Revenue Advisory for Exec Search, Recruitment & RecTec
Strategic Revenue Audit and fractional CRO support for recruitment and RecTec scale-ups, founder-led search firms and PE-backed staffing groups professionalising the commercial function ahead of an investment, exit or generational transition.
The recruitment industry itself is one of the largest commercial employers in the North of England. Manchester, Leeds and the wider M62 corridor host the regional offices of the major global staffing groups (Page, Hays, Robert Walters), a deep mid-market specialist-search community, large engineering and contingent-workforce groups (Morson, NES Fircroft), and a small but credible recruitment-technology (RecTec) cluster spanning ATS, CRM, sourcing and recruitment-marketing platforms. It is a commercially mature sector that hires senior sales, GTM and revenue-leadership talent in volume, and one Evara's partners know from the inside.
Selling into recruitment leaders is a specialism. Buyers are commercial operators themselves, hold their suppliers to a higher bar than most B2B markets, and are unusually quick to spot weak commercial process. Evara's partners have spent their careers inside this market: building, leading and advising recruitment and RecTec businesses. We understand the difference between selling perm fees, contract margin, RPO programmes and SaaS subscriptions to a recruitment buyer, and we screen commercial candidates accordingly.
Senior recruitment commercial salaries vary widely with the underlying model. A Director-level perm recruiter in a successful Northern boutique typically earns £80k-£130k base with profit-share or equity layered on; an MD of a £10m-£30m specialist business sits at £130k-£200k base plus meaningful earn-out. RecTec Sales Directors track wider SaaS benchmarks: £110k-£160k base with OTE of £180k-£280k for a £5m-£25m ARR business. Fractional CRO day rates for recruitment and RecTec scale-ups run £1,400-£2,000.
How we work
01
A two to four-week Strategic Revenue Audit. Interviews across leadership, sales, marketing and CS. Pipeline, forecast and CRM data review. Output is a written diagnostic with a prioritised set of interventions, not a generic playbook.
02
We translate the diagnostic into an operating-model design: structure, segmentation, role design, compensation, forecasting cadence, tooling decisions. Reviewed with the CEO and board before any change is made.
03
Working back from revenue targets, we model the headcount, ramp, attainment and hiring plan needed to deliver. This becomes the joined-up commercial plan against which decisions are made.
04
Where useful, an Evara fractional revenue leader steps in to run the change. Where the in-house team has capacity, we support from alongside. Either way the work gets done, not just recommended.
05
Monthly commercial reviews against the plan. Quarterly board pack. Annual re-plan. The advisory engagement winds down as the in-house function gets stronger; it is not designed to be permanent.
Locations
FAQs
Yes. Senior commercial hires into executive search firms, recruitment groups, staffing businesses and RPO / MSP providers are a recurring part of our work, including confidential replacement searches for underperforming MDs and Sales Directors.
RecTec includes applicant tracking systems (ATS), recruitment CRMs, sourcing and assessment platforms, recruitment marketing software and contractor-compliance technology. We hire commercial leaders, AEs, partnerships and customer success talent across all of these, with a strong Northern bench centred on Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield.
Recruitment buyers are commercial operators themselves and screen suppliers hard. A wrong Sales Director or Practice Lead hire in a recruitment business burns equity, damages client relationships and is visible inside the market within weeks. Evara's partners have built and led recruitment and RecTec businesses themselves, which means our screen is calibrated to how this market actually buys and sells.
Yes. A meaningful share of our advisory work supports recruitment owner-operators and PE-backed staffing groups professionalising the commercial function ahead of an investment, exit or generational transition. Engagements typically combine a Strategic Revenue Audit with retained search for one or two senior commercial seats.
A structured two to four-week diagnostic of the full revenue function: strategy, structure, process, comp, pipeline, forecast, tooling and people. Output is a written diagnostic with a prioritised set of interventions.
Most fractional CRO engagements run between 4 and 10 days per month. Heavier at the start to install the operating model, lighter once the cadence is in place.
Email Rachel Lunn and the team. We will reply within one working day with a sector-specific market read for the role you have in mind.
Email Rachel Lunn/revenue-advisory/sectors/exec-search-recruitment-rectec
Sales recruitment, GTM recruitment and revenue advisory for SMEs UK-wide. We reply within one working day.
Email Rachel Lunn