About ECJ Recruitment

Why we exist

Most UK recruitment agencies treat every brief the same way. A vacancy lands, a generalist consultant runs a keyword search against a mixed database, and a stack of CVs arrives on the hiring manager’s desk. Half of the candidates have never worked in the discipline. The senior accountant missing the ACA has been pitched as ACA-track. The commercial director who left their last three roles inside two years looks fine on paper.

ECJ Recruitment was set up to do the opposite. We are a specialist UK recruitment desk. Finance, legal, HR, sales, marketing, IT, operations, engineering, customer services, executive search, creative and life sciences. Twelve practices. Every consultant on the team is fluent in the discipline they recruit for, and every candidate we introduce has been screened against the actual credential, experience and package bar you set on the intake call.

What we do, plainly

We place permanent hires for UK employers. Owner-managed businesses, PE-backed portfolios, listed corporates, mid-market SMBs and growing scale-ups across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. From experienced-hire mid-level appointments through senior-leadership and executive search. One consultant accountable end to end, from the intake call through onboarding follow-up.

How we vet

Every candidate on an ECJ shortlist has been assessed against the same standard before an introduction:

• Discipline-appropriate skills assessment or portfolio review
• Professional credentials verified against the issuing body (ACA, ACCA, CIPD, ILR, chartered engineering institutions, regulatory bodies where relevant)
• Right-to-work status in the UK confirmed and documented
• Sector experience validated against your business model, scale and stage
• Current package broken down in sterling: base, bonus, benefits, LTIPs, notice period
• Motivation for the move, competing processes in flight, decision-making timeline
• Reference readiness confirmed before we send the CV

Every shortlist arrives with our written notes on each candidate. If we cannot articulate why they meet the credential bar and the discipline fit, the CV does not leave our desk.

Who we work with

Our clients include founder-led businesses, PE-backed portfolios, national and international corporates, boutique professional-services firms, industrial and manufacturing employers, technology companies, and family-office holdings across the United Kingdom. Hiring managers who value a properly researched shortlist over CV volume, and who are prepared to hold a search to a decision timetable rather than let it drift for six months.

How we think about a placement

A successful placement is not a signed offer letter. It is the moment eighteen months later when the financial controller has closed out three clean audits, when the head of sales has moved pipeline coverage from 2x to 4x, when the engineering manager has taken team attrition from twenty percent to single digits. That is the only outcome that matters, and it is why our published median for hires still in role at twelve months is ninety-one percent.

Our standards

• Sector-fluent screening. Every consultant is fluent in the discipline they recruit for.
• Tell the truth. If a package band is light for the discipline and seniority, we say so before we start sourcing.
• One consultant, end to end. Same person from intake through onboarding follow-up.
• Discretion by default. Every approach is confidential. Every brief is confidential until you say otherwise.
• Stand behind the work. Replacement guarantee on every placement. No clawback games.

Want to talk?

Use the contact form and we will come back within one business day. We are available Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm.