Principal Consultant

Company: AT Talent - Rec2Rec

Principal Recruitment Consultant
US Life Sciences | Remote | Founder-Led Business
A specialist recruitment business operating across the US Life Sciences market is looking to hire an experienced Principal Recruitment Consultant to play a key role in its next stage of growth.
This is an opportunity for someone who wants more than an established desk and a queue of jobs.
The successful person will have the opportunity to build their own market, win new clients, work directly with the founder and ultimately help shape the growth of the business.
The Opportunity
The business specialises in Pharma, Biotech and Life Sciences recruitment, with a particular strength in Quality-focused appointments across the US.
The role will initially operate across permanent and contract recruitment, with flexibility for the successful person to develop a particular specialism based on their experience and interests.
The business already has an established reputation and client network within the US, but the role has been created to bring in someone who can create new opportunities and build their own client base.
The successful person will work closely with the founder, who remains heavily involved in recruitment and business development.
This provides the opportunity to learn directly from someone who has built a successful US recruitment business from scratch and developed significant expertise in US Life Sciences recruitment and business development.
Why This Opportunity?
Build rather than inherit
The business is looking for someone who wants genuine ownership.
Rather than simply inheriting a mature desk, the successful person will have the opportunity to identify a niche, develop relationships, win clients and build a significant revenue stream around their own market.
US market
The business operates predominantly across the US, providing access to a large specialist market and significantly higher recruitment fees than many traditional UK markets.
Senior permanent appointments can generate fees in the region of £55k–£60k, while contract recruitment provides the opportunity to build recurring weekly GP.
Remote-first
The business has deliberately moved towards a remote-first model.
There is no expectation of sitting in a London office five days a week. The successful person will have the freedom to manage their own working environment while being supported closely by the founder and wider team.
The model is built around trust, autonomy and accountability.
Work directly with the founder
The successful person will work closely with the founder, gaining direct exposure to:
* US recruitment
* Business development
* Client acquisition
* Personal branding
* LinkedIn strategy
* Content and community building
* Market development
* Recruitment strategy
The founder has personally built a substantial US recruitment business and has extensive experience developing recruitment teams.
The Role
The successful Principal Recruitment Consultant will be responsible for:
* Developing new business across the US Life Sciences market
* Building and managing senior-level client relationships
* Identifying and developing a specialist recruitment niche
* Winning new accounts and generating job opportunities
* Managing permanent and/or contract recruitment processes
* Building long-term candidate relationships
* Managing the full recruitment lifecycle
* Using LinkedIn, telephone, email, networking and other BD channels
* Developing a personal brand within the chosen market
* Working closely with the founder on business development strategy
* Contributing ideas to the continued development of the business
There is existing delivery support within the business, allowing the successful person to maintain a strong focus on client development and revenue generation.
The Ideal Person
The business is particularly interested in recruiters with 4–5+ years’ recruitment experience who can demonstrate a genuine track record of winning business.
Life Sciences experience, particularly Pharma or Biotech, would be highly advantageous.
US recruitment experience would also be valuable, although neither is essential.
The business is more interested in how someone has built their success than simply the size of their historical billing figure.
The ideal person will be:
* Commercially driven
* Strong at business development
* Self-motivated
* Consistent and disciplined
* Comfortable working autonomously
* Entrepreneurial in their approach
* Confident dealing with senior stakeholders
* Interested in building a personal brand
* Curious about specialist markets
* Ambitious for their own career
Someone who has previously built a desk, opened new accounts or developed a market from scratch is likely to thrive in the environment.
Career Development
This is intended to be a long-term hire rather than simply another recruitment position.
As the business grows, there is the opportunity to progress from:
Principal Consultant → Senior / Leadership → Build a Team → Own a Market / Division
The founder’s longer-term ambition is to build a meaningful specialist recruitment business and develop people within it.
For high-performing individuals, there is also potential for additional long-term incentives and equity participation as the business develops.
Package
* Competitive basic salary
* Highly attractive commission structure
* Potential commission guarantee for the right individual
* High earning potential through US recruitment
* Remote-first working
* Founder-level exposure and support
* Long-term progression opportunities
* Potential future profit share / equity participation
The exact package will depend on experience and will be discussed during the process.
The Opportunity in One Sentence
A genuine opportunity for an experienced recruiter to build a high-value US Life Sciences desk, work directly with a successful founder and ultimately help shape the next stage of a growing specialist recruitment business.
If you’re an ambitious recruiter who wants autonomy, high earning potential and the opportunity to build something rather than simply inherit it, this could be an excellent next step.

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