young, Gillian’s husband for having the memorial trophy made which will be presented to the winner at the annual conference.
The award is kindly sponsored by Parkhouse Bell who have provided a prize to recognise the achievements of each year’s winner.
This year’s winner will receive a free 12-month single membership to the ERA plus a free 2027 conference ticket, along with a £250 voucher and trophy.
APPLICATION PROCESS
This is a two-step process, start now by nominating!
Step 1 – NOMINATE – candidates can either nominate themselves or be nominated by a colleague or client with permission. Supply name and contact details of the nominee and the reason(s) why they are making the nomination to support the application. (Nominations are now closed)
Step 2 – COMPLETE FULL APPLICATION FORM – Nominees will then be contacted and requested to submit an application form outlining an example of an assignment. This must include the role/job title for a search, or describe the nature of the project for Talent
Intelligence assignments (e.g. location analysis, competitor intelligence), an indication of the client/organisation (e.g. Big 4 accounting/consulting firm, SME engineering company), the major challenges of the assignment, and what the outcome was. This should be between 200-500 words incorporating the three evaluation criteria specified below.
Email your application form to emma@theera.org
IMPORTANT DATES
28/05/2026: Nominations and Applications Open
15/08/2026: Nominations Close
28/08/2026: Applications Close
09/2026: Judging Panel to Review Entries
23/9/2026: Online Award Ceremony to Announce Winner
JUDGING CRITERIA
In evaluation the Judges consider the research results as well as the research process, evidence of the three evaluation criteria listed below is required.
1. Service Offering & Professionalism
Demonstrate research results achieved with an outstanding level of service and professionalism. Demonstrate commitment to research best practice which reinforces credibility in the quality and accuracy of information provided.
2. Creativity & Complexity
Demonstrate high levels of lateral thinking providing initial consulting, showing understanding of the client needs and advising on the appropriate solution. Demonstrate the complexity of a project which could include for example; geography, sector specialism, cultures etc.
3. Outcome
Examples of outcomes achieved, including client collaboration and influence, commitment to the task and return on investment.
GENERAL RULES AND REQUIREMENTS
Nominations are open to all researchers/sourcers in Executive Search or Talent Intelligence.
You do not have to be a member of the ERA to apply.
Complete step 1 by nominating yourself or someone in the industry.
The ERA will contact nominees to invite them to complete stage 2 application.
All nomination forms must be sent by email to the Membership Secretary Emma Murphy:emma@theera.org
All applications will be treated with the upmost confidentiality.
The winner will receive a free 12-month single membership to the ERA plus a free 2027 conference ticket, along with a £250 voucher and trophy.
One application per nominee.
Once an application has been submitted, the Membership Secretary will remove identifying details and give it a unique coding before submitting it to the Judges.
JUDGING PANEL
Applications will be judged by a panel of 3 highly experienced search professionals
Head Judge – Liz Shay
Liz was appointed to the ERA Committee in July 2015 and to the position of Co-Chair in November 2018. She is a Managing Associate at ZRG Partners, LLC, a US based talent advisory firm. Alongside executing global searches, she also participates in global operational excellence projects. Her experience includes Board, Retail and Consumer, Life Sciences, Retail Financial Services and Industrial sectors worldwide. As well as search delivery, she focuses on consulting projects including market intelligence, talent pipelining, board assessment, leadership consulting and organisation design. Liz is keen to promote the role and professionalism of the Researcher in the Recruitment sector and to pursue constant innovation to ensure the best outcomes for Clients and colleagues. She graduated from the University of Nottingham in French and Hispanic Studies and has an MBA from London Guildhall University.
Judge – Chloe Daintith
Chloe has built her career in executive research and talent intelligence, working across both in-house talent acquisition and executive search consulting. She has delivered complex international assignments spanning executive search, succession planning, talent mapping, market intelligence and talent pipelining across the industrial, technology, FMCG and life sciences sectors. She is currently a Client Director at Parkhouse Bell, where she leads client relationships, develops research strategies and oversees international project delivery. Chloe also leads and mentors teams of researchers, supporting their development and encouraging high standards of judgement, creativity and professionalism. As a CIPD qualified professional, Chloe brings a broader perspective on organisations, talent strategy and leadership capability. She is passionate about innovation in executive research and the use of new methodologies, technologies and sources of insight to improve research quality and client outcomes
Judge – Heather Travis
Heather is CEO of Travis Research, she has more than 35 years’ experience in the executive research and resourcing industry. Heather started her career with the BBC in graduate recruitment. Her first experience of research was in-house Researcher for an Executive Search firm, she was then headhunted to set up a UK office for a Belgium research firm and subsequently set up Travis Research in 1992. In 2014 she was headhunted to establish an APAC office for a competitor based in Singapore covering the APAC region, returning permanently to Travis Research in 2018 once this was successfully completed. Heather is ex Co-Chair of the Executive Research Association she is still an active member and is a mentor on the ERA Mentor Programme.