Search documentation
Written success profile, competency scorecard and candidate specification, agreed before launch.
What it is
Search as a commercial decision, not a candidate flow.
A retained mandate buys process. We map the addressable market, approach leaders who are not looking, test them against a scorecard built from your commercial plan, and give you the evidence to decide.
We work on appointments where the cost of getting it wrong is measured in strategy, not salary. Scaling a division, integrating an acquisition, professionalising a founder led business, rebuilding a sales engine, preparing for exit.
When boards call us
- A step change in growth is expected and the current leadership team cannot deliver it alone
- An acquisition needs an integration owner with real authority
- Succession is approaching and the internal candidate needs benchmarking against the market
- An investor wants confidence in the leadership before or shortly after a deal
- A confidential replacement has to be handled without disruption
Process
Six stages, reported throughout.
You always know where the mandate stands: who has been approached, who is progressing, who declined and why.
- 01
Discovery and success profile
Commercial context, capability gap, reward, reporting lines and the measures of success, agreed in writing.
- 02
Market map and benchmarks
The addressable population, comparable appointments and reward benchmarks, so expectations are set on evidence.
- 03
Direct approach
Targeted outreach carrying your story, handled discreetly where confidentiality matters.
- 04
Assessment and validation
Competency interviews against the scorecard, plus operator validation on commercial and technical depth.
- 05
Shortlist and decision support
Insight profiles with strengths, risks and evidence. Interview structure and panel briefing.
- 06
Offer, close and 90 days
Reward design, close management, referencing, then a structured onboarding review through the first 90 days.
Deliverables
What you actually receive.
Market intelligence
A longlist with rationale, market map, reward benchmarks and honest feedback on how your proposition is landing.
Insight profiles
Narrative assessment of each shortlisted leader covering commerciality, evidence of delivery, risks and fit.
Related
Where search fits alongside our other work.
Have a mandate in mind?
Send us the situation rather than the job description. We will come back with the capability we think it needs and how we would run it.