What CEP does

CEP Personalmanagement GmbH (operating as CEP Medical and CEP Gruppe) is a Cologne-based, privately-held physician recruitment and placement firm founded in 2000 by Managing Director Joost Sanders. The company operates a two-sided marketplace that connects physicians — predominantly international candidates from non-EU ("third-party") countries alongside German-trained specialists — with acute hospitals and rehabilitation clinics (Akut- und Reha-Kliniken) across Germany. Its stated reach includes over 800 clinic relationships, sourcing from 40 third-party states, and more than 1,000 cumulative successful placements.

The core product surface consists of a self-serve job portal (217 live listings, filterable by postal code and specialty), a success-based placement service (Stellenvermittlung), and a complementary Approbation/licensing support offering covering the Kenntnisprüfung, Fachspracheprüfung, and Gleichwertigkeitsverfahren. Distribution is delivered through six named regional consultants each owning a defined German postal-code territory, supplemented by Active Sourcing on LinkedIn and XING, WhatsApp Business messaging, email/newsletter campaigns, and educational blog content targeting international physicians. The underlying technology stack is conventional: a Wix-hosted website, standard CRM, scheduling tools, and social/professional networks — with no proprietary AI, data, or software asset disclosed.

The revenue model is a success-based placement fee charged to hospital and clinic clients, with the placement service offered free of charge to candidate physicians. In some arrangements the company also operates as an employer of record, placing physicians in fixed employment contracts with clinics. The customer base is diversified across 800+ healthcare facilities, with pricing non-publicly disclosed. The firm is bootstrapped, founder-controlled, and operates with a small in-house team of more than 10 experts across the Cologne headquarters.

Name

CEP

Legal name

CEP GmbH Personalmanagement

Website

https://cep-personal.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CEP is a Cologne-based physician recruitment firm that places international and German-trained doctors into acute and rehabilitation clinics across Germany, combining a self-serve job portal with success-based placement services and Approbation/licensing support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Physician Placement Services: CEP Medical earns fees for successfully placing physicians (international and German-trained) in hospitals and rehabilitation clinics across Germany. The service is free for doctors; hospitals pay a success-based placement fee. They cover all physician career stages including assistant physicians (Assistenzarzt), specialist physicians (Facharzt), senior physicians (Oberarzt), and chief physicians (Chefarzt).
2. Employer of Record / Fixed Employment: The company places physicians in the framework of fixed employment contracts with the clinics, acting as an employer of record in some arrangements, enabling flexible and efficient support for both clinics and physicians.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CEP Medical is a Cologne-based physician recruitment and placement agency that connects international doctors (primarily from non-EU third-party states) with German acute hospitals and rehabilitation clinics. The company provides free job placement services to physicians and charges hospitals a success-based fee, while also supporting candidates with German medical licensing (Approbation), language examinations (Kenntnisprüfung), and identification of training authorizations (Weiterbildungsermächtigung).

Product overview

CEP Medical operates as a physician recruitment and placement service connecting international doctors with German healthcare institutions. The company offers a job portal as its primary digital product alongside human-centered recruitment services. The portfolio consists of a job search platform with location-based filtering, targeted job placement matching physicians with hospitals based on qualifications and career stage, medical licensing support for navigating German recognition procedures, career development consultation, and hospital-side recruitment services for staffing open medical positions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jobportal Online job portal enabling physicians to search and browse current medical positions across German hospitals and rehabilitation clinics, with location-based filtering by postal code and radius. Hosts 217 live job listings.
• Stellenvermittlung (Job Placement) Targeted job placement service matching physicians with suitable German hospitals based on qualifications, career stage, and training authorization requirements. Free for candidate physicians; hospitals pay a success-based fee.
• Approbationsverfahren (Licensing Support) Comprehensive assistance with German medical licensing procedures for international physicians, including the recognition process (Approbation), medical German language proficiency testing (Fachsprache), knowledge examinations (Kenntnisprüfung), and the equivalence assessment process (Gleichwertigkeitsverfahren).
• Karriereförderung (Career Development) Career advancement support including consultation on specialist training authorization (Weiterbildungsermächtigung), additional qualifications (Zusatzbezeichnungen), and professional development opportunities within German healthcare institutions.
• Klinik-Vermittlung (Hospital Recruitment) Recruitment services for German hospitals seeking qualified medical staff, including candidate pre-screening, interview coordination, hospitation scheduling, and relocation support for successful placements under fixed employment contracts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 successful physician placements across 40+ countries with a network of 800+ German clinics
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 800+ German Clinics NetworkcoreOthersCEP Medical has established relationships with over 800 German hospitals and rehabilitation clinics (Akut- und Reha-Kliniken) across all German states. These clinic relationships form the core supply side of the company's two-sided marketplace, enabling it to offer physicians access to positions throughout Germany and providing clinics with a reliable pipeline of candidates.
• Agentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency)minorOthersThe company references the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency) as a partner in guiding international physicians toward Bildungsgutschein funding for exam preparation courses. This relationship helps candidates access free government-funded preparation programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sana Kliniken: Large German private hospital group with significant physician hiring needs across acute and rehabilitation facilities. Comparable as a large hospital operator that could either use or bypass third-party physician recruiters.
• Randstad Deutschland: German arm of global staffing giant Randstad, with a healthcare division placing medical professionals. Comparable as a generalist staffing firm with a medical vertical, though broader than CEP's physician-only focus.
• Helios (Fresenius Helios): Germany's largest private hospital operator with extensive in-house physician recruiting including international sourcing. Represents both a major client-type for CEP and a potential threat as an in-house recruiter at scale.
• Asklepios Kliniken: One of Germany's largest private hospital groups operating more than 150 facilities. A major employer of physicians in Germany and a comparable hospital-side counterpart that could insource international physician recruiting.
• CHG Healthcare: Major US healthcare staffing company with a strong physician (locum tenens) placement franchise. Operates a similar two-sided marketplace model connecting physicians with healthcare facilities, albeit at much greater scale and in North America.
• Cross Country Healthcare: US-listed healthcare staffing provider with physician and allied health placement divisions. Comparable business model of placing medical professionals into client facilities, though broader in scope and US-focused.
• AMN Healthcare: Largest US healthcare staffing firm with substantial physician placement (locum tenens and permanent) and a global footprint. Comparable as a healthcare-focused staffing business, though far larger and US-centric.
• AMEOS Gruppe: Major German private hospital group with acute, psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities that actively recruits physicians. Comparable as a large-scale German hospital employer with substantial physician staffing needs.
• Adecco Germany: German operations of Adecco Group, a global staffing leader with a medical/healthcare placement line. Comparable in using a two-sided staffing model for healthcare professionals, though as part of a much broader portfolio.

Others

• Robert Half Deutschland: German arm of global professional staffing firm. Operates in adjacent professional placement but focused on finance, IT, and administrative roles rather than physicians; relevant as a comparator on professional services staffing economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cepgruppe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cep-it-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/cep_personalmanagement

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 CEP