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Agency & Media
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT
Agency & Media. Winning the client is half the job.
Fast briefs. Big ideas. Tight turnarounds. Plenty of opinions.
We find new-business, client-services and agency-marketing people who understand scope, margin and what the client is actually buying — not just how to pitch.
Banking & Finance
New ideas meet old systems. In banking, progress has to pass the risk test.
Recruitment for commercial roles across banking, insurance, fintech, payments, lending, wealth, investment, pensions and financial services.
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT IN
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT
Banking & Finance
New ideas meet old systems. In banking, progress has to pass the risk test.
Recruitment for commercial roles across banking, insurance, fintech, payments, lending, wealth, investment, pensions and financial services.
1 - BIG PICTURE STORY:
The Banking & Finance Economy
THE UK PICTURE:
Financial services account for around 8% of UK GVA and employed approximately 1.36 million people in 2025. The sector spans banking, insurance, investment, payments, wealth and fintech, with very different commercial and regulatory environments. (GOV.UK)
THE IRISH PICTURE:
Ireland also has a substantial financial-services economy. Financial and Insurance Activities generated approximately €21.9 billion in GVA in 2025, spanning domestic banking, insurance, funds, payments and international financial services. (Central Statistics Office)
Within that economy, experience is not automatically transferable. Consumer banking, commercial insurance, wealth, payments and fintech can involve very different customers, distribution models, risk decisions and buying processes.
£223.6bn
UK financial & insurance economic output, 2025
138.8k
Ireland financial, insurance & real-estate employees, Jul 2026
+3.3%
Ireland financial, insurance & real-estate employment growth, year-on-year Jul 2026
01 — THE SECTOR
Unique hiring considerations:
In Banking & Finance, more business is not automatically better business. A customer may want the product and the salesperson may be able to sell it, but there are still questions around suitability, affordability, risk, underwriting, approval and whether the outcome makes sense for both sides.
Sales professionals with experience in the sector learn how to work within that tension. They need to understand what the customer is trying to achieve, but also what Credit, Risk, Underwriting or Compliance will need before the business can say yes.
Marketing works with a similar constraint. Financial products can be complicated, but making them easier to understand cannot mean making the cost, risk or limitations disappear in the process. Strong people simplify complexity without disguising what the customer needs to know.
Two New Business Directors may both show major pitch wins and well-known clients. The same result can start at very different points in the buying journey.
The title tells us surprisingly little unless we know what the client was buying and how the agency made money from it.
CANDIDATE A
Strongest once the brief lands
• Builds strong credentials and pitch processes
• Coordinates senior agency involvement
• Converts briefs once the opportunity is defined
CANDIDATE B
Shapes the brief before it exists
• Builds senior relationships before formal briefs
• Creates preference while needs are still forming
• Qualifies carefully for fit, margin and win probability
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
Two Relationship Managers may both show strong portfolios, customer retention and revenue growth.
One may mainly manage established relationships and introduce internal specialists; another may need to understand the customer's underlying business, structure more complex lending requirements and build the internal case with Credit, Risk or Underwriting.
Similar client lists can conceal very different levels of judgement and responsibility.
CANDIDATE B — SHAPES THE BRIEF BEFORE IT EXISTS
Understands the customer's underlying business model
Structures more complex lending requirements
• Qualifies carefully for fit, margin and win probability
CANDIDATE A — STRONGEST ONCE THE BRIEF LANDS
Understands the customer's underlying business model
Coordinates access to internal specialists
Protects long-term customer confidence
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
Two Relationship Managers may both show strong portfolios, customer retention and revenue growth.
One may mainly manage established relationships and introduce internal specialists; another may need to understand the customer's underlying business, structure more complex lending requirements and build the internal case with Credit, Risk or Underwriting.
Similar client lists can conceal very different levels of judgement and responsibility.
SAME JOB TITLE - CANDIDATE A
Builds retention, service and referral relationships
Coordinates access to internal specialists
Protects long-term customer confidence
SAME JOB TITLE - CANDIDATE B
Understands the customer's underlying business model
Structures more complex lending requirements
Builds evidence for Credit and internal approval
SALES, NEW BUSINESS & CLIENT GROWTH
01
New Business Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Which pitches deserve the agency's time — not just winning them.
HOW IT VARIES
RFP-led in some agencies; relationship-led long before a brief in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Tell us about a pitch you walked away from."
02
Client Services Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The gap between what the client expects and what the fee covers.
HOW IT VARIES
Full P&L and renewal authority, or delivery lead with pricing held elsewhere.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"When did you last renegotiate scope mid-year?"
03
Account Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Growth that doesn't turn into unpaid over-servicing.
HOW IT VARIES
Performance agencies build media economics; creative agencies build judgement on ambiguous briefs.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did the account's margin move under you?"
MARKETING
04
Agency Marketing Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Attracting the kind of brief New Business actually wants.
HOW IT VARIES
Visibility and awards in some agencies; proposition and pipeline in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Which piece of thinking brought a client in?"
05
Communications Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The agency's reputation, and sometimes its clients' too.
HOW IT VARIES
Corporate narrative in-house, or crisis and media work on behalf of clients.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"What didn't you say, and why?"
06
Content Strategy Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Connecting audience insight to measurable commercial outcomes.
HOW IT VARIES
Client-facing strategy lead, or the agency's own thought-leadership engine.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did you prove it worked?"
We also recruit across media sales, partnerships, PR, performance and digital marketing, and sales & marketing leadership.
Discuss a role in this sector →
03 — ROLES
What the title doesn't tell you
We also recruit across media sales, partnerships, PR, performance and digital marketing, and sales & marketing leadership.
Discuss a role in this sector
→
MARKETING
04
Agency Marketing Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Attracting the kind of brief New Business actually wants.
HOW IT VARIES
Visibility and awards in some agencies; proposition and pipeline in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Which piece of thinking brought a client in?"
05
Communications Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The agency's reputation, and sometimes its clients' too.
HOW IT VARIES
Corporate narrative in-house, or crisis and media work on behalf of clients.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"What didn't you say, and why?"
06
Content Strategy Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Connecting audience insight to measurable commercial outcomes.
HOW IT VARIES
Client-facing strategy lead, or the agency's own thought-leadership engine.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did you prove it worked?"
SALES, NEW BUSINESS & CLIENT GROWTH
01
New Business Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Which pitches deserve the agency's time — not just winning them.
HOW IT VARIES
RFP-led in some agencies; relationship-led long before a brief in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Tell us about a pitch you walked away from."
02
Client Services Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The gap between what the client expects and what the fee covers.
HOW IT VARIES
Full P&L and renewal authority, or delivery lead with pricing held elsewhere.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"When did you last renegotiate scope mid-year?"
03
Account Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Growth that doesn't turn into unpaid over-servicing.
HOW IT VARIES
Performance agencies build media economics; creative agencies build judgement on ambiguous briefs.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did the account's margin move under you?"
03 — ROLES
What the title doesn't tell you
MARKETING
Makes the agency's thinking visible before a brief appears
Uses case studies to demonstrate decisions and outcomes
Builds reputation that helps the agency enter consideration early
Communicates a clear proposition rather than a capability list
Aligns agency marketing with the work New Business actually wants
SALES
Qualifies opportunities before consuming pitch resource
Understands what is really driving the client's decision
Sells the agency that will actually deliver the work
Understands how the pricing model affects account economics
Protects scope, margin and relationship quality as accounts grow
04 — WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
Strength signals
SALES
01
Qualifies opportunities before consuming pitch resource
02
Understands what is really driving the client's decision
03
Sells the agency that will actually deliver the work
04
Understands how the pricing model affects account economics
05
Protects scope, margin and relationship quality as accounts grow
MARKETING
01
Makes the agency's thinking visible before a brief appears
02
Uses case studies to demonstrate decisions and outcomes
03
Builds reputation that helps the agency enter consideration early
04
Communicates a clear proposition rather than a capability list
05
Aligns agency marketing with the work New Business actually wants
04 — WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
Strength signals we listen for
04 — WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
Strength signals we listen for
SALES STRENGTH SIGNALS
Understands what the customer is genuinely trying to achieve
Works constructively with Credit, Risk and Underwriting
Builds credible internal as well as external cases
Understands the economics of the relevant distribution model
Prioritises quality and suitability alongside volume
MARKETING strength signals
Makes complex financial products genuinely understandable
Understands the product, customer and underlying risk
Works comfortably with Legal, Risk and Compliance
Looks beyond acquisition to activation and retention
Adapts activity to direct, intermediary and partnership channels
40-person Belfast brand agency needed a Commercial Director during a major repositioning.
Result: 3-person shortlist. Successful hire remains in post today.
The brief required an unusual combination of strategic leadership, people management and new business ability. We mapped the relevant market thoroughly and narrowed a broad potential field to three candidates capable of operating across all three areas.
05 — A RECENT SEARCH
In practice
05 — A RECENT SEARCH
In practice
Insurance aggregator needed an SEO specialist who understood regulated, high-intent search.
Rather than searching for general digital marketers, we focused on SEO specialists who understood regulated customer journeys, commercial search intent and the terminology customers actually use when actively looking to purchase insurance products online.
1 specialist hire materially reduced reliance on paid advertising.
FOR EMPLOYERS
Discuss a Sales or Marketing Hire
For employers, we look beyond the obvious CV match and spend time understanding what someone has actually done, the environment they have worked in and how relevant that experience is to the role.
We look beyond the agency name and title to the proposition, pricing model, account economics and real commercial ownership behind someone's experience.
DISCUSS A HIRE
FOR PROFESSIONALS
Considering your next move?
We help make sense of the experience you've built, what you're genuinely good at and where it might take you next.
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST
CALL TO ACTION
Hiring in Agency & Media?
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
[Sarah to write — one sentence]
Sarah, Founder
About MRKTSEARCH →
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
[Sarah to write — one sentence]
Sarah, Founder
About MRKTSEARCH →
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
[Sarah to write — one sentence]
Sarah, Founder · About MRKTSEARCH →
£223.6bn
UK financial & insurance economic output, 2025
138.8k
Ireland financial, insurance & real-estate employees, Jul 2026
+3.3%
Ireland financial, insurance & real-estate employment growth, year-on-year Jul 2026
06 — THE NUMBERS
The Banking & Finance Economy
FOR EMPLOYERS
Discuss a Sales or Marketing Hire
For employers, we look beyond the obvious CV match and spend time understanding what someone has actually done, the environment they have worked in and how relevant that experience is to the role.
SOURCES
Advertising Association; Creative Communications Ireland.
£35.2bn
UK creative & media agency GVA, 2024
£46.7bn
UK advertising investment, 2025
€1.7bn
Irish advertising market, 2025
06 — THE NUMBERS
The agency & media economy
In Banking & Finance, more business is not automatically better business. A customer may want the product and the salesperson may be able to sell it, but there are still questions around suitability, affordability, risk, underwriting, approval and whether the outcome makes sense for both sides.
Sales professionals with experience in the sector learn how to work within that tension. They need to understand what the customer is trying to achieve, but also what Credit, Risk, Underwriting or Compliance will need before the business can say yes.
Marketing works with a similar constraint. Financial products can be complicated, but making them easier to understand cannot mean making the cost, risk or limitations disappear in the process. Strong people simplify complexity without disguising what the customer needs to know.
01 — THE SECTOR
Unique Hiring Considerations
In Banking & Finance, more business is not automatically better business. A customer may want the product and the salesperson may be able to sell it, but there are still questions around suitability, affordability, risk, underwriting, approval and whether the outcome makes sense for both sides.
Sales professionals with experience in the sector learn how to work within that tension. They need to understand what the customer is trying to achieve, but also what Credit, Risk, Underwriting or Compliance will need before the business can say yes.
Marketing works with a similar constraint. Financial products can be complicated, but making them easier to understand cannot mean making the cost, risk or limitations disappear in the process. Strong people simplify complexity without disguising what the customer needs to know.
01 — THE SECTOR