Permanent recruitment: find the person who stays

The right permanent hire is rarely the person who answers an advert. They are usually settled in a job and not looking, so finding them takes a search, a conversation and a reason to move. We do that work for you, from the brief to the day they start.

Cathedral Appointments is a recruitment agency based in Exeter, with a presence in Plymouth and Taunton, recruiting for South West organisations since 1988.

Talk to Clodagh Murphy, our Executive Director, on 01392 575692, or call our Exeter office on 01392 413577.

What we do for you

• We start with your business. The role, the team, the culture and what a good hire looks like, so we know who to look for and why they would want to join you.
• We search, not just advertise. We approach people who aren’t looking as well as those who are, and promote your vacancy where it helps.
• We screen and interview. Every candidate we put forward has been assessed against your brief, and we support you through the interview stage.
• We negotiate the offer. We handle the conversation on salary and terms, so the offer you make is one they can accept.
• We back our work. Our rebate guarantee protects you if a hire leaves early. We’ll set out the terms when we agree to work together.

Disciplines we recruit in

Each of our disciplines has a specialist team and its own page:
Accountancy & Finance
HR
Business Support
Marketing & Creative
Engineering
Logistics & Supply Chain
Manufacturing & Production
IT & Tech
Legal Support
Financial Services
Executive & Leadership

What’s shaping permanent hiring

Three things are shaping what it takes to hire well at the moment.

Hiring is picking up, but unevenly, and the South has lagged. The KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs for October 2026, published on 10 October, found permanent placements rising across the UK for a second month, but the South of England was the only English region where they fell in September. Candidate availability still rose, but at the slowest pace in three years, and competition for highly skilled workers kept starting pay rising, although permanent salary growth slowed.

Most employers are planning to recruit, and many struggle to fill roles. The CIPD’s Labour Market Outlook for summer 2026, a YouGov survey of 2,017 senior HR professionals carried out between 24 June and 24 July, found a net employment balance of +9, 62% of employers planning to recruit and 31% finding vacancies hard to fill. The median pay award was 3%.

The rules around permanent employment are changing. The government’s Employment Rights Act timeline says statutory sick pay is payable from the first day of sickness from April 2026, the time limit for employment tribunal claims is six months from 1 October 2026, and the qualifying period for unfair dismissal is due to fall to six months from 1 January 2027. That makes a careful hire, and a well-managed probation, matter more. Check any wording with an employment lawyer or HR adviser.

However you need to hire

Permanent. This page: someone to join your team for the long term.

Temporary. Cover for leave, a busy period or a gap in a team. See temporary support.

Contract, interim and fixed-term. A specialist for a project, or a role with a set end date. See contract solutions.

Salary benchmarking

Not sure what a role should pay? Ask us. We can tell you what comparable roles in the region are paying and which benefits candidates ask about, before you advertise.

Senior and confidential searches

The people who lead your business are hired differently, and often confidentially. Cathedral Appointments recruits at director and board level, and our Executive & Leadership page covers senior appointments across every sector. Talk to Clodagh Murphy on 01392 575692.

Questions we get asked

Do you advertise the role, or search directly? Both. We approach people who aren’t looking as well as those who are, and promote your vacancy where it helps.

What happens if a hire doesn’t work out? Our rebate guarantee covers early departures. We’ll set out the terms when we agree to work together.

Can you tell us what to pay? Yes. We can benchmark salaries for roles in our disciplines, so your offer is competitive before you go to market.

Do you recruit senior and confidential roles? Yes. See our Executive & Leadership page.

Can you help if we only need someone for a short time? Yes. See temporary support and contract solutions.

Which areas do you cover? Devon, Somerset & Cornwall, from our office in Exeter, with a presence in Plymouth and Taunton.

Your contact

Clodagh Murphy, Executive Director.

Clodagh leads Cathedral Appointments and works with employers across Devon, Somerset & Cornwall on permanent hires at every level. 01392 575692 | clodagh@cathedralappointments.co.uk

Offices: Exeter 01392 413577, Plymouth 01752 354200, Taunton 01823 813122.