Executive search in fintech
Hiring a senior person into a regulated firm has two steps a search in any other sector does not: somebody may have to be approved before they can do the job, and their last regulated employer may have to write about them in a way that is not a normal reference. Both extend the timeline and both can end an appointment after it has been accepted.
The UK market charges 25 to 33 per cent of first-year salary for retained search and 15 to 25 per cent for contingency. What sits inside that number is set out openly, which is unusual in this market and deliberate.
What changes when the buyer is fintech
Some seats need approval before the person can perform them
Under the senior managers regime, certain functions at authorised firms require regulatory approval, and the application comes after the offer rather than before it. That gap is real time in which a candidate is committed and not yet able to do the job, and in rare cases is not approved at all. Whether a given role is in scope is a question to settle with the firm's compliance lead early rather than assume.
A regulated reference is not a normal reference
Firms in scope are expected to request, and to provide, a standardised reference covering conduct over a defined period, and the previous employer's duty is to the framework rather than to the candidate's next move. That makes it slower than a phone call and more consequential. It is also the step most likely to surprise a candidate who has only moved between unregulated companies.
The pool is smaller than the title suggests
Senior fintech seats need the function and the regulatory context: a CFO who has run safeguarding, a CTO who has answered a supervisor on resilience, a CISO who has been through an examination. The realistic market is narrower than a job title search implies, and a firm that returns a long list quickly has almost certainly ignored the second half of the requirement.
Notice periods are longer here and the timeline has to say so
Three and six month notice is common at this level in regulated firms, and gardening leave is not unusual. Combined with approval and referencing, the gap between accepted offer and first day can be substantial. Planning for the offer date rather than the start date is the mistake, and it is the one that leaves a seat empty for a quarter nobody budgeted for.
The process, where it differs
The function and the regulatory context together, with the compliance lead saying early whether the seat is a controlled function.
The narrow real market, named rather than estimated, so the company knows the size of the pool before the search rather than after two rounds.
Direct approach, with the firm's permissions and supervisory position described accurately, because a serious candidate will check.
Function, then regulatory exposure: what they have owned, what they have been examined on, what went wrong and what they did.
Offer, then approval and referencing run in parallel where possible, with the start date set from the end of that rather than the start.
What to ask a search firm
- Is this seat a controlled function, and who has confirmed that?
- Which of your placements have been through an approval, and did any not complete?
- How do you assess regulatory exposure rather than just sector experience?
- What is the realistic size of the market for this scope, named rather than estimated?
- What does your timeline assume for referencing and notice?
Where it goes wrong
- Planning from the offer date and leaving the seat empty through approval and notice
- Treating a regulated reference as a formality that happens in the background
- Accepting a long shortlist that matched the job title and ignored the regulatory half
- Not settling whether the role is a controlled function until after an offer is out
When a search is the wrong instrument
If the firm is pre-authorisation and the immediate question is whether the permission arrives, a permanent senior hire is early. Fractional cover through the application, converting on approval, is cheaper and carries less risk for both sides.
Common questions
How long does a fintech executive search take?
Eight to twelve weeks to an accepted offer, then notice, then approval and referencing where the seat is in scope. The honest planning number is the second date rather than the first, and it can be a quarter later.
What does fintech executive search cost?
The UK market range applies, 25 to 33 per cent of first-year salary for retained search. Regulated seats sit at the upper end because the pool is genuinely narrower, not because the process is different.
Can a fractional executive hold a regulated role?
Sometimes, and it depends on the permission, the firm and the supervisor's view. Many fractional engagements are deliberately scoped to sit outside a controlled function. Settle it in writing before the work starts and confirm the position with the FCA rather than inferring it.
Permanent, or the part-time version first
Retained search runs a full-time appointment end to end. Operator Search answers the same brief fractionally in five business days, which is usually the faster way to find out whether the seat is real. Or browse the bench and approach somebody direct at no cost.