The challenge
Generalist search firms do not know this sector. They screen on job titles, produce a longlist of people who have run apartments rather than beds, and cannot tell the difference between an operations director who has mobilised a building and one who has inherited a stabilised one.
Sector specialists are closer, but most are agencies paid on placement — which means their incentive is to fill the role, not to tell you the role is wrong.
How it works
We scope the role first, and will say when the role as written is the problem. Compensation is benchmarked against live sector data at the same time, because an unfillable brief is usually a pricing question rather than a market one.
Market mapping follows across the UK, Europe, North America and Australia, then direct approach to candidates whether or not they are looking. Assessment is structured against criteria agreed in advance and is operational rather than biographical — we ask what a general manager would ask.
You get a shortlist with the working shown, reference and background verification, and support through offer, negotiation and onboarding.
What is included
- Role definition and scoping — including an honest view on whether the role as written is fillable
- Market mapping across the UK, Europe, North America and Australia
- Direct approach to passive candidates, including people not looking
- Structured competency interviews against criteria agreed in advance
- Operational assessment — can they actually run the thing, not just describe it
- Compensation benchmarking against live sector data
- Reference and background verification
- Offer management, negotiation and onboarding support
Who is this for?
Retained search
Full process
Exclusive, staged fee, complete process from scoping to onboarding.
Market map
Research only
Who exists, where they are and what they cost — without an approach.
Advisory
Second opinion
Assessment of a candidate or shortlist you have already found.
Why RESI Consultancy
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We have sat on the other side of this work. The people delivering it have run the buildings, written the budgets and defended the numbers to owners — which is a different starting point from a framework and a benchmark.
We take no introduction fee or commission from any operator or vendor, and we do not bid for the work we advise on. Any interest that could be perceived as a conflict is declared in writing before an engagement begins.
Outcomes
A hire that lasts
Assessed on whether they can run the thing, not on whether they interview well.
An honest brief
We will say when the role as written is unfillable, before you spend three months proving it.
Access to people who are not looking
Direct approach rather than applications.
A defensible process
Structured scoring, references verified, and a rebate period agreed in writing.
Common questions
Asked often enough to answer here.
How does executive search differ from recruitment?
Executive search is a retained, proactive process for senior roles: the market is mapped, candidates are approached directly whether or not they are looking, and assessment is structured against agreed criteria. Contingent recruitment is reactive and paid on placement, which suits volume operational hiring but rarely surfaces the best senior candidates, because those people are not applying for jobs.
Do you work outside the UK?
Yes. Search has been run across the UK, Europe, North America and Australia, supported by associate consultants in fourteen countries.
What if the hire does not work out?
Retained search includes a rebate and replacement period, set out in the engagement letter before work begins. We would rather have that conversation at the start than after a resignation.
Free first conversation
Tell us what is not working.
Most people arrive with a scheme that is not performing, an operator they cannot read, or a board paper due Friday. Any of those is a fine place to start. Thirty minutes, no proposal attached.