This route suits a retained search consultant or partner who wants to operate at the top end of the luxury market, and to lead and own a practice rather than work within someone else's.

Route 2: Rebuild Luxury Recruit (Contingent Recruitment)

You will reactivate Luxury Recruit as a contingent recruitment business focused on mid-level, senior and specialist roles below executive level, across commercial, retail, creative, marketing, product, operations and corporate functions. You will rebuild the client base, restart the candidate engine, set the delivery model and, as billings grow, hire and lead a team of consultants.

This route suits an experienced contingent biller or team leader who has always wanted to run their own business, and would rather start with a recognised brand, an existing network and inbound demand than from nothing.

Or both.

Some people will be excited by one route; some by the opportunity to lead across the full spectrum, from specialist hires to the Board. There is no right answer. Tell us which appeals to you and why.

WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT

This is a front-line billing role with a clear path to leadership and ownership. You will personally win and deliver business and generate fees from day one. The difference is the platform you bill from, and where it leads:

• Established brands with a long client history and a strong reputation across the luxury sector
• Steady inbound demand from clients and candidates, so you are not cold-calling from zero
• A lean operating model supported by AI-enabled research, sourcing and delivery tools, so your time goes on clients, candidates and closing
• A founder who has built the business over almost two decades, and who will support your transition into leadership
• A planned succession, not a vague promise of "partnership one day"

Your package is weighted towards the fees you generate: the more you bill, the more you earn and the faster the business scales.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Win new business and personally deliver searches and placements, generating fees from day one
• Own and grow relationships with an established international client base of luxury houses, brands and family offices
• Convert inbound enquiries into mandates, and build new business proactively alongside them
• Manage the full recruitment or search process, from brief and market mapping to offer, negotiation and onboarding
• Build and maintain a strong network of senior and specialist luxury talent
• Work with the founder on commercial direction: fees, sector focus, service lines and growth
• Recruit, lead and develop a team once billings support it
• Progressively take on leadership of the business as the founder steps back
• Represent the group in the market as its senior leader

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• A proven billing track record in retained executive search, contingent recruitment, or both
• Experience recruiting within luxury, fashion, fine jewellery and watches, beauty, lifestyle, hospitality, auction houses, design or family offices
• A consistent record of winning clients and closing placements, and the drive to grow it
• Experience running a desk, team or business, ideally with P&L responsibility
• The credibility to advise founders, CEOs, HR leaders and hiring managers
• Strong judgement of talent, and the ability to represent both clients and candidates with discretion
• A genuinely international outlook; experience recruiting across Europe, the GCC, the USA and/or Asia is a strong advantage
• The ambition to lead and own a business, not just work in one

WHAT WE OFFER

• A planned succession into leadership of an established luxury talent business
• Base salary plus a significant share of the fees you generate
• A structured route to equity, up to full ownership, earned through performance
• The freedom to shape the business model, sector focus and team
• Direct support from the founder through the transition, then as Executive Chairman
• Modern, AI-enabled tools that remove administrative load
• Hybrid working from London, with international client exposure

HOW TO APPLY

Apply via LinkedIn with your CV and a short note on:

• Which route interests you: retained, contingent, or both
• Your billing track record and the sectors you know best
• What you would want to build, and where you would take the business

All applications are handled in strict confidence. Shortlisted candidates will have an initial confidential conversation, followed by a detailed discussion of the succession plan, commercial terms and ownership structure under NDA.