Associate - Private Equity Executive Search

Maiden Marc Advisory; New York (NY); On-site; USD 70,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Maiden Marc Advisory is seeking multiple Associates for a high-growth retained executive search firm that serves C-Suite and senior leadership roles for private equity and real asset clients. The program offers rotational exposure, working alongside Partners across markets from day one, with a strong emphasis on development and progression.

You will gain hands-on experience in retained search execution, market intelligence, candidate assessment, and client advisory, while advancing toward a

Qualifications

• Strong research and academic credentials with a degree or postgraduate qualification.
• Extracurricular achievements and leadership experience.
• 2026 graduates with up to 5 years of commercial experience in executive recruitment or related fields.
• Structured, resilient, detail-oriented with analytical thinking.

Responsibilities

• Identify and reference potential candidates for retained mandates.
• Ongoing research and networking to source top performers across core markets.
• Create forensic competitor analysis and market intelligence reports.
• Assist and run client-side execution of active mandates.
• Conduct pre-pitch/origination research and due diligence; support strategic projects.

Skills

Research skills

Analytical thinking

Communication

Attention to detail

Networking

Education

Degree or postgraduate qualification

Job description

Maiden Marc Advisory is currently working to add multiple Associate-level candidates to a leading retained executive search firm that covers C-Suite, Managing Director, and business-critical hires for a select group of private equity and real asset-focused clients.

Established almost 20 years ago and now spanning three offices in New York, London and the Middle East, they are looking to add multiple Associates to their incoming 2026 rotational training program.

As a leader in the industry, they are retained by the most prestigious institutions across the Financial Services landscape and are widely considered one of the industry's best boutique retained search firms.

Joining a highly collaborative and entrepreneurial environment, successful candidates will rotate around and work directly alongside experienced Partners across all of the firm's specialist markets, gaining hands-on exposure to retained search execution, market intelligence projects, candidate assessment, and client advisory work from day one.

The business places a strong emphasis on long-term development and internal progression, giving Associates significant early commercial responsibility, close mentorship, and structured training to develop future leaders.

Joining on an industry-leading base salary plus a genuinely top-tier performance-focused bonus structure, you will be developed with the long-term goal of moving into an industry specialist revenue-generating Principal role - a transition that they boast a stellar track record of consistently achieving.

As you progress your career, you will gain responsibility for more significant parts of the mandate management and delivery, including:

• Identifying, referencing, and assessing potential candidates for retained mandates
• Ongoing research and networking to source top performers from talent pools across their core markets
• Creating forensic competitor analysis, including strategic overviews, benchmarking, bespoke market and product intelligence reports through referencing and profiling market leaders
• Assisting and running the client-side execution of active mandates
• Conducting pre-pitch/origination research and due diligence, as well as proactively supporting strategic projects
• Active outreach and long-term relationship building with the top talent in the market

The typical profile of a successful candidate would include the following:

• Strong research and academic credentials with a degree or postgraduate qualification
• An impressive background showing a history of extracurricular success
• Fresh 2026 graduates up to 5 years of commercial experience in executive search, headhunting, recruitment, or transferable professional service experience from consulting, expert networks, professional services environments or grad schemes
• A naturally inquisitive, structured, resilient, and disciplined personality with a high level of attention to detail
• An analytical thinking process alongside a well-rounded communication technique
• A drive to build a career in retained search within a respected industry leader