Executive Search

The right leader is found through search. The right decision is made through insight

Hiring leaders who align with your culture and goals is never straightforward. It takes more than instinct. It demands targeted expertise, intelligent tools, and a precise, consultative approach. At CJPI, we combine all three, backed by a placement guarantee.

An image of a team of rowers depicting the helm as the leader and the importance of executive search.

Strategic Hires. Measurable Impact

100%

Shortlist Rate

100% of all retained searches result in a shortlist

92%

Passive Talent

92% of successful candidates weren’t looking for a new role

80%

Offer In 6 Weeks

80% of all searches reach offer stage within just 6 weeks

You get one shot at hiring right best leader

We help clients identify transformative talent — individuals who don’t just fill a role, but create lasting, measurable impact.

The best candidate is rarely the most visible. Strategically critical appointments demand more than a job ad and a hunch. They require reach, rigour and sharp judgement.

Our reputation for discretion and credibility gives us access to senior leaders who are often out of reach for traditional recruiters or internal teams. Backed by powerful research and deep leadership insight, we bring a search capability that goes beyond the surface.

Using next-generation tools and a forensic approach, we surface leaders — whether they’re actively looking or not — whose capabilities and values align with your culture, objectives and stakeholders.

Our Executive Search Process

combining judgement, science and our winning methodology.

The Research Phase

This is where the headhunting process begins - by immersing ourselves in your organisation, understanding its culture, and aligning with the strategic objectives behind the role.

We start with a structured requirements capture to clarify the outcomes you’re hiring for and the context around them. From this, we develop a focused search strategy and craft a compelling, candid briefing pack for candidates.

Our dedicated research team then conducts a comprehensive market map to identify every high-performing candidate who fits your brief, whether they’re actively looking or not. We combine rigorous traditional research with advanced AI-driven tools to deliver deep, targeted insights at scale.

The Search Phase

Our search goes far beyond adverts, LinkedIn and databases. Once our research has created a tailored talent map, our search team gets to work delivering on it.

We actively headhunt the individuals we've identified, directly engaging those with the right blend of capability and context. For non-confidential assignments, we also run targeted advertising campaigns and tap into our national and international networks to broaden reach and reinforce our search strategy.

This approach ensures we don’t just find strong candidates—we find the ones who fit your DNA.

The Assessment Phase

Once we’ve assembled the strongest possible pool of talent, our focus shifts to identifying those most aligned with your strategic objectives, and those who best complement your existing team.

Our selection and assessment process is led by leadership development professionals and tailored to the context of the role. It typically includes three stages: initial screening, longlisting, and shortlisting. We manage this process end-to-end, presenting you with a final shortlist fully assessed against the strategic brief and success criteria.

A core part of our assessment is extended Occupational Personality Profiling, administered by our trained experts. This delivers deep insight into each candidate’s leadership style, team role preferences, and working dynamics—benchmarked against a norm group of senior leaders. The aim is a true 360-degree fit: not only for the role, but also the team and wider organisation.

We also create an ‘ideal candidate’ profile as a benchmark. This is often based on an analysis of the existing team, the role’s key interfaces and any incumbent. It enables meaningful comparisons and ensures we find not just a capable leader—but the right one for your unique organisational DNA.

Post Placement Support & Guarantee

Once you have made your final selection of the most suitable candidate and we have completed the project, we support with the administrative process of onboarding and the integration of your new team member. We are on hand to make sure things work out and can offer more formal support where required, for example through our executive coaching solutions.

Our Placement Guarantee

We know that when working with a professional partner, you expect them to take a fair share of the risk. We offer a placement guarantee for all retained searches, so if the selected candidate doesn't work out during the guarantee period, we will replace them for free.

Why Choose CJPI?

CJPI is a boutique consultancy with an innovative approach, big-firm capability, and a clear focus on impact. Whether you’re a high-growth startup, a private equity-backed venture, or a global enterprise, you have our full attention — from brief to onboarding.

Hiring senior leaders isn’t recruitment as usual. It’s a distinct discipline. The best talent isn’t on job boards, which is why we go beyond the obvious — giving you access to leaders others can’t reach. Every candidate is rigorously assessed by leadership experts using advanced tools designed to reduce risk and ensure long-term fit.

Our Difference

Contingent Recruiter
Executive Search
CJPI
Targets 'Active' Candidates

Focuses on job boards & limited databases

Included*
Expedites Shortlist

Able to shortlist swiftly

Experienced Consultants

Typically more than 10 years experience

Exhaustive Talent Mapping

Uncovers extensive map of candidates

Objective Shortlisting

Shortlists only the best candidates

Placement Guarantee

6-month guarantee on all retained searches

Comprehensive Assessments

Leadership expert-led, bespoke assessments

Extended Personality Testing

Professionally administered testing

Ideal Candidate Profile

Comparison of candidates against an 'ideal'

AI Powered Research

Underpinning traditional research with AI

Unbeatable Placement Guarantee
In the unlikely event your new hire doesn't work out, we replace them for free.
Fixed Fee Based on Deliverables
Transparent, fixed fee for all projects - split into three deliverables.

We Uncover Your Ideal Leader

Identifying great talent is one thing. Pinpointing the ideal fit requires a blend of science and expertise. We use our Ideal Candidate Profiling to define what success looks like from the outset, creating a bespoke benchmark tailored to the role, team, and wider organisation. Each candidate is then assessed against this profile, supported by probing, evidence-based questioning that brings the data to life in context.

Data-Driven Decisions

Give your ‘gut feeling' real data.

360 ideal fit as a leaders, subordinate and team-role
Reveal how each candidate compares
Data-driven approach for better, anti-bias decisions
Image link

Probing

Each profile includes probing questions to contextualise potential ‘gaps’.

360 Fit

360 consideration for the ideal subordinate and leadership style fit into the dynamic.

Objectivity

A data-driven approach uncovers the best fit, without unconscious or conscious bias.

The Leadership We Help You Appoint

Our focus is at executive and senior leadership level, across every major business function. Our clients include public businesses, PE-backed ventures as well as private and family-owned companies.

CEO
Chief Executive Officers
C-Suite
C-Suite leaders across all functional areas
Managing Director
Divisional, group and company level MDs
Director
Directors across all functional areas
Chair
Non-executive or executive chair
NED
Non-executive directors and chairs
Partner
Partner level roles
Head of
Divisional and functional 'heads of'

See How We Can Help Your Organisation

If you are currently recruiting or keen to discuss a potential leadership search, please contact us below.

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Our Approach To Diversity & Inclusion

At CJPI we firmly believe that when you seek the best leaders, a diverse high-performing team is the natural result. Our approach is grounded in these values, and we are dedicated to upholding them in every facet of our work. Our promise is to find the best individual for each role, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disabilities or age. We are proud signatories of the UK Governments code for executive search firms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Aside from the significant cost of a bad hire, the reasons you should partner with a professional firm range from; our extensive networks, access to specialist tools, and expertise in recruiting strategically significant roles - all of which you probably don't have in-house.

Even if you did have all of this expertise in-house, one huge issue remains: The best candidates for the job probably won't engage with you directly...

Executive recruiters help companies find and hire the best candidates for senior roles, including C-suite search and director level leadership recruitment. They work closely with clients to understand their needs and culture, and then develop a customised search strategy.

They also gain a deep understanding of the industries and roles they work with, and they have access to a wide network of qualified candidates. They also have the expertise to assess candidates' skills, experience, and fit for the role and the company.

Leadership recruiters typically handle all aspects of the hiring process, from developing the job description to headhunting, screening candidates and conducting interviews to negotiating compensation. They can also help with onboarding and other post-hire tasks.

Executive search firms will normally quote their fees as either a percentage or fixed fee for a search. The fee is typically based on a percentage of the candidates remuneration, but is commonly significantly less than the cost of a bad hire through sub-optimal talent pools or processes.

At CJPI, our searches are based on a fixed-fee arrangement. This avoids any 'fee creep' or punishing you for increasing an offer to a great candidate.

As a retained firm, our fixed fee is split into three equal payment milestones/deliverables, with the first third falling due on instruction, the second third on delivery of the shortlist, and the final fee following selection of the successful candidate.

As part of our research phase, we create our timeline and deliverables document which sets the pace of the search. The timescales we set depend on the specific role, industry and the talent pool identified within our research phase to ensure that the search is optimal and exhaustive.

However, our focus and team structure means that the majority of our searches are completed within 4-8 weeks from initiation to making an offer to the successful candidate.

Here are some of the key benefits of working with an executive search firm:

  • Access to a wider pool of qualified candidates
  • Expertise in assessing candidates for senior roles
  • Customised search strategy that aligns with your company's needs and culture
  • Objective and discreet counsel
  • Reduced time to hire
  • Access to specialist tools to reveal insights unavailable to employers directly

We cover all industry sectors including: Technology, Financial Services, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing and Engineering, Consumer and Retail, Media and Entertainment, Professional Services, Non-Profit and Public Sector, Energy and Utilities, Transport and Logistics.

We also cover all main functional areas including board, CEO, operations, HR, finance and all senior leadership positions.

Our search methodology is industry-agnostic and we don't rely on a recycled database of sector-specific candidates.

The talent market changes constantly so we research the market with a fresh perspective for every search to make sure we look at every potential candidate out there at that point in time.

This means we are able to work with the most unique and specialist leadership roles as well as all major functional areas. We are known for bringing a creative approach to exhaustive mapping and addressing talent markets.