Executive and senior leadership recruitment for South West organisations

Some hires change an organisation. A chief executive who sets the direction. A finance director who makes growth affordable. A head of people who builds the culture everyone else works in. The right person is rarely looking, and the wrong one is expensive.

We help South West organisations make those appointments, confidentially, on permanent, interim and fractional terms. Talk to Clodagh Murphy, our Executive Director, on 01392 575692.

The leaders we find

Chief executives and managing directors. The person who sets the direction and carries the organisation with them.

Finance, operations and commercial leaders. Finance directors, chief operating officers, heads of operations and commercial directors. The people who turn a plan into a business that works.

People and technology leaders. HR directors, heads of people, heads of IT and digital. The ones who build the team and the tools around it.

Board and non-executive appointments. Chairs, trustees and non-executive directors, for boards that want new skills and a wider view.

However you need a leader

Permanent. A leader for the long term, found through a search that goes well beyond advertising.

Executive search. When the right person isn’t looking, we approach them directly and in confidence, so your search stays private until you decide otherwise.

Interim. The leader has left and you need someone at the helm now, for as long as it takes to find the next one.

Fractional. Senior expertise for a day or two a week, for the growing business that needs a finance director or chief operating officer but not yet a full-time one. [New offer: confirm.]

Why the South West is a good place to hire leaders

More senior people are choosing the South West for the way of life as well as the work. We know how to introduce a role to someone in London, Bristol or further afield, and how to help them settle once they accept. For a local organisation, that widens the field a long way beyond the people already here.

How we run a leadership search

We start by listening. The organisation, the challenge, the people the new leader will work with, and what success looks like in the first year.

We map the market. We identify who is doing this job well, in the South West and beyond, and approach them in confidence.

We test fit as well as skill. Interviews and references, and where it helps, psychometric profiling, so you understand how a leader will work with the team they’re joining.

We benchmark the role. What a chief executive or finance director costs in the South West, and what will tempt the right person to move.

We stay until they’re settled. Offer, notice period and the first few weeks, because a search only ends when the new leader is in the role and working.

Appointments we’ve made

We have recruited chief executives, non-executive directors, managing directors, finance directors, HR directors, CTOs and a range of other senior hires for businesses across the South West. 

We also take on interim and fractional appointments, and non-executive director and board searches for organisations that want new skills around the table. If a leadership change is coming, tell us early and we’ll start mapping the market before the role is announced.

Questions we get asked

Do we need a search, or will an advert do? For most leadership roles the best people are in a job and doing well, so an advert on its own rarely reaches them. We usually combine a direct approach with a carefully worded advert if the organisation wants one.

Can the search be confidential? Yes. We can run a search without naming the organisation until a candidate is ready to talk, which matters when the role is filled by someone still in post.

What is the difference between interim and fractional? An interim leader is full-time for a set period, usually to cover a departure or a change. A fractional leader works part-time on an ongoing basis, so a smaller business gets senior expertise without the cost of a full-time hire.

Thinking about your next leadership role?

If you are a leader considering a move, start with a confidential conversation. We’ll talk through the organisations that fit, what the market looks like and what a move to the South West would mean. Call Clodagh on 01392 575692 or send us your CV in confidence.

Some appointments are too important for an advert. Let’s talk, in confidence.

Clodagh Murphy, Executive Director: 01392 575692 | clodagh@cathedralappointments.co.uk