Built around the hires that matter most.

From your business objectives to your new hire’s first day.

 

Before we start

When I’ll tell you not to use me.

I turn searches down. Not often, but when I do, it’s because I can already see how the hire ends. These are the five I walk away from.

01

There’s no agreed process

If we can’t agree the interview stages and timeline before I pick up the phone, the best candidates drop out halfway through. I’d rather say so on day one.

02

I can’t meet the hiring manager

I won’t sell a role to someone who isn’t looking to move until I’ve heard it from the person they’ll work for.

03

It’s a CV race

If the role is already with several agencies and the first CV in wins, nobody is telling your story properly. That isn’t the search I run.

04

The budget isn’t signed off

Approaching people who aren’t looking, for a role that might not exist, damages your name in a small market. It damages mine too.

05

The brief keeps moving

If the role changes every week, the hire fails in month six. Let’s fix the brief first, then search.

These are the searches that end in a bad hire. Saying no to them is why 95.8% of the people I place are still in role after 12 months.

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Having retained Jamie’s services for many years, I have found him to be consistently outstanding in sourcing high-quality candidates. He possesses meticulous attention to detail, has high integrity and stands out amongst his peers by some considerable distance.

Frank GlockFrank GlockChief Revenue Officer, MAIA Technology

Ways to work together

Three engagement models

Each model is built around the same process. What changes is the size of the brief and how many hires are involved.

01

Pilot

Build trust. Validate fit.

  • Assess delivery, pace and fit
  • Prove value on a single, defined hire
  • Quick feedback on feasibility before scaling up

Exclusivity

14-day launch window

02

Partnership

Dedicated focus on critical hires.

  • Control the process from brief to offer
  • Reduce risk on business-critical roles
  • Deliver consistent, repeatable outcomes
  • An engagement fee, offset against the placement fee and refunded if no one meets the brief within six weeks

Basis

Exclusive search

03

Scale

Strategic growth-stage hiring.

  • Coordinated multi-hire strategy
  • A lower rate on every hire, with every fee fixed on day one
  • A launch fee on the first role, offset against the final hire and refunded if no one meets its brief within six weeks

Structure

Custom Schedule of Work

Full commercial terms are shared on request.

The process

Consult, Engage, Deliver.

From first brief to signed offer: three connected phases and six steps, not separate handovers.

PHASE 01

Consult

I understand exactly why this hire matters before I go anywhere near the market.

  • Define success against business objectives, not a job description
  • Agree competencies, compensation parameters and constraints
  • Set interview stages, criteria and target timelines

01Requirement briefing: an in-depth brief, day one

PHASE 02

Engage

I go direct to people who fit the brief, not whoever’s active that week.

  • Direct approach into a network built over 20 years
  • Tailored positioning for each candidate, not a template
  • Weekly calibration on market response and comp reality

02Search process: structured market & target mapping

03Candidate attraction: network, referrals & talent pools

PHASE 03

Deliver

I stay hands-on until the offer’s signed and the start date’s locked in.

  • A focused shortlist, not a long one
  • Manage interviews, offer and negotiation, and any counter-offer
  • Stay engaged through to a successful start

04Interview process: coordinated, candidate-managed

05Offer management: negotiation & any counter-offer, handled

06References: formal and informal checks, offered on every hire

95.8%

Of placed candidates still in role after 12 months

Better execution. Lower risk. Better hiring outcomes.

Request the delivery PDF

In 60 seconds

How a search runs

Four steps from agreement to launch, then Consult, Engage, Deliver, with every stage tracked so you always know where a search stands.

Market coverage

Where I focus

Specialist search across the investment technology ecosystem, from leadership to the engineers building AI-native products.

01

Leadership

  • C-Level
  • Managing Director
  • Director
  • Head of

02

Commercial

  • Sales
  • Customer Success
  • Pre-Sales
  • Sales Engineering
  • Account Management
  • Partner Management

03

Product & Engineering

  • Product Management
  • Product Development
  • Software Engineering
  • Forward Deployed Engineer
  • AI / ML Engineer
  • LLM Engineer
  • Data Engineer
  • Infrastructure
  • Security

04

Professional Services

  • Implementation
  • Integration
  • Project Management
  • Change Management
  • Business Analysis
  • Client Services

Locations: UK, US & EMEA

FAQ

Questions founders ask me

How quickly can you start?

As soon as we’ve agreed the brief. You’ll have a focused shortlist within two weeks. We set the rest of the timeline together, through to offer, and I track the search against it at every stage.

How much of my time will it take?

Proper time at the start to get the brief right, then quick feedback and decisions at each stage. Searches rarely stall in the market. They stall waiting for feedback.

Have you hired for companies at our stage?

Yes, from first hires in small start-ups to whole regional teams. I placed 25+ people at Finbourne as it grew from around 20 to 300+ employees, and built BlueFlame AI’s founding London sales team.

What if the hire doesn’t work out?

Every placement is covered by a rebate scale set out in my terms. In practice it rarely comes to that: 95.8% of the people I place are still in role after 12 months.

Can you run a confidential search?

Yes. If you’re replacing someone or hiring ahead of an announcement, I approach candidates without naming you until the right point in the process.

Why exclusive?

Because it’s the only way to run a search properly: one consistent message to the market, one person accountable for the result, and candidates who take the approach seriously because they aren’t hearing about your role from five agencies.

Where do you recruit?

Across the UK, US & EMEA, including opening new regions. I made Athena’s first hire in Toronto.

Got a critical hire coming up?

Ask me for a salary benchmark and market map before you commit. You’ll see what the role pays, where the people are and how hard it will be to fill.

info@callum-james.com  ·  +44 20 7127 5277

Ask for a benchmark