Hire the leaders who will shape your future and synchronise with your team
We match your strategy with the leaders who can deliver it, through retained executive search built on:
... trusted by boards and investors worldwide.
Our Impact In Numbers
100% of all retained searches result in a shortlist
92% of successful candidates weren’t looking for a new role
80% of all searches reach shortlist stage within just 6 weeks
Our team have partnered with leaders and organisations across sectors including:
You get one shot at hiring right leader
We help organisations identify transformative leadership talent – individuals who don’t just fill a role, but deliver lasting impact.
The best candidates are rarely the most visible, are often not seeking a new role and almost never submit their CV to random databases. Strategically significant appointments such as CEO, C-suite and board positions demand more than a job advert and intuition. They require reach, rigour, and sound judgement.
Our reputation and methodology provide direct access to senior leaders who are often beyond the reach of traditional recruiters or internal talent teams.
Our Proven Search Process
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 high-performing candidates who fit 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 headhunters get 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 a strong 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 most retained searches, so if the selected candidate doesn't work out during the guarantee period, we will replace them for free.
CJPI’s focus is at c-suite, executive and senior leadership level with roles including…
Why Choose CJPI for Executive Search?
Our executive search services are trusted by boards, founders, and investors who value a partner that operates with strategy at the centre, precision, discretion, and insight.
Placement Guarantee
Fee Split Into Milestones
Where Science Meets Expertise
We utilise Ideal Candidate Profiling to define precisely what success looks like for your organisation from the outset, creating a bespoke benchmark based on your unique goals.
360° Alignment: We assess the ideal fit across all dimensions - as a leader, a subordinate, and a peer within your existing team dynamic.
Targeted Probing: Our methodology reveals specific areas for exploration, allowing for deeper, more meaningful conversations during final interviews.
Evidence-Based Selection: A rigorous, data-led approach that supports objective, anti-bias decisions.
Ready to secure your next transformative leader?
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Client Success Stories
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 a percentage or an equivalent fixed fee for a search. The fee is typically calculated on a percentage of the candidates remuneration, with the industry average representing between 30% - 35% of the role’s first year salary.
At CJPI, our search fees are calculated in the same way, but we convert this into a fixed-fee, which avoids 'fee creep' or punishing you for increasing an offer to a great candidate.
As a retained firm, our fee is split into three payment milestones.
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
- A team solely focused on the search and selection of senior and strategically significant roles.
We are a London-based firm, but serve clients operating globally. Our engagements have included roles in the UK, Europe, North America, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.