Audience
- Agencies
- Brands
- Growth businesses
- Marketing teams
- PR, communications and digital teams
- Businesses making specialist or mid-to-senior hires
Permanent Recruitment
Permanent marketing recruitment. Done properly.
For permanent marketing, digital, PR, communications and agency hires where you need specialist market knowledge and access to people beyond whoever happens to apply. This is the straightforward, success-based recruitment model. But straightforward doesn't mean chucking CVs at you.
What it solves
- You need better candidates than the advert is producing
- The brief needs tightening before the role goes properly to market
- The salary, title or hybrid expectation needs a market reality check
- You want a focused shortlist rather than a CV avalanche
When this makes sense
- The role is permanent and the candidate market is reasonably accessible
- You need specialist marketing, digital, PR, communications or agency knowledge
- You want success-based recruitment with a proper brief and focused search
- You need candidates who are actually worth meeting, not just technically available
Where this service fits
Permanent Recruitment is the right route when the brief is clear enough to search, but still needs specialist market knowledge and proper judgement.
Typical roles include marketing leadership, digital, performance, PR, communications, client services, agency operations and senior specialist appointments.
Get underneath the brief
What does the business need this person to change, deliver or improve?
Pressure-test the market
Salary, location, hybrid expectations and candidate appetite all need to stack up.
Search beyond applicants
Useful people are often already employed and not waiting for your advert.
Assess properly
What did they actually deliver, what was their contribution and why might this move make sense?
Build a focused shortlist
Fewer candidates, more context and no padding to make a search look busier than it is.
Keep momentum
Feedback, interviews, offers and the awkward conversations in between.
What David actually does
Fewer CVs. Better conversations. Better hiring decisions.
I get underneath the brief before searching.
What does this person actually need to do? What's genuinely essential? Does the salary stack up? Why would somebody good want the job?
Then I search the market, speak to the right people and give you a focused shortlist of candidates I genuinely think are worth meeting.
Public recommendations
What people say about working with David.
Short excerpts from public LinkedIn recommendations, used here because they speak to the work behind the brief.
Read LinkedIn recommendationsAgency networkAbby WhiteFounder & CEO at hAWk comms · August 2026 “David is incredibly well connected across the agency world.”
Public LinkedIn recommendation
Honest adviceMark VarleyCommercial & agency leader · June 2026 “He has a refreshingly honest approach and believes in doing things the right way.”
Public LinkedIn recommendation
Digital marketing understandingHanna DymondPaid media lead · April 2026 “Professionalism, transparency and deep understanding of both the role and the wider digital marketing landscape.”
Public LinkedIn recommendation
Candidate careLorna BithellSenior PR consultant · June 2024 “Supportive, proactive, and communicative. He also really understands the public relations field.”
Public LinkedIn recommendation
Common mistakes
What usually gets in the way.
Firing a job advert out and hoping the right person happens to apply
Sending candidates before the recruiter properly understands the brief
Judging people by job title rather than evidence
Dragging feedback out until the best candidate takes another role
Related proof
Proof only works when it is specific.
Hiring a Managing Partner for Havas Media Manchester
Role: Managing Partner
A retained search for a senior agency leader that resulted in James Reddington joining Havas Media Manchester as Managing Partner — and later progressing into the leadership of the Manchester agency.
Read case studyRelated services
Other routes that may fit the brief.
Retained Search
Retained SearchMarket Intelligence & Advisory
Market Intelligence & AdvisoryRelated insight
Useful reading before you hire.
How Much Does Senior Marketing Recruitment Cost?
How Much Does Senior Marketing Recruitment Cost?Why Senior Marketing Hiring Goes Wrong
Why Senior Marketing Hiring Goes WrongFAQs
Clear answers before a conversation.
Is Permanent Recruitment success-based?
Yes. Permanent Recruitment is the straightforward success-based model, but still starts with a proper brief and a focused market search.
Which permanent roles does Essential recruit?
Marketing, digital, PR, communications and agency roles, from specialist appointments through to senior managers and heads of function.
When is retained search a better fit?
When the hire is senior, confidential, difficult, commercially important or needs a more committed market-mapping process.
Do you only recruit permanent roles in Manchester?
No. Essential is Manchester-led and North West-rooted, but permanent marketing searches can run UK-wide when the brief needs it.
Next step
Need a permanent marketing hire?
Tell David what you're trying to hire and he'll give you a straight view on the brief, salary and market.