We run the search for you.

Two routes to a senior appointment, priced on the same principle: the fee is proportional to the seat. A fractional search begins with a fixed search fee, and the rest falls due only on an appointment. Every number is set out before you commit.

Fractional
Operator Search
A search run against your brief, with every candidate assessed before you meet them.
To start£2,500to begin the search, payable before it starts
If you hire15%of annualised value on appointment, minimum £3,500
  • Five candidates, researched and assessed against the brief, in five business days
  • A CV, a confirmed rate and confirmed availability, with the case for each
  • A further five at no additional charge, if none is right
  • The search runs across the wider market wherever the brief calls for it
  • A six-month guarantee behind the appointment
Full-time
Retained Search
Through our retained search practice, with our search partner.
To startOn retaineragreed in writing before anything begins
If you hireRetainer crediteda percentage of first-year base
  • A full market search, conducted end to end by our search partner
  • Structured referencing, with the interview process managed throughout
  • First introductions within one business day of the brief
  • A replacement guarantee behind the appointment
  • Their fee is the only fee, and we add nothing on top
Abbie Bowtell, founder of 360Partners
Full-time search is run by
Abbie BowtellFounder, 360Partners Ex-Goldman Sachs 20VC, launch to $500M

360Partners runs the search across the UK, US and UAE. getoperators stays your point of contact and carries the guarantee.

Terms: everything that decides what you pay

Eleven points, plain English
Proposals
We reply to every brief within one business day to confirm the scope. Nothing is charged before you accept it.
The search fee
£2,500 ($3,400 in the United States, AED 12,500 in the UAE), payable before the search begins. It pays for the search, is non-refundable once the search has begun, and is not credited against the appointment fee.
What you receive
Five operators, researched and assessed against your brief, within five business days of the search beginning. If none is right, a further five at no additional charge.
The appointment fee
15% of annualised value, minimum £3,500, due if you engage somebody we presented within 12 months of that introduction.
What annualised value means
The operator’s agreed fee for their first twelve months: the day rate multiplied by the days committed each week and by 46 working weeks, or the monthly retainer multiplied by twelve. A fixed term shorter than a year is valued over the term.
Guarantee
If the operator leaves or is stood down within six months, we run the search again with no further search fee. It is a re-search, not a refund.
Invoicing and cancellation
The appointment fee is invoiced once the engagement is agreed, payable within 14 days. If the engagement is called off before your operator does any work, tell us and we cancel it.
Hiring from the bench
Engagements arranged directly through the bench are covered by the Terms of Business, and the figures for your account are in your company dashboard.
Permanent appointments
Contracted with our search partner on their terms, on retainer, agreed in writing before anything starts. Their fee is the only fee: we add nothing on top and we are paid through the partnership.
What the operator pays
Nothing. Every fee comes from you, and you contract and pay the operator directly.
How a shortlist is built
On fit to your brief alone: sector, stage, seat, availability and verified track record. No operator can pay to be on a shortlist, to rank higher on one, or to break a tie. There is no plan that changes this.

Questions companies ask before briefing us

Eleven questions, plain English
What does Operator Search cost?
£2,500 to begin the search, payable before it starts, and 15% of the engagement's annualised value if you appoint somebody we presented, with a minimum of £3,500. In the United States the figures are $3,400 and $4,800; in the UAE, AED 12,500 and AED 17,500.
What does the search fee cover?
The search itself: five operators researched and assessed against your brief within five business days of the search beginning, and a further five if none is right. It is non-refundable once the search has begun, and it is not credited against the appointment fee, which pays for the hire.
What does annualised value mean?
The operator's agreed fee for their first twelve months: a day rate multiplied by the days committed each week and by 46 working weeks, or a monthly retainer multiplied by twelve. A fixed term shorter than a year is valued over the term. A CFO at two days a week on £1,000 a day works out at £92,000, so the fee on that seat is £13,800.
When is the appointment fee due?
It is invoiced once the engagement is agreed and payable within 14 days, where the appointment is made within 12 months of the introduction. If the engagement is called off before your operator does any work, tell us and we cancel it.
What happens if none of the five is right?
We present a further five on the same brief at no additional charge. Tell us within 14 days of delivery and we go again.
What if the operator leaves?
A six-month guarantee sits behind the appointment. If they leave or are stood down inside that window we run the search again with no further search fee. It commits us to a re-search rather than to a refund, which is the convention across search.
What if we hire somebody we found on the bench ourselves?
Engagements arranged directly through the bench are covered by the Terms of Business, and the figures that apply to your account are set out in your company dashboard under How fees work.
Does the operator pay anything?
No. Every fee comes from the company, and nothing is deducted from the operator's rate. You contract and pay the operator directly.
How quickly does a shortlist arrive?
We reply to every brief within one business day to confirm the scope. Five candidates, researched and assessed against the brief, follow within five business days of the search beginning.
Who runs a full-time, permanent search?
Our retained search practice, with our search partner, on a percentage of first-year base agreed in writing before anything starts. Their fee is the only fee: we add nothing on top and we are paid through the partnership.
Can an operator pay to be on a shortlist?
No, and there is no plan that changes it. Shortlists are built on fit to the brief alone: sector, stage, seat, availability and verified track record. A company paying for the best five has to receive the best five, not the best five who paid.