Managing Partner - Luxury Recruitment &

ABOUT EXPERTS IN LUXURY Experts In Luxury is the talent advisory group behind two established brands serving the global luxury industry. For almost two decades we have partnered with luxury houses, independent brands, private groups and UHNW family offices across EMEA, the GCC, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, helping them hire the leaders and specialists who shape their future. Our two brands:

• Luxury Executive – our retained executive search practice. Luxury Executive places C-suite, Board, Creative Director and senior leadership talent for luxury brands going through growth, transformation, acquisition and leadership change. It was built to compete with the world's leading executive search firms, with the specialist depth they cannot match.
• Luxury Recruit – founded in 2007 and one of the most recognised names in luxury recruitment. Luxury Recruit built its reputation as a contingent recruitment business, placing talent across fashion, fine jewellery and watches, beauty, lifestyle, hospitality, auction houses and design. The brand still attracts strong inbound interest from clients and candidates around the world. In recent years, the founder has focused the group on retained executive search. We now see a significant opportunity on two fronts: growing the retained practice further, and bringing Luxury Recruit back to market as a modern, high-performing contingent business. We are looking for a Managing Partner to lead one, or both, and ultimately to lead the business. A GENUINE SUCCESSION OPPORTUNITY This role is designed as a long-term succession. Over time, the founder plans to step back from day-to-day billing and delivery into an Executive Chairman role, focused on strategy, key relationships and governance, and to hand the leadership of the business to the Managing Partner. The transition will be phased and supported:
• Early on, you will bill and deliver while working closely with the founder, getting to know the clients, the brands and the market
• As you grow, you will take ownership of client relationships, the team and commercial decisions
• Over time, you will lead the business, with the founder in a non-executive, advisory capacity as Executive Chairman Alongside this, there is a structured route to a significant stake in the business, up to full ownership, earned through performance. THE ROLE: TWO ROUTES IN Route 1: Retained Executive Search (Luxury Executive) You will win and deliver retained searches at C-suite, Board and senior leadership level, working alongside the founder and progressively taking over leadership of the practice. You will own mandates from brief to placement: shaping the search strategy, mapping the market, assessing and presenting shortlists, and guiding clients and candidates through offer and onboarding. This route suits a retained search consultant or partner who wants to operate at the top end of the luxury market, and to lead and own a practice rather than work within someone else's. Route 2: Rebuild Luxury Recruit (Contingent Recruitment) You will reactivate Luxury Recruit as a contingent recruitment business focused on mid-level, senior and specialist roles below executive level, across commercial, retail, creative, marketing, product, operations and corporate functions. You will rebuild the client base, restart the candidate engine, set the delivery model and, as billings grow, hire and lead a team of consultants. This route suits an experienced contingent biller or team leader who has always wanted to run their own business, and would rather start with a recognised brand, an existing network and inbound demand than from nothing. Or both. Some people will be excited by one route; some by the opportunity to lead across the full spectrum, from specialist hires to the Board. There is no right answer. Tell us which appeals to you and why. WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT This is a front-line billing role with a clear path to leadership and ownership. You will personally win and deliver business and generate fees from day one. The difference is the platform you bill from, and where it leads:
• Established brands with a long client history and a strong reputation across the luxury sector
• Steady inbound demand from clients and candidates, so you are not cold-calling from zero
• A lean operating model supported by AI-enabled research, sourcing and delivery tools, so your time goes on clients, candidates and closing
• A founder who has built the business over almost two decades, and who will support your transition into leadership
• A planned succession, not a vague promise of "partnership one day" Your package is weighted towards the fees you generate: the more you bill, the more you earn and the faster the business scales. WHAT YOU'LL DO
• Win new business and personally deliver searches and placements, generating fees from day one
• Own and grow relationships with an established international client base of luxury houses, brands and family offices
• Convert inbound enquiries into mandates, and build new business proactively alongside them
• Manage the full recruitment or search process, from brief and market mapping to offer, negotiation and onboarding
• Build and maintain a strong network of senior and specialist luxury talent
• Work with the founder on commercial direction: fees, sector focus, service lines and growth
• Recruit, lead and develop a team once billings support it
• Progressively take on leadership of the business as the founder steps back
• Represent the group in the market as its senior leader WHAT YOU'LL BRING
• A proven billing track record in retained executive search, contingent recruitment, or both
• Experience recruiting within luxury, fashion, fine jewellery and watches, beauty, lifestyle, hospitality, auction houses, design or family offices
• A consistent record of winning clients and closing placements, and the drive to grow it
• Experience running a desk, team or business, ideally with P&L responsibility
• The credibility to advise founders, CEOs, HR leaders and hiring managers
• Strong judgement of talent, and the ability to represent both clients and candidates with discretion
• A genuinely international outlook; experience recruiting across Europe, the GCC, the USA and/or Asia is a strong advantage
• The ambition to lead and own a business, not just work in one WHAT WE OFFER
• A planned succession into leadership of an established luxury talent business
• Base salary plus a significant share of the fees you generate
• A structured route to equity, up to full ownership, earned through performance
• The freedom to shape the business model, sector focus and team
• Direct support from the founder through the transition, then as Executive Chairman
• Modern, AI-enabled tools that remove administrative load
• Hybrid working from London, with international client exposure HOW TO APPLY Apply via LinkedIn with your CV and a short note on:
• Which route interests you: retained, contingent, or both
• Your billing track record and the sectors you know best
• What you would want to build, and where you would take the business All applications are handled in strict confidence. Shortlisted candidates will have an initial confidential conversation, followed by a detailed discussion of the succession plan, commercial terms and ownership structure under NDA.