HERO Recruitment

What HERO Recruitment does

HERO Recruitment Ltd. is an Irish STEM recruitment agency founded in 1997, headquartered in Galway with additional offices in Dublin and Cork, and a stated headcount of approximately 28 employees ('28 Heroes and growing'). The firm connects STEM professionals with employers across engineering, science, quality, IT, pharmaceutical, and medical device sectors, serving both permanent placement and contracting models, and operating in Ireland with active job listings also in the Netherlands.

The company productizes its service into three tiered packages — Essentials (60% average success rate), Enhanced (82%, exclusive), and Ultimate (96%, joint-venture embedded extension of the client's Talent Acquisition team) — alongside adjacent offerings including Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Provider (MSP) services, psychometric testing (€290–€749 per person) delivered by a chartered business psychologist, executive search, and contractor payrolling. Distribution is sales-led through a website job portal, Calendly scheduling, direct phone/email outreach, and dedicated specialist consultants assigned by sector.

Revenue mechanics are primarily contingency-based transaction fees on permanent placements and contracting mark-ups, supplemented by per-unit professional services fees and managed services contracts. The firm is privately held and independent, with three Directors (Deirdre Finnerty, Roisin McNamara, Michelle Kilcar) and a women-founded leadership team. Its intangible assets include a 25-year operating history, multiple ERF Agency of the Year and Best in Engineering, Science & Pharmaceuticals awards, an 82 NPS score, a reported 89% candidate retention rate, the #GreatnessHasNoGender podcast, and an extensive Info Hub of salary guides, rate guides, and career content. The technology stack is described as a traditional recruitment website and candidate database with no proprietary AI platform disclosed.

Name

HERO Recruitment

Legal name

HERO Recruitment

Website

https://hero.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HERO Recruitment is an Irish STEM recruitment agency founded in 1997 that connects engineering, science, quality, IT, pharmaceutical, and medical device professionals with employers via permanent, contracting, RPO, and MSP service lines, operating from Galway, Dublin, and Cork.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive RPO (Leadership Hiring Programs) (BPACABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Recruitment Marketing & Employer Branding for RPO (BPACABAL)

Keywords

• STEM recruitment services
• Permanent placement staffing
• Contracting recruitment solutions
• Engineering science pharma staffing
• Executive search firm

Headquarters

HQ city

Galway

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Permanent Recruitment Services: Contingency-based placement fees for permanent STEM positions. The company offers three service tiers (Essentials, Enhanced, Ultimate) with different success rates (60%, 82%, 96%) and pricing structures based on exclusivity and service level.
2. Contracting/Contractor Recruitment: Placement fees for temporary contracting roles in STEM fields. Contractors can be set up as PAYE umbrella company employees or through their own limited companies. The company manages payroll services for contractors.
3. Professional Services - Psychometric Testing: Psychometric assessment packages for clients' recruitment processes: Standard package at €290 per person and Customized package at €749 per person.
4. RPO and MSP Services: Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Managed Service Provider services for organizations looking to outsource their STEM talent acquisition functions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

HERO Recruitment is a STEM recruitment agency that places engineering, science, pharmaceutical, quality, IT, and executive professionals into permanent and contracting roles with employers primarily in Ireland. It sells permanent placement and contracting recruitment services alongside tiered engagement packages (Essentials, Enhanced, Ultimate), outsourced recruitment functions (RPO, MSP), psychometric testing, executive search, and contractor payrolling. Candidates are sourced and managed through a website job portal, dedicated specialist consultants, and a candidate database that supports a 96% success rate on the highest tier offering.

Product overview

HERO Recruitment is a STEM recruitment agency operating as a single integrated platform with multiple service lines. The core offering comprises Permanent Recruitment and Contracting Recruitment services, supplemented by a tiered Product Suite (Essentials at 60%, Enhanced at 82%, and Ultimate at 96% average success rates). Additional service modules include RPO, MSP, Psychometric Testing, Executive Recruitment, and Payrolling. The company extends its brand through the #GreatnessHasNoGender podcast platform and an Info Hub containing Salary Guides and Rate Guides for STEM professionals in Ireland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HERO Contracting: Contracting division of HERO Recruitment providing STEM contracting opportunities, offering flexibility, higher pay rates, tax advice, and support for contractors including those setting up as self-employed or through limited companies.

Products and services

• Permanent Recruitment Full-service permanent placement recruitment connecting STEM candidates with long-term career opportunities across engineering, science, quality, IT, executive, and related sectors in Ireland. Sold to enterprise clients as a tiered service ranging from multi-supplier contingency search (Essentials) through exclusive partnership (Enhanced) to embedded talent acquisition extension (Ultimate).
• Contracting Recruitment Contract staffing service placing STEM professionals into temporary contracting roles, offering contractors flexibility, 20-40% higher pay rates than permanent equivalents, tax benefits, and options to be set up as PAYE umbrella employees or through their own limited companies. Includes managed payroll for contractors.
• Essentials Package Entry-tier permanent recruitment service using multiple suppliers and a broadly targeted candidate approach, delivering higher candidate volumes for client review at a 60% average success rate.
• Enhanced Package Exclusive-partnership permanent recruitment package with a targeted candidate approach that triples success odds relative to multi-supplier models, achieving an 82% average success rate.
• Ultimate Package Joint-venture permanent recruitment engagement positioning HERO as an extension of the client's in-house Talent Acquisition team, with the highest 96% average success rate and a brand-positioning strategy targeting active and passive candidates.
• RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) Outsourced recruitment service providing clients with a dedicated STEM expert team that handles their end-to-end talent acquisition, expanding access to wider talent pools, reducing time-to-hire, and improving hire quality.
• MSP (Managed Service Provider) Managed staffing program for clients that uses technology-driven processes to deliver wider candidate talent pools and measurable cost savings across contingent workforce programs.
• Psychometric Testing Scientifically validated psychometric assessment packages including personality reports based on Big 5 Assessments, delivered by a chartered business psychologist. Standard package from €290 per person (personality report within one business day) and customized package from €749 per person (consultation with expert psychologist, handpicked tests, customized report with verbal feedback).
• Executive Recruitment Top-level executive search and placement service leveraging 25 years of STEM recruitment experience to identify and engage exceptional leadership candidates for clients.
• Payrolling Outsourced employee and contractor payroll management service that frees up client resources to focus on business growth while HERO manages payroll administration for placed contractors and employees.

Quantifiable outcome

• 82 NPS Score
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lincoln Recruitment Specialists: Irish-owned recruitment firm with dedicated Engineering, Science, and IT divisions plus executive search capability. Highly comparable Irish STEM specialist with overlapping permanent and contract offerings.
• Sigmar Recruitment: Irish-owned recruitment firm operating across Engineering, Science, IT, and Accounting/Finance, with offices in Dublin, Cork, and Galway. Directly comparable specialist STEM/technical recruitment competitor in the same Irish cities.
• Morgan McKinley: Ireland-founded professional recruitment firm specializing in accounting, finance, technology, and science roles, now operating globally. Comparable target customer base of professional STEM talent with permanent and contract offerings.
• Cpl Resources: Irish-listed recruitment group with dedicated Science & Engineering, IT, and Healthcare divisions serving very similar STEM and medtech clients across Ireland. Closest direct competitor by geography, vertical mix, and client overlap.
• Brightwater Recruitment: Irish specialist recruitment firm with strong Life Sciences, Engineering, and Technology practices. Closely comparable niche STEM focus and client overlap in Ireland's medtech and pharma sectors.
• Matrix Recruitment: Irish-owned recruitment firm with dedicated Engineering, Science, and IT divisions. Direct head-to-head competitor for STEM permanent and contract placements across Ireland.
• Prosperity Recruitment: Irish recruitment firm placing professionals across engineering, technical, science, and supply chain roles. Comparable STEM specialism and Irish mid-market enterprise client base.

Broad incumbents

• Robert Half International: Global professional staffing and recruiting firm with technology, engineering, and finance specializations. Larger generalist incumbent with overlapping capabilities in STEM and professional placement.
• Hays: Global listed recruitment group with strong Irish operations covering Engineering, Life Sciences, and Technology. Larger, broader incumbent competing for the same enterprise STEM hiring mandates but at much greater scale.
• Michael Page International: Global listed recruitment group with dedicated Engineering, Life Sciences, and Technology practices. Competes for the same specialist STEM permanent placements from a much larger, broader platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/herorecruit
• Facebookfacebook.com/Herorecruit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hero-recruitment
• Instagraminstagram.com/herorecruitment_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HERO Recruitment