A director-level search in UK construction takes six to eight weeks from brief to accepted offer, followed by a notice period that is three to six months at this level.
How long does a director-level search take in UK construction?
From the brief to the start date, week by week.
Last updated 1 November 2026. By Scott Lechley, founder of Lechley Associates. Quantity Surveyor from 1990 to 2002, construction executive search since 2002.
The numbers
- Brief to accepted offer: six to eight weeks for a director-level role.
- Weeks one to three: mapping the market and making the approaches.
- Around week four: first interviews.
- After that: the shortlist of four to six and the final stages.
- Notice period: three to six months at this level. A Commercial Director leaving a competitor is often placed on garden leave for the full notice period.
- Managing Director and board searches: longer than six to eight weeks.
In more detail
The search itself runs in five stages: the brief, the market map, the direct approaches, the assessment and shortlist, and the offer through to the start date. The first stage is where most searches are won or lost, because the requirement, the target companies and the profile are agreed there before anyone is approached.
The notice period is usually the longer part of the wait, and it is where appointments are lost. Most searches that fail do so between the accepted offer and the start date, when the current employer makes a counter-offer nobody planned for, which is why the notice period is managed rather than left to run. A seat filled through an advert usually takes longer than one filled through a search, and a fair share of the director seats the Senior Hiring Index counts are still open a month after they appear.
Read more
- Method: how a retained search runs, stage by stage, and what you receive at the end of each.
- Construction headhunters: what a headhunter does that an agency does not.
- How much do construction headhunters charge?: the fee in one page.
Common questions
Why does a search take six to eight weeks?
Because the people a director seat needs are in post and not looking. The first three weeks go on mapping every credible person in the equivalent role and approaching them personally, and that is the part of the search that cannot be shortened without sending you whoever happens to be available.
Can a search be done in two weeks?
A shortlist promised inside a fortnight means the firm intends to send you the people it already has. Six to eight weeks is realistic for a director seat in construction.
Does a Managing Director search take longer?
Yes. A Managing Director or board search runs longer than the six to eight weeks of a director-level search. The target list is short, every approach is made personally, and the search is kept confidential from start to finish.
When should I start a search for a leader I need next year?
Count back from the start date: the notice period, three to six months at this level, then six to eight weeks of search. A leader in seat by spring means a brief agreed by the autumn.
Start a conversation
If you have a date by which the seat has to be filled, tell me and I will tell you plainly whether it is realistic. No hard sell, no obligation.
