A deal with UK-based job aggregator Adzuna will see Fairfax Media challenge for the classified recruitment advertising market it once dominated.
The company announced the joint venture today, together with an immediate launch.
A local site went live last May and has more than 85,000 job listings, a figure Adzuna Australia boss Raife Watson expects to double by the end of this year.
Today, there’s little to show for the partnership on the site at www.adzuna.com.au which claims to draw jobs from Gumtree, News’ CareerOne, Fairfax’s MyCareer, SpotJobs and LinkedIn.
UK-headquartered Adzuna also has operations in Brazil, Canada, Germany, France, India, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia and South Africa.
In a BusinessDay report Fairfax says it will challenge online rival Seek in the market it once dominated. A case of the “disrupted becoming the disrupter”, according to chief executive Greg Hywood.
Adzuna was founded by former Gumtree executives in 2011 and has gained “significant traction” around the world. It claims more local job listings than Seek.
Fairfax says its MyCareer website will continue, as will the print section in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Hywood describes its vertical search approach as “a compelling alternative”.
“Fairfax is right behind this new business model in Australia, which provides a superior digital search experience for job seekers and ensures recruiters stay close to the talent they’re looking to hire.”
Adzuna co-founder Doug Monro says his company is delighted to be working with Fairfax to bring its market leading technology to Australia.
Raife Watson will lead Adzuna sales with marketing and operations led by Nat Thomas as chief operating officer.