Spencer Recruitment

What Spencer Recruitment does

Spencer Recruitment Ltd is a Dublin-headquartered boutique recruitment agency founded in 2018 by Brendan Madden, specializing exclusively in Public Relations, Communications, Public Affairs and Marketing talent acquisition across Ireland and the UK. The firm operates as a director-led contingency recruiter, delivering permanent, contract, temporary, interim and executive search placements using a blend of headhunting, candidate database sourcing, and network-based approaches. Its service portfolio covers the full recruitment workflow including job specification drafting, candidate screening and vetting, advertising, interview facilitation, reference checks, offer letter preparation, and a 13-week graduated refund guarantee. The firm has positioned itself across 14 industry verticals spanning Communications & PR, Marketing, Media, Public Affairs, Pharmaceutical Communications, ESG, Medical Technology, Financial Services, FMCG, Retail, Hospitality & Tourism, Food Services, Technology, Engineering and Events, serving clients ranging from FTSE 100 corporates and government bodies to SMEs, boutique consultancies and start-ups.

Underlying technology consists of a recruitment platform and candidate database used for sourcing and headhunting; no proprietary AI or ML capabilities are disclosed. The go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, supplemented by content marketing through annual PR/Communications/Marketing Salary & Benefits Surveys, a news and insights blog, and The Briefing industry event series. Revenue is generated through placement-based professional services fees, with all pricing details treated as confidential and no public fee schedule disclosed. The team is small (1-10 employees, including Managing Director Brendan Madden and Associate Recruitment Consultant Danny Creedon), and ownership remains founder-controlled with no parent company, institutional investors or PE/VC backing identified.

The firm has stated intent to expand into additional regional offices beyond Dublin and to grow its verticals portfolio, but no confirmed new office openings or material headcount expansion beyond the existing small team are evidenced in the available data.

Name

Spencer Recruitment

Legal name

Spencer Recruitment Ltd

Website

https://spencerrecruitment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spencer Recruitment is a Dublin-based boutique agency founded in 2018 that provides specialist permanent, contract and executive recruitment services for PR, communications, public affairs and marketing roles across Ireland and the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Executive Search Services (561312)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire (BPACAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops) (BPACAAAB), C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)

Keywords

• PR recruitment services
• Communications headhunting
• Public affairs recruitment
• Marketing recruitment
• Executive search

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contingency Recruitment Services: Placement-based recruitment fees for permanent hiring, covering executive search, permanent recruiting, temporary staffing, contracted staff, and interim management placements across PR, communications, public affairs, and marketing roles.
2. Specialist Recruitment Consulting: Bespoke recruitment services including headhunting, job spec drafting, candidate screening, interviewing, reference checks, and advertising across specialist communications and marketing domains.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Spencer Recruitment is a Dublin-based boutique recruitment agency that places PR, Communications, Public Affairs, and Marketing professionals into permanent, temporary, contract, interim management, and executive search roles for employers across Ireland and the UK. Service delivery combines director-led headhunting with screening, vetting, interviewing, reference checks, offer letter preparation, and a 13-week placement guarantee with a tiered refund schedule. The firm recruits across 14 industry verticals, including pharmaceutical, ESG, medical technology, financial services, FMCG, retail, hospitality, technology, and engineering.

Product overview

Spencer Recruitment operates as a boutique recruitment agency specializing in Public Relations, Communications, Public Affairs, and Marketing talent acquisition across Ireland and the UK. The company offers a comprehensive suite of recruitment services including headhunting, permanent/contract/temporary placement, freelance positioning, and executive search, supported by ancillary services such as job specification drafting, KPI definition, candidate screening, reference checks, and a 13-week guarantee period. The firm recruits across 14 industry verticals spanning Communications & PR, Marketing, Media, Public Affairs, Pharmaceutical, ESG, Medical Technology, Financial Services, FMCG, Retail, Hospitality & Tourism, Food Services, Technology, Engineering, and Events. All services are delivered by a small team of specialist recruitment consultants based in Dublin, with a marketing-led approach combining technology and human expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Permanent Recruitment Services Specialist permanent placement recruitment service for PR, Communications, Public Affairs, and Marketing professionals, covering role definition, headhunting, shortlisting, screening, interviewing, reference checks, offer management, and a 13-week guarantee period. Targeted at employers in Ireland and the UK.
• Executive Search (Headhunting) Director-led executive search and headhunting service for senior communications, public affairs, and marketing leadership roles. Uses the firm's specialist database, networks, and proactive outreach for confidential searches, including transformational leadership placements.
• Temporary & Contract Staffing Placement of temporary and contracted PR, communications, public affairs, and marketing professionals for short-term, project-based, or fixed-term employer needs across Ireland and the UK.
• Freelance & Interim Management Placements Placement service connecting clients with freelance marketing and communications talent and senior interim managers for short-term, transitional, or project-based leadership needs in communications, public affairs, and marketing functions.
• 13-Week Placement Guarantee Replacement guarantee covering 13 weeks after placement, with tiered refund schedule: 100% refund if employment terminates within week 1, 80% in weeks 2-3, 60% in weeks 4-6, 40% in weeks 7-9, 20% in weeks 10-13, and no refund from week 14 onwards.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 successful placements across Ireland and UK
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Headley Media: Boutique UK PR and communications recruitment specialist. Competes with Spencer on agency-side and in-house communications placements across the UK market.
• EMR | Search & Selection: Specialist marketing and communications recruitment firm with a UK focus and growing international footprint. Competes for senior marketing and corporate communications hires and overlaps with Spencer's UK cross-border mandates.
• Prosperity: UK-based specialist communications and marketing recruitment agency. Competes with Spencer for in-house communications roles, particularly across consumer, corporate, and financial services PR mandates.

Direct peers

• Workhorse Partnership: Specialist marketing, digital, and communications recruitment agency operating in the UK/Ireland. Competes directly with Spencer for in-house marketing and corporate communications permanent placements.
• Barden: Ireland-based specialist recruitment firm with a dedicated marketing practice. Closely comparable boutique positioning with multi-disciplinary specialism in marketing, digital, and communications hires across the Irish market.
• Reuben Sinclair: UK-based specialist PR, communications, and marketing recruitment agency. Direct competitor to Spencer in the niche PR/comms permanent and contract placement space across the UK and Ireland markets.
• Hanson Search: Boutique executive search firm specializing in PR, communications, and marketing leadership hiring across the UK and internationally. Closely comparable on the executive search and senior communications placement end of Spencer's service mix.

Broad incumbents

• Cpl Resources: Ireland's largest listed recruitment firm with a dedicated marketing, communications, and digital practice. Competes with Spencer for Irish corporate comms mandates but offers much broader functional coverage and enterprise scale.
• Robert Walters: Global professional recruitment firm with strong Ireland/UK presence and dedicated marketing, communications, and digital practices. Provides enterprise-scale competition for Spencer's larger FTSE 100 and government mandates.
• Morgan McKinley: Established Ireland and UK recruitment group with dedicated marketing, communications, and HR search practices. Competes with Spencer on mid-market and senior comms roles while serving a far broader sector mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spencer-recruitment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Spencer Recruitment