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Position specification
A document defining the mandate, first-year outcomes, reporting relationships and assessment criteria — signed off before research starts.
Recruitment & Talent Acquisition
Leadership and lateral hiring, run as a research exercise
Senior hires are not a volume problem. The right person is usually employed, not looking, and reachable only through a credible, confidential approach.
In short
What is executive & lateral hiring?
Executive search is a retained, research-led process for hiring senior leaders and specialist laterals. Unlike contingency recruitment it begins with a full map of the relevant talent market, uses confidential direct approaches to passive candidates, and includes structured assessment against a scorecard. BridgePoint runs executive search on a retained basis with a typical timeline of six to ten weeks, with the market map delivered in week two.
What's included
What you actually get
Every item below is part of the standard engagement, not an upsell.
02
Market mapping
A written map of the relevant talent pool: who holds comparable roles, at which organisations, and how reachable they are.
03
Confidential approach
Discreet outreach that protects your intent and the candidate's current position. Searches can run without naming the client until mutual interest exists.
04
Structured assessment
Competency interviews against the agreed scorecard, with written assessment reports rather than CV summaries.
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Referencing
Backchannel and formal referencing before the offer stage, conducted with the candidate's consent.
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Offer and onboarding
Compensation structuring input, negotiation support, and check-ins through the first ninety days.
Scope
How engagements are shaped
Specialist
Senior lateral
A hard-to-find skill set where the market is small and mostly passive.
Function owner
Director / Head of
Owns a function and its budget. Usually the first real layer of management.
Multi-team leader
VP / SVP
Cross-functional influence, board exposure, succession relevance.
C-suite
CXO
Retained, confidential, board-involved. Longest timeline and deepest assessment.
Deliverables
- Signed position specification and assessment scorecard
- Written talent-market map of the relevant pool
- Longlist review call before shortlisting
- 3–5 shortlisted candidates with written assessment reports
- Referencing summary before offer
- Compensation structuring input and negotiation support
- Ninety-day post-joining check-ins
Scope and deliverables are confirmed in writing before work begins. If something here does not apply to your situation, we take it out rather than bill for it.
Process
How the work runs
01
Understand
A working session on what you actually need — the role, the mandate or the outcome. We put the brief in writing and you sign it off before work starts.
02
Plan
A scoped plan with owners, timelines and the numbers we will report against. If the brief is unrealistic on budget, market or timeline, we say so here.
03
Execute
Delivery against the plan, with a weekly written update whether or not there is good news. Silence is not a status report.
04
Review
Results measured against what we agreed at the start, with an honest read on what worked, what did not, and what we would change next cycle.
FAQ
Executive & Lateral Hiring — questions
How is executive search different from regular recruitment?
Contingency recruitment works the active market — people who are looking. Executive search maps the whole relevant market and approaches people who are not looking. It is research-led, retained, involves written assessment reports rather than CVs, and takes longer because the pool is smaller and the diligence is deeper.
Can you run a confidential search?
Yes. We approach candidates without naming the client until there is mutual interest and you have approved the disclosure. This is standard for replacement mandates and pre-announcement hires.
How long does an executive search take?
Six to ten weeks from signed specification to offer in most cases. The market map lands in week two so you have visibility early, before the shortlist.
Why is executive search retained rather than success-based?
The work is front-loaded: mapping a market and approaching passive candidates takes weeks of research before a single profile exists. Retained fees fund that research and, in return, you get exclusivity, a written market map and a committed timeline.
Do you handle lateral hiring below leadership level?
Yes, where the skill set is scarce enough that posting a role will not reach the right people. Those mandates run on the same research-led method at a shorter timeline.
Related services
Often needed alongside this
Talk to us about executive & lateral hiring
Tell us the situation and we will give you a straight read on scope, timeline and whether we are the right firm for it.