A regional consultancy
you can actually call.
Marlow & Finch has been recruiting in the South East since 2008. We work with SME and mid-market employers across Commerce, Finance, Technology, Operations, and Executive Support — most often on permanent appointments, with a healthy minority of interim and contract.
Four steps,
six to ten weeks.
The realistic timeline from initial brief to offer is eight to ten weeks for a senior role, with one to two weeks for the strongest shortlists at the mid level. We will not promise faster than that.
Brief
A genuine 60-90 minute briefing conversation. We push back where the brief is wrong on salary, seniority, or scope. The result is a brief we can recruit against, not just one we have written down.
Search
Mostly outbound — named candidates at named firms, approached in confidence. For mid-level roles we supplement with our registered candidate database. The strongest candidates are never on job boards.
Shortlist
Three to five candidates, each spoken to at length, each genuinely interested. Written shortlist with our notes. No CVs-by-the-yard. No candidates we have not spoken to.
Interview & offer
We coordinate scheduling, prep candidates, debrief after every round, and manage the offer conversation. Strongest placements typically land in weeks 7-9.
Three ways to engage us.
The right one depends on the brief.
Most clients work with us on a contingent basis for the majority of their hires, retained for the critical ones, and interim where they need rapid cover or specialist short-term capability. We will recommend the right model for each brief honestly.
Contingent
Pay only on a successful placement. The flexible option for most permanent roles.
- No upfront commitment
- Shortlists of 3–5 within 10 working days
- 12-week replacement guarantee
Retained search
Deeper engagement on critical hires. We commit time, you commit a retainer.
- Exclusive engagement on the brief
- Mapped market & named approach list
- Weekly written update
- 26-week replacement guarantee
Interim & contract
Day-rate placements for short-to-medium-term engagements. Margin on the day rate.
- Pool of pre-vetted interim consultants
- Most placements briefed-to-on-site within 5 working days
- Full IR35 / outside-IR35 handling
What you actually get,
that you might not elsewhere.
Specialist consultants, not generalists
Every brief is handled by a consultant with material experience in that sector. Rachel has been recruiting in Commerce since 2008; Thomas spent eight years in industry before recruitment. The briefing conversation is different.
Honest pushback when it's needed
If the salary band is wrong, the seniority is wrong, or the role is harder than you think, we will say so during the briefing call. Most clients tell us this is the most useful thing we do.
Real shortlists, not volume
Three to five candidates, each spoken to at length, each genuinely interested. No bulk-emailed CVs. If the shortlist takes three weeks to produce instead of three days, that's how long it takes.
The same consultant, start to finish
The partner who takes your brief is the partner who runs your shortlist and your offer conversation. No researcher tier, no junior handoff.
An 87% repeat client rate
The strongest signal in recruitment is whether clients come back. They mostly do — 87% of our 2025 placements were for repeat clients, and our longest-tenured relationships go back fifteen-plus years.
Replacement guarantees we mean
12 weeks on contingent, 26 weeks on retained. If a candidate leaves within the guarantee period for almost any reason, we re-run the search at no further fee.
The first conversation
is a 30-minute call.
No follow-up unless you'd like one. We will walk through the role, the realistic timeline, and the service tier that fits — then send the engagement letter if and only if it makes sense.