Executive search

When retained search is the right instrument

Contingency works when a role is common, the market is liquid, and speed matters more than precision. Almost nothing at leadership level is like that.

Retained search is the right call when at least two of these are true. The role is business-critical and the seat sitting empty costs more each month than the fee. The people you want are employed, well paid and not reading job boards. The search has to stay confidential, because an incumbent is still in post or the market must not know you are moving. Or the brief itself is unclear and needs a market map before anyone is approached.

What actually happens

1. Discovery. Ninety minutes with the hiring manager and one level above. We leave with the business objective behind the seat, not a job description. If those two answers conflict, we say so before we start.
2. Market map. Every relevant leader in the target geography, identified and tiered before a single approach is made. You see the map. It is yours whether you proceed or not.
3. Engagement. Discreet, personal outreach by the consultant running your search. No sequenced templates and no junior researcher fronting the conversation.
4. Assessment. Competency-anchored interviews against your brief, plus verified track records. You receive candidate profiles, not CVs.
5. Shortlist. Six to eight named candidates with written assessments and honest reservations. If two are stronger than the rest we tell you which two.
6. Offer and the first ninety days. Offer strategy, counter-offer management, and a check-in at thirty, sixty and ninety days.

What you get in writing before you commit

Scope, timeline, service levels, expected shortlist ratios and the fee. In writing, inside five days of the first call. There is no pitch deck and no discovery process that bills.

Markets

Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Greece as home ground. The wider EU and the UAE through the same process, with relocation and cross-border packages handled as standard rather than as an exception.

Where it does not fit

If you need forty people in ninety days, this is the wrong service and Greenfield & High-Volume Build is the right one. If you need capacity rather than a specific hire, look at Embedded Recruitment. If the seat needs covering in days rather than months, Contract & Interim Leadership is the answer.