Whether you are building a leadership team or considering your next move, I would welcome the chance to talk. No hard sell. No obligation. Just a direct conversation with someone who understands the sector.
Construction Executive Search
I run retained executive search for UK construction, civil engineering and major infrastructure. Board-level and senior leadership appointments, mapped and researched properly, handled personally from brief to placement.
I am a qualified Quantity Surveyor who worked as a Commercial Manager at Sir Robert McAlpine before moving into search. That means the brief gets interrogated by someone who has run the packages, sat in the commercial meetings, and understands what the role actually requires. Not someone reading a job spec back to you.
What construction executive search actually involves
Executive search is not advertising a role and filtering applicants. It is a mapped, targeted approach to the people who are not looking.
Every search follows the same structure:
Brief and market definition. We agree the real requirement, the target companies, and the profile that will succeed in your business. This is where most searches are won or lost.
Market mapping. I build a complete picture of who holds the equivalent role across the target universe. Named individuals, current remit, reporting line, likely motivation.
Direct approach. Every leader is approached personally and confidentially. No job boards, no databases sent out on spec.
Assessment and shortlist. A shortlist of four to six, each with a written appraisal covering capability, motivation and risk. I tell you the reservations as well as the strengths.
Offer, close and onboarding. Managed through to acceptance and start date, including counter-offer management.
The senior roles I recruit
Commercial Director, Managing Director, Project Director, Operations Director, Pre-Construction Director, Managing Quantity Surveyor, Head of Commercial, Framework Director, Chief Operating Officer, Group Board appointments.
Sectors
Major construction, healthcare and education. Senior leadership for Tier 1 contractors, developers, and the organisations delivering the UK's largest building programmes, including the New Hospital Programme.
Civil engineering and infrastructure. Highways, rail, bridges and major civils delivery, including HS2 and National Highways frameworks.
Nuclear, energy, marine and utilities. Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C, port infrastructure, AMP8 water and utilities programmes, where technical credibility and clearance both matter.
International, defence and data centres. Cross-border appointments, sensitive government programmes, and the data centre sector. I have a strong track record supporting Gulf returnees moving back into UK senior roles.
Why clients retain me rather than brief three agencies
One search, run properly. Contingency recruitment rewards speed over fit. Three agencies racing to submit the same four CVs is not a search. Retained means the market gets mapped once, completely, by someone accountable for the outcome.
Sector credibility opens doors. Senior people take the call because the conversation is credible. A Commercial Director will talk properly to someone who has done the job.
A select number of mandates. I work on a small number of retained searches at any time, which is why the work is personal rather than delegated to a researcher.
Honest counsel. If the brief is wrong, the salary is wrong, or the internal leader is the right answer, I will tell you before you spend money.
Common questions
What is construction executive search?
Construction executive search is a retained, research-led process for appointing senior leaders in construction and infrastructure businesses. Rather than advertising a vacancy, the search firm maps the market, identifies every credible individual holding an equivalent role, and approaches them directly and confidentially. It is used for director-level, board-level and business-critical appointments where the right person is almost never actively looking.
How is retained search different from contingency recruitment?
Contingency recruiters are paid only if their candidate is placed, so they work at speed across many roles and submit the candidates already known to them. Retained search is commissioned exclusively and paid in stages, which funds a complete mapping of the market and a properly assessed shortlist. Retained is appropriate where the appointment carries real commercial risk.
What does construction executive search cost?
Retained search is typically charged as a percentage of the successful candidate's first-year total package, invoiced in stages across the assignment. My fee is 22.5%, agreed in full at the outset with no variation later.
How long does a construction director search take?
A typical retained search runs six to eight weeks from briefing to offer acceptance, then notice period on top. Mapping and approach take the first three weeks, first-stage interviews around week four, with shortlist and final stages following.
What do construction directors earn in the UK?
Regional director-level roles typically sit between £90,000 and £150,000 base. National and group-level positions commonly run £150,000 to £250,000, with total packages on major programmes and at group board level exceeding £300,000. Package structure varies significantly by sub-sector, business size and programme scale, and I provide benchmarked data as part of every brief.
Do you work outside the UK?
My focus is the UK market, and I have placed leaders on every continent. International work is usually cross-border appointments into UK-headquartered businesses, or senior people returning to the UK from the Gulf.
Start a conversation
Whether you are building a leadership team or considering your next move, I would welcome the chance to talk. No hard sell. No obligation. A direct conversation with someone who understands the sector.