Your Questions. Answered.

Yes. Our work isn't limited to individual hires. We regularly support businesses that need to build or scale complete teams, whether that's adding several people to an existing function or creating a new capability from the ground up.

We can help define the roles and profiles required, provide market and salary insight, map relevant talent, manage candidate attraction and assessment, and coordinate the hiring process across multiple positions.

This can be particularly valuable when a business is scaling quickly, entering a new market or geography, or when an internal Talent team needs additional specialist capacity.

The solution can be built around your existing team and processes rather than replacing them. The objective is to provide the expertise and additional capacity needed to deliver the hiring plan successfully.

Yes. We support technology businesses expanding into new markets and building teams outside their existing home territory.

With established operations across the UK, US and Australia and experience of making placements across 19 countries, we can provide insight into local talent markets, candidate availability, remuneration and the profiles most likely to succeed in a new geography.

We can support anything from a critical first hire through to building an entire Go-to-Market or Technology team, adapting the search to your stage of expansion and existing internal resources.

Entering a new market often means hiring people before you have an established local network or employer brand. Our role is to help bridge that gap and give you access to the people and market knowledge you need to build successfully.

Yes. Confidentiality is often essential when recruiting for senior, sensitive or business-critical positions.

We can structure a search so that information about your business, the role and the reasons for hiring is shared only when appropriate and with carefully selected candidates.

Where required, we can conduct initial market mapping and candidate approaches without identifying your organisation, introducing further information only once suitability and interest have been established.

We'll agree the appropriate level of confidentiality with you at the outset and manage communication throughout the process accordingly.

This can be particularly important when replacing an existing employee, making a strategic leadership appointment or exploring a new function or market before plans have been made public.

 

Absolutely. Many of our clients already have experienced internal Talent or HR teams, and our role is to complement the capability they already have.

We can provide specialist market expertise, additional hiring capacity or support with particular roles that are difficult, senior or time-consuming to fill. We can also help with market mapping, candidate sourcing and assessment, talent projects and periods of increased hiring activity.

We'll work within your existing processes, systems and employer brand wherever appropriate, agreeing responsibilities at the outset so there's clarity around how we'll work together.

The objective isn't to replace your internal team. It's to give them access to additional expertise, reach and capacity when and where they need it.

Our fees depend on the type of recruitment solution, the complexity of the requirement and the level of service required.

For permanent recruitment, fees are typically calculated as a percentage of the successful candidate's agreed remuneration. For retained and executive search, fees may be structured across agreed stages of the assignment, while contract, interim, fractional and broader talent solutions use models appropriate to the particular requirement.

We'll always agree the fee structure with you before starting work, so you know exactly what the service will cost and what is included.

Rather than forcing every requirement into the same commercial model, we aim to agree an approach that reflects the work involved and gives us the best opportunity to deliver the right outcome.

Finding the right person takes more than advertising a vacancy and searching a database. We build each search around the role, the market and the type of person most likely to succeed within your business.

Our approach combines our established networks, market knowledge, targeted search, direct outreach and relevant advertising to identify both active candidates and people who may not currently be looking for a new role.

We then assess potential candidates against more than their experience on paper. We explore their track record, motivations, career objectives and suitability for the particular environment, stage and challenges of your business.

The result is a qualified shortlist of people we've spoken to, assessed and believe are genuinely worth your time meeting.

Every search is different, and the time required will depend on the seniority of the role, location, availability of relevant talent and complexity of the requirement.

Across our recruitment activity, our average time to hire is 14.6 days. However, speed should never come at the expense of finding the right person.

At the start of a search, we'll agree the approach, priorities and timescales with you. We'll then move quickly to identify and engage relevant candidates, while keeping you informed of progress and what we're seeing in the market.

Where a hire is particularly urgent, we can adapt the search and process accordingly. Our objective is always to create the right balance between pace, quality and a thorough assessment process.

 

There isn't one model that's right for every hire. The best option depends on what you need to achieve, how quickly you need someone in place and whether the requirement is long-term, project-based or linked to a particular stage of growth.

Permanent recruitment may be right when you're building long-term capability within the business. Contract or interim talent can provide specialist expertise or additional capacity for a defined period, while fractional leadership can give you access to experienced senior talent without requiring a full-time leadership hire.

Sometimes the answer isn't obvious at the outset. We'll take the time to understand the challenge you're trying to solve and help you determine which approach is most likely to deliver the best outcome.

 

The best searches start with a clear understanding of the business, the requirement and what the person you hire needs to achieve.

We'll normally begin with a detailed briefing conversation covering the role, your business and growth plans, team structure, culture, priorities, remuneration and the experience and characteristics likely to make someone successful.

We'll also discuss the hiring process, key stakeholders, timescales and any potential challenges in the search. Where appropriate, we'll share our view of the market and challenge or refine aspects of the brief based on what we're seeing.

You don't need to arrive with everything perfectly defined. Part of our role is to ask the right questions and help turn what you need into a search strategy we can take to market.

Once we've agreed the brief, approach and terms, we can get started.

The guarantee is an important part of agreeing the right recruitment terms for each assignment.

The appropriate guarantee period can vary depending on the type and seniority of the hire, the recruitment model being used and the level of commitment agreed at the outset. Retained and exclusive searches, for example, may include enhanced guarantee periods compared with a standard contingent assignment.

We'll discuss this with you before starting the search and make sure the agreed guarantee is clearly set out in our terms of business.

Our priority, however, is to make the guarantee something neither of us needs to use. That starts with understanding the requirement properly, conducting a thorough search and assessment process, and maintaining close communication throughout the hire.

That's more common than you might think, particularly when a business is growing, entering a new market or creating a function for the first time.

Before starting a search, we'll work with you to understand what you're trying to achieve, the challenges the new hire needs to solve and what success should look like. From there, we can help shape the role, level of seniority, experience required and the type of person most likely to succeed in your environment.

We can also provide market insight around candidate availability, remuneration and how similar businesses have structured comparable roles.

Sometimes that conversation confirms the hire you originally had in mind. Sometimes it leads to a different solution entirely.

Our job isn't simply to recruit against a job description. It's to help you determine what you actually need and then find the right person to deliver it.

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The most effective interview processes are structured, relevant to the role and move at a pace that keeps good candidates engaged.

There is no perfect number of interview stages. A straightforward hire may require only two, while a senior or particularly complex appointment may need a more detailed assessment process. What matters is that every stage has a clear purpose and helps you make a better hiring decision.

Before starting a search, we'll help you think about who needs to be involved, what should be assessed at each stage and how quickly the process can realistically move.

Throughout the search, we'll manage communication with candidates, coordinate interviews, gather feedback and help maintain momentum.

A thorough process is important, but unnecessary delays and repeated interviews can mean losing strong candidates. The aim is to be rigorous without making the process more complicated than it needs to be.

Certus has been recruiting for technology businesses since 2001. That experience matters, but what really differentiates us is how we work.

We combine specialist expertise across Go-to-Market and Technology with a genuinely consultative approach. We take the time to understand your business, growth stage, market and what a successful hire needs to achieve — not simply the job description.

We're also not tied to one way of recruiting. Depending on the requirement, we can support through Executive Search, Permanent Recruitment, Contract & Interim, Fractional Leadership, Talent Projects and broader Talent Solutions. Our job is to recommend the approach most likely to deliver the right outcome.

And despite operating across the UK, US and Australia, we remain an owner-led business where senior people stay close to our clients, candidates and searches.

For us, successful recruitment isn't about filling the most roles. It's about making the right hires.

We primarily work with technology and technology-enabled businesses, from ambitious early-stage companies making critical first hires through to established organisations building or transforming teams.

Our clients include businesses across SaaS, AI & Machine Learning, FinTech, HRTech, Cloud & Infrastructure, MSPs, Banking & Payments and other specialist technology markets.

We're particularly experienced in supporting businesses through periods of growth, change and international expansion, where getting the right people into the business can have a significant impact on what happens next.

There's no single ideal company size or stage. What matters is understanding where your business is today, where you're trying to get to and the people you need to help you get there.

We specialise in recruitment across two core areas: Go-to-Market and Technology, supporting businesses from individual contributor and specialist hires through to senior leadership and executive appointments.

Within Go-to-Market, we recruit across Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Revenue Operations, Partnerships and GTM Leadership.

Within Technology, our expertise includes Software Engineering, Product, Data & AI, Cloud & Infrastructure, Architecture and Technical Leadership.

We recruit at different stages of company growth and across multiple hiring models, including Permanent, Contract & Interim, Executive Search and Fractional Leadership.

If a role sits outside a conventional job title but is critical to building, growing or scaling your technology business, it's still worth talking to us.

Fractional leadership can be an effective option when you need experienced senior expertise but aren't ready, or don't need, to make a full-time leadership hire.

This might be during a particular stage of growth, while entering a new market, building or restructuring a function, preparing for a permanent leadership appointment or when the business needs specialist expertise for a defined period.

A fractional leader works with your business for an agreed amount of time, giving you access to senior-level experience while retaining greater flexibility than a traditional full-time appointment.

Certus can help you identify fractional leaders across Go-to-Market and Technology, based on the particular challenges, objectives and stage of your business.

The important question isn't whether a role should automatically be permanent or fractional. It's which approach will deliver the best outcome for what your business needs right now.

Retained or executive search is particularly effective when a hire is business-critical, senior, confidential or requires a more targeted approach to the market.

Rather than relying primarily on candidates who are actively looking, we map the relevant market, identify potential talent and approach individuals directly. This can be particularly valuable when the strongest candidates are unlikely to be applying for advertised roles.

A retained approach also creates greater commitment on both sides, allowing us to invest more time in market research, candidate engagement, assessment and managing the process from initial search through to appointment.

It isn't only appropriate for C-suite positions. For some specialist or particularly difficult-to-fill roles, a retained search can simply be the most effective way of reaching the right people.

We'll always discuss the requirement with you first and recommend the search model we believe gives you the best chance of making the right hire.

Certus recruits internationally, with established operations in the UK, US and Australia.

Over the past 25 years, we've made placements across 19 countries, giving us experience of finding talent across different markets, locations and time zones.

We can support businesses hiring within their existing markets as well as those expanding internationally and building teams in a new country for the first time.

Our approach remains the same wherever we're recruiting: understand the local market, identify the right talent and build a search around what your business actually needs.