Graduate Associate Consultant - Executive Search

Lowen Talent R2R; Leeds; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Uncapped bonuses

£80k earnings target by year 2

Occasional day working from home

Job summary

Lowen Talent is a leading Executive Search firm based in Leeds, specialising in private equity assignments and placing CEO/CFO/COO profiles across Europe and North America. This role blends research-led search with client engagement and career development.

Starting salary is £25-30k DOE plus uncapped bonuses, with realistic earnings of £80k by year two. You will join a high-performance team that values ambition, resilience, and ownership of your professional growth.

Qualifications

• Ideally a First or at least a high 2:1 in a recent degree.
• Demonstrable record of success (academic, athletic, or other).
• Genuine ambition paired with ownership of your own development.
• Resilience and a strong work ethic with a drive to be challenged.
• Openness to feedback and a commitment to continuous improvement.
• No prior experience in sales/recruitment/exec search required - potential to develop.

Responsibilities

• Deliver genuine executive search assignments, placing senior investment and C-suite professionals.
• Conduct thorough, research-led candidate identification rather than relying on job boards.
• Develop specialist, in-depth knowledge of the private equity market and key players.
• Partner with clients at a consultative level beyond the brief.
• Manage assignments from brief to successful placement with research/admin support.
• Be measured on genuine progress and development, not rigid targets.

Skills

First or 2:1 degree

Resilience

Ambition

Tenacity

Competitive mindset

Strong work ethic

Education

First or 2:1 degree

Job description

Lowen Talent is working a leading Executive Search firm based in Leeds operating exclusively within private equity, partnering with PE firms and their portfolio companies across Europe and North America. The firm secures investment and back-office talent for its clients, before its portfolio division goes on to place CEO, CFO and COO profiles into the businesses those firms acquire. Since its founding in 2017, the business has grown consistently year on year, and it is now expanding its Leeds team once again on the back of that success.

This is a considered, research-led approach to search, worlds apart from high-volume, generalist recruitment. Every consultant is supported by a dedicated research and administration team, freeing you to focus entirely on the work that drives results: building relationships, understanding markets, and delivering for clients at the highest level. Average placement fees sit at approximately £87,000, with the firm's record fee exceeding £250,000, a clear indication of the calibre of work involved. Underpinning all of it is a culture built genuinely around self-development, where the growth of the business and the growth of its people are treated as one and the same. For graduates who embrace that, realistic earnings of £80,000 within two years are well within reach.

Prior experience in sales, recruitment or exec search is NOT required - instead, we are seeking individuals who can demonstrate a hardworking, tenacious and competitive personality with a clear drive to be successful and earn money.

The calibre of person they're looking for

• Ideally a First or at least a high 2:1 in a recent degree
• A clear, demonstrable record of success, whether academic, athletic, or otherwise
• Genuine ambition, paired with real ownership of your own development
• Resilience and a strong work ethic, with the appetite to be challenged
• Openness to feedback and a sincere commitment to continuous improvement
• No experience within sales/recruitment/exec search is welcomed - we're looking for the right individual to develop.

What the role involves

• Delivering genuine executive search assignments, placing senior investment and C-suite professionals into private equity-backed businesses
• Conducting thorough, research-led candidate identification, rather than relying on job boards or volume-based sourcing
• Developing specialist, in-depth knowledge of the private equity market and its key players
• Partnering with clients at a consultative level, understanding their business beyond the immediate brief
• Managing assignments from initial brief through to successful placement, supported by dedicated research and admin resource
• Being measured against genuine progress and development, not arbitrary targets

What's on offer

• Starting salary £25-30k DOE plus uncapped bonuses
• Realistic earnings of £80,000 by the end of year two
• A culture centred on self-development, with meaningful, ongoing investment in your growth
• Dedicated research and admin support, so your time is spent where it counts
• Genuine flexibility and autonomy, without the need to request permission for lunch, appointments, or the occasional day working from home
• Progress measured on real development, not box-ticking KPIs
• A close, high-performing team that succeeds and learns together

If the track record and ambition are there, the investment in you will follow.