ESE Recruitment

Recruitment Serviceseserecruitment.com.au

ESE Recruitment is a privately held Australian boutique recruitment agency founded in 2001, providing permanent, temporary, and executive search services across engineering, science/technical, sales, and construction sectors nationally and in New Zealand.

Company typePrivate
Founded2001
HeadquartersIvanhoe, Australia
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What ESE Recruitment does

ESE Recruitment is a privately held boutique recruitment agency founded in 2001 and headquartered in Ivanhoe, Melbourne, Australia. The firm delivers permanent, temporary/contract, and executive search recruitment services to small, medium, and large enterprise clients across three specialised industry verticals — Engineering/Science/Technical, Sales, and Construction & the Built Environment — with national Australian coverage and capability to place candidates in New Zealand. Its core product suite is extended by HR-adjacent offerings including outsourced Payroll Management powered by the third-party Astute Payroll online timesheet system, Interstate & NZ recruitment, Psychometric Appraisals, and Custom Solutions for large-scale projects. Job seekers are served through an online Job Search Platform and a Resume Upload / Talent Bank that feeds the consultant sourcing pipeline.

The firm generates revenue through four streams: placement fees for permanent hires, margin on temporary/contract staff placements, retained or contingent executive search fees, and managed-service fees for outsourced payroll processing. Pricing is bespoke and quote-based rather than published, with multi-year contract cadences and bespoke proposals negotiated directly via phone or email. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven: consultants conduct direct employer outreach, handle inbound talent requests via the website, and leverage a long-standing professional network supplemented by RCSA industry-body membership. Technology is operational rather than differentiating — the Astute Payroll integration handles timesheets, approval workflows, award/EBA compliance, reporting, and invoicing — with no proprietary AI or platform IP disclosed.

The business is co-directed by Matt Johnson (founding partner, Science + HRM background) and Mark Berthelsen (joined 2004, 20+ years of recruitment including international executive search in Japan). Regional Victoria is served through ESE Consulting, a sister company operated by Matt Johnson's twin sisters from Bendigo. No external investors, parent company, M&A, or funding rounds are disclosed in available materials.

ESE Recruitment firmographics

Firmographics

Name: ESE Recruitment
Legal name: ESE Recruitment
Website: https://eserecruitment.com.au
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2001
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: ESE Recruitment is a privately held Australian boutique recruitment agency founded in 2001, providing permanent, temporary, and executive search services across engineering, science/technical, sales, and construction sectors nationally and in New Zealand.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

ESE Recruitment industry classification

Industry

Product category: Recruitment Services
NAICS: Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Executive Search Services (561312), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)
SIC: Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
akta.pro primary industry: Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD)
akta.pro secondary industry: Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG)

Keywords

Permanent recruitment services
Executive search
Temporary staffing
Payroll management
Technical recruitment

Where ESE Recruitment is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Ivanhoe
HQ country: Australia
HQ region: Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

ESE Recruitment business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Permanent Recruitment: Fees earned upon successful placement of candidates in permanent roles for employer clients. The company has been providing permanent recruitment services for nearly 20 years.
Temporary/Contract Staffing: Margin earned on temporary or contract staff placed with employer clients, managed through the company's payroll and timesheet processing infrastructure.
Executive Search: Retained or contingent search fees for sourcing senior managers and executives for leadership positions across Australia and New Zealand.
Payroll Management Services: Outsourced payroll processing fees charged to employer clients, encompassing online timesheeting, award interpretation, tax/super remittance, and compliance management.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Other	Multi-year contract	Bespoke / quote-based pricing

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

ESE Recruitment product offering

Product offering

Core offering

ESE Recruitment is a boutique Australian recruitment agency delivering permanent, temporary/contract, and executive search staffing services to employer clients across the Engineering, Science & Technical, Sales, and Construction & Built Environment sectors. The company supplements core recruitment with outsourced Payroll Management (online timesheeting, award interpretation, tax/super remittance), Interstate & NZ Recruitment, Psychometric Appraisals, and Custom Solutions for large-scale hiring projects, while also providing jobseekers with a Job Search Platform and Resume Upload/Talent Bank.

Product overview

ESE Recruitment operates as a boutique recruitment agency offering a unified recruitment solutions suite. The core products include Permanent Recruitment, Temporary Recruitment, and Executive Search services for clients in Engineering, Science & Technical, Sales, and Construction & Built Environment sectors. Supporting the core recruitment services, the suite includes Payroll Management (streamlined via online timesheeting and state-of-the-art systems), Interstate & NZ Recruitment for national/international hiring, Custom Solutions for large-scale projects, Psychometric Appraisals, and an Online Timesheet Processing System. For jobseekers, the company provides a Job Search Platform with filtering capabilities and a Resume Upload/Talent Bank service. The products are offered both independently and as an integrated suite, with a structured process covering candidate search, consultant interviews, testing, reference checking, job offer management, and post-placement follow-up.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Permanent Recruitment Permanent staff recruitment service delivering high-calibre candidates for ongoing business operations, with specialisation in Sales, Engineering, Science, Technical, and Construction sectors. ESE has been placing permanent staff for almost 20 years.
Temporary Recruitment Temporary staffing solution providing workforce flexibility to handle peaks and troughs in business cycles, with expertise across sales, technical, science, engineering, and construction sectors.
Executive Search Customised, targeted, and collaborative sourcing for highly qualified senior managers and executives to fill leadership positions, delivered through a rigorous methodology covering candidate search, interviews, testing, and reference checking across Australia and New Zealand.
Payroll Management Streamlined outsourced payroll management comprising online timesheeting, customisable approval workflows, reporting, invoicing, and award interpretation and compliance management for employers placing temporary staff.
Interstate & NZ Recruitment Comprehensive Australia and New Zealand recruitment solution enabling employers to build national and international teams through ESE's network spanning metropolitan and regional areas.
Custom Solutions Tailored recruitment solutions for large-scale hiring projects, delivered through a structured process of proposal, discussion, and implementation either on client premises or at ESE's facilities.
Psychometric Appraisals Psychometric assessment services helping clients select appropriate psychometric testing for preferred candidates as part of the selection process.
Job Search Platform Online job search tool allowing candidates to browse current job openings with filtering capabilities to receive customised results across various industries.
Resume Upload / Talent Bank Resume submission service that adds candidates to ESE's talent bank, enabling the agency to contact them when suitable positions become available.

Quantifiable outcome

Proven track record of long-term client relationships (10+ years with many clients)
+1 more outcomes

Companies that use ESE Recruitment

Customer profile

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

ESE Recruitment technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

ESE Recruitment partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

ESE ConsultingcoreOthersESE Consulting is the sister company of ESE Recruitment, operated by Matt Johnson's twin sisters, Katie and Michelle Johnson. ESE Consulting serves regional Victoria and complements ESE Recruitment's metropolitan focus. ESE Consulting's website is www.eseconsulting.com.au. The two companies share the ESE brand and operate in close alignment.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

ESE Recruitment competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Peoplebank: Australian specialist recruiter focused on IT, engineering, and science/technical roles. Overlaps directly with ESE's Engineering/Science/Technical vertical and offers similar permanent and contract staffing services to enterprise clients nationally.
Talent International: Australian-headquartered recruitment firm specialising in technology, digital, and engineering talent. Comparable in vertical specialisation, contract/permanent mix, and ANZ operating footprint, competing for the same technical candidates and clients.
Skout Solutions: Australian recruitment specialist with focus on construction, engineering, and technical trades. Highly comparable to ESE's Construction & Built Environment and Engineering/Science/Technical verticals and similar boutique-mid-market positioning.
Chandler Macleod: Established Australian recruitment agency offering permanent, temporary, and executive search across professional and technical verticals. Most comparable in scope, geographic focus (ANZ), and mid-market client base, but with broader vertical coverage than ESE.

Broad incumbents

Robert Walters Australia: International recruitment firm with Australian offices focused on professional, technical, and executive search. Overlaps with ESE's executive search and technical permanent placement offerings, particularly for mid-senior roles.
Michael Page Australia: Global recruitment brand operating across Australia offering permanent, temporary, and executive search in professional disciplines. Competes with ESE for mid-market permanent placements in technical and sales roles but offers broader sector coverage.
Hudson Global (Australia): Global talent solutions company with Australian operations in permanent, temporary, and executive recruitment. Comparable in service lines and target clients, particularly in technical and professional verticals, but with broader geographic and sector reach.
Robert Half Australia: Global staffing firm with a strong Australian presence in finance, technology, and office support recruitment. Overlaps with ESE's sales and technical verticals but operates at much greater scale and brand recognition.
Hays Australia: Global recruitment firm with a substantial Australian operation across multiple verticals including construction, engineering, and sales. Directly comparable in service mix (perm, temp, executive search) but at materially larger scale, competing for the same enterprise clients ESE serves.

Others

SEEK: Dominant Australian online job-search platform and increasingly an ecosystem participant for recruitment agencies. Not a direct recruiter but a key channel and competitor for candidate sourcing and employer-direct hiring, structurally shaping ESE's market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

ESE Recruitment compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance2 records

ESE Recruitment financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

ESE Recruitment leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

ESE Recruitment subsidiaries and ownership

Company hierarchy

Subsidiaries1 record

ESE Recruitment funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

ESE Recruitment M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about ESE Recruitment

What does ESE Recruitment do?

Is ESE Recruitment a public or private company?

ESE Recruitment is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was ESE Recruitment founded?

ESE Recruitment was founded in 2001. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is ESE Recruitment based?

ESE Recruitment is headquartered in Ivanhoe, Australia, in the Oceania region.

How does ESE Recruitment make money?

Four revenue lines are on record. Permanent Recruitment is the primary driver. The others are temporary/Contract Staffing, executive Search and payroll Management Services.

Who are ESE Recruitment's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Peoplebank, Talent International, Skout Solutions and Chandler Macleod. Broad incumbents are Robert Walters Australia, Michael Page Australia, Hudson Global (Australia), Robert Half Australia and Hays Australia. SEEK is listed as an others.

Does ESE Recruitment have an API?

No public API is recorded for ESE Recruitment.

What industry is ESE Recruitment in?

ESE Recruitment's product category is Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAPAD, Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS), with a secondary code of BPACAKAG, Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops). Its NAICS code is 56131 and its SIC code is 7361.