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Industries
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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.
Professional Services
Expertise is the product. Trust is what wins the work.
Recruitment for sales, business development and marketing roles across legal, accountancy, consulting, advisory, executive search and specialist professional firms.
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT IN
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT
Professional Services
Expertise is the product. Trust is what wins the work.
Recruitment for sales, business development and marketing roles across legal, accountancy, consulting, advisory, executive search and specialist professional firms.
1 - BIG PICTURE STORY:
The Professional Services Economy
THE UK PICTURE:
In the UK, Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities accounted for 15.3% of all VAT and PAYE registered businesses in March 2025, making it the country's largest broad industry group by number of registered businesses.
THE IRISH PICTURE:
Ireland has also seen significant growth in Professional, Scientific and Technical employment, which increased by 33.3% between Q4 2019 and Q4 2025, one of the strongest rates of growth across the Irish economy.
Across both markets, Professional Services covers everything from large international firms to specialist consultancies and owner-led practices. Different service lines, client groups, fee models and approaches to winning work create very different Sales, Marketing and Business Development environments.
£300bn
UK Professional & Business Services economic contribution, 2024
170.8k
Ireland professional, scientific & technical employees, Jul 2026
+8.7%
Ireland professional, scientific & technical services volume, year-on-year Jul 2026
01 — THE SECTOR
Unique hiring considerations:
In Professional Services, the people responsible for growth often have to create it through relationships they don’t own and senior people they don’t manage.
Clients are often buying confidence in a particular partner, director or specialist. The commercial team may identify the opportunity, shape the proposition, build the firm's profile or help develop the relationship, while the person the client ultimately wants to speak to is a fee-earning expert.
That makes the job quite different from a conventional sales environment.
Experienced Business Development professionals learn how to work with senior people, understand where relationships really sit and recognise when a client has a genuine reason to buy. A formal pitch may only appear after months or years of conversations, referrals and useful contact.
Marketing operates in much the same environment. The work has to make expertise easier to understand and easier to trust without oversimplifying it or making the firm sound more commercial than credible.
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 Business Development Managers may both list key accounts, pitches, CRM and partner relationships.
One may shape strategic account plans, coach partners and influence senior client development.
Another may coordinate the infrastructure around fee earners through events, CRM, collateral and pitch support.
Both may be called BD Manager, but their authority, client proximity and influence over decisions can be very different.
CANDIDATE B — SHAPES THE BRIEF BEFORE IT EXISTS
Coordinates BD activity around fee-earning teams
Manages CRM, events and relationship programmes
• Qualifies carefully for fit, margin and win probability
CANDIDATE A — STRONGEST ONCE THE BRIEF LANDS
Coordinates BD activity around fee-earning teams
Builds senior client and intermediary relationships
Influences major pitches and cross-practice opportunities
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
Two Business Development Managers may both list key accounts, pitches, CRM and partner relationships.
One may shape strategic account plans, coach partners and influence senior client development.
Another may coordinate the infrastructure around fee earners through events, CRM, collateral and pitch support.
Both may be called BD Manager, but their authority, client proximity and influence over decisions can be very different.
SAME JOB TITLE - CANDIDATE A
Coaches partners around relationship development
Builds senior client and intermediary relationships
Influences major pitches and cross-practice opportunities
SAME JOB TITLE - CANDIDATE B
Coordinates BD activity around fee-earning teams
Manages CRM, events and relationship programmes
Supports pitches, collateral and practice activity
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
Influences senior professionals without relying on formal authority
Understands where the client relationship actually sits
Recognises genuine triggers for professional advice
Develops existing clients around relevant needs
Judges which pitches and opportunities deserve investment
MARKETING strength signals
Protects professional credibility while making expertise accessible
Turns specialist knowledge into genuinely useful market content
Understands partnership and fee-earner dynamics
Connects reputation activity with client development
Creates value across long and indirect buying journeys
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
FOR EMPLOYERS
Discuss a Sales or Marketing Hire
For employers, we look beyond the obvious CV match and spend time understanding the service environment, partnership structure, client relationships and level of influence behind someone's experience.
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 →
£300bn
UK Professional & Business Services economic contribution, 2024
170.8k
Ireland professional, scientific & technical employees, Jul 2026
+8.7%
Ireland professional, scientific & technical services volume, year-on-year Jul 2026
06 — THE NUMBERS
The Professional Services Economy
FOR EMPLOYERS
Discuss a Sales or Marketing Hire
For employers, we look beyond the obvious CV match and spend time understanding the service environment, partnership structure, client relationships and level of influence behind someone's experience.
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 Professional Services, the people responsible for growth often have to create it through relationships they don’t own and senior people they don’t manage.
Clients are often buying confidence in a particular partner, director or specialist. The commercial team may identify the opportunity, shape the proposition, build the firm's profile or help develop the relationship, while the person the client ultimately wants to speak to is a fee-earning expert.
That makes the job quite different from a conventional sales environment.
Experienced Business Development professionals learn how to work with senior people, understand where relationships really sit and recognise when a client has a genuine reason to buy. A formal pitch may only appear after months or years of conversations, referrals and useful contact.
Marketing operates in much the same environment. The work has to make expertise easier to understand and easier to trust without oversimplifying it or making the firm sound more commercial than credible.
01 — THE SECTOR
Unique Hiring Considerations
In Professional Services, the people responsible for growth often have to create it through relationships they don’t own and senior people they don’t manage.
Clients are often buying confidence in a particular partner, director or specialist. The commercial team may identify the opportunity, shape the proposition, build the firm's profile or help develop the relationship, while the person the client ultimately wants to speak to is a fee-earning expert.
That makes the job quite different from a conventional sales environment.
Experienced Business Development professionals learn how to work with senior people, understand where relationships really sit and recognise when a client has a genuine reason to buy. A formal pitch may only appear after months or years of conversations, referrals and useful contact.
Marketing operates in much the same environment. The work has to make expertise easier to understand and easier to trust without oversimplifying it or making the firm sound more commercial than credible.
01 — THE SECTOR