Confidential Search for Senior and Leadership Roles
Executive search is a targeted search for senior and leadership roles, in which suitable people are identified and approached directly. We agree the brief with the founder or board, map the market, approach people discreetly, assess them against the brief and support you through the offer and the transition. Confidentiality terms are agreed in writing first, and the decision stays with you.
Executive Search in brief
Executive search is a targeted search for senior and leadership roles, in which suitable people are identified and approached directly instead of waiting for applications. GullyHR provides it as a separate service. The brief is agreed with the founder or board, the search is handled confidentially, and the selection, the compensation and the offer remain your decisions.
- GullyHR is an HR consulting, HR services, training and software company based in Bengaluru, working with Indian startups and small and medium businesses.
- GullyHR provides executive search for senior and leadership roles, alongside talent acquisition, IT and specialised recruitment, contract staffing, recruitment process outsourcing, background verification, payroll outsourcing, outsourced HR management and compliance support.
- A search can cover the role brief, market mapping, a targeted approach, assessment and referencing, a shortlist, interview support, and offer and transition support.
- Confidentiality terms are agreed in writing before the search begins, both for your business and for the people we approach.
- The hiring decision, the compensation and the offer stay with you. Roles, levels and scope are agreed per engagement.
The starting point
Is a Senior Role Waiting on a Search Nobody Has Time For?
Senior roles are rarely filled from applications. The people who could do the job are usually busy doing a similar one, and many searches have to stay quiet until the change is announced. Without a brief, a map and someone to run the approach, the search stalls or falls back on personal contacts.
We run the search from a written brief, under confidentiality terms agreed with you, and you keep the decision.
You may be experiencing:
- A leadership role covered by the founder alongside their own job.
- A replacement search that cannot be advertised because the change is not yet announced.
- Suitable people who are not looking and do not see job postings.
- A founder, board and investors who each describe the role differently.
- Senior candidates judged mainly on how they present in an interview.
- References taken informally, only from people the candidate chose.
- A shortlist made up of whoever was available, not whoever fits.
- A selected candidate lost to a counter-offer during the notice period.
- A new leader who joins with no handover and no agreed priorities.
- Concern about who inside and outside the business will hear about the search.
What we can help with
Our Executive Search Services
Role Brief With the Founder or Board
A briefing with the people who own the role on what it is for, its priorities, the reporting line and the approvals in place, written into a brief each decision-maker confirms.
Market Mapping
A map of the organisations, functions and backgrounds where suitable people are likely to be, agreed with you before anyone is approached.
Targeted and Confidential Approach
Direct, discreet approach to the people in the map, using a role description cleared for outreach and disclosing only what you have agreed.
Assessment Against the Brief
Structured conversations and a review of what each person has led and delivered, with notes recorded against the brief. Other assessments only where agreed.
Referencing
References taken with the candidate's consent and at an agreed stage, so they inform your decision without exposing a candidate who is still employed.
Shortlist and Interview Support
A shortlist with a written view on each candidate, interview coordination with the senior panel, briefing of both sides and collection of the panel's views.
Offer and Notice-Period Support
Candidate communication while you finalise the offer, and agreed contact through the notice period. The compensation, the offer and its terms are decided by you.
Transition and Onboarding Handover
A handover note on the brief, what the search showed and the open points, ready for onboarding and for any leadership or manager development you plan.
The scope
What the Search Can Cover
These are the parts of a senior search we can support. Each engagement takes the parts that apply to your role, and the scope is agreed with you in writing.
Role Brief
What the role is accountable for, its priorities for the first year, the reporting line, the decision-makers and the approvals already in place.
Success Profile
The experience, capabilities and working style the role needs, with must-have and good-to-have points set out separately and agreed by the decision-makers.
Confidentiality Terms
What can be disclosed at each stage, who knows about the search internally, when your name is revealed and how candidate information is handled.
Market Map
The organisations, functions and backgrounds to be approached, and any organisations you want left out.
Outreach Description
A description of the role and the opportunity, cleared by you, that tells a candidate enough to decide whether to talk.
Direct Approach
Discreet contact with the people in the map, a first conversation, and a record of their interest and reasons.
Assessment
Structured conversations against the brief and a review of track record, with psychometric or other assessments only where agreed.
Referencing
References taken with consent and at an agreed stage, recorded in general terms and shared with you.
Shortlist Presentation
A written view on each shortlisted candidate: how they match the brief, what is open and what to probe in the interview.
Interview Support
Scheduling with senior panel members, briefing on the format, and collection of the panel's views in an agreed form.
Offer and Notice Period
Candidate communication while you finalise the offer, and agreed contact until joining, with any concern reported to you.
Onboarding Handover
A handover note for the people who will onboard and support the new leader in the first months.
Working together
Ways to Work With Us
Single Senior Search
A search for one senior or leadership role, from the brief to the handover note.
Confidential Replacement Search
A search run before a change is announced, with disclosure and internal awareness set out in the confidentiality terms.
Leadership Team Build
Several senior roles searched together, for a new function, business unit or phase of growth, with one brief per role.
Alongside Leadership Development
A search run next to our succession and leadership development work, so hiring from outside and developing from within are weighed together.
Scope and confidentiality terms are agreed per engagement, in writing, before work begins. Executive search is scoped separately from our talent acquisition and consulting services.
The deliverables
What You Receive
Depending on the scope of your engagement, deliverables can include:
- A written role brief confirmed by the founder, the board or the leadership team.
- A note of the confidentiality terms and what may be disclosed at each stage.
- A market map of the organisations and backgrounds to be approached, agreed with you.
- A role description cleared for outreach to candidates.
- A search tracker showing the people approached, their interest and the stage reached.
- Assessment notes on each candidate put forward, recorded against the brief.
- A shortlist with a written view on each candidate and points to probe in the interview.
- Reference notes, taken with the candidate's consent at the agreed stage.
- A follow-up log covering the offer stage and the notice period.
- A handover note for onboarding, covering the brief, what the search showed and the open points.
Step by step
How We Work
Agree the Scope and Confidentiality
We confirm the role, the level, the location, who knows about the search, what can be disclosed and the confidentiality terms, and write them down before anyone is contacted.
Take the Brief
We brief with the founder, the board or the leadership team on what the role is for, its priorities, the compensation range and the panel, and write a brief each decision-maker confirms.
Map and Approach
We map where suitable people are likely to be, agree the map with you, and approach the people in it directly and discreetly.
Assess, Shortlist and Interview
Interested candidates are assessed against the brief. You receive a shortlist with a written view on each, and we coordinate the interviews and collect the panel's views for your decision.
Reference, Offer and Hand Over
We take references with consent, support candidate communication through the offer and the notice period, and share a handover note for onboarding.
The difference
What a Structured Senior Search Gives You
An executive search run from a written brief and agreed confidentiality terms helps you:
We do not promise outcomes. We record a baseline before work starts, covering how long senior roles have taken to fill and where earlier searches stalled, and report against it, so you can see what changed and what did not.
- Start every senior search from a brief that each decision-maker has seen and confirmed.
- Reach people who are not actively looking, through a market map you have agreed.
- Keep the search confidential, with written terms on what can be said and to whom.
- See a written assessment of each shortlisted candidate against the brief.
- Use references taken with consent, at a stage that does not expose a candidate.
- Give the interview panel clear points to probe for each candidate.
- Have someone assigned to the candidate from the offer to the first day.
- Start the new leader with a handover note instead of a blank first week.
Find your fit
Who This Service Is For
Founder-Led Businesses
Companies hiring their first senior leaders from outside the founding team.
Businesses Replacing a Senior Person
Companies where the search must stay confidential until the change is announced.
Businesses Building a New Function
Companies creating a leadership role, function or business unit and needing someone who has done it before.
Boards and Investors
Decision-makers who want a written brief and a documented process for a key appointment.
Family-Owned and Promoter-Led Businesses
Businesses bringing in professional leadership for the first time.
Businesses Whose Senior Search Has Stalled
Companies that have tried postings and personal contacts without finding a suitable shortlist.
Good to know
Scope and Service Boundaries
Each engagement defines
The role, the level, the location, the decision-makers, the confidentiality terms, the steps included, who speaks to candidates and the reporting format.
Stays with you
- The decision on whom to appoint.
- The compensation and the terms of the offer.
- Issuing the offer and the appointment letter.
- When and how the current role holder and your team are told.
- Joining formalities and onboarding.
Not assumed, and covered only where agreed in writing
- Psychometric or other formal assessments.
- Background verification, which is a separate service.
- Advice on employment contracts, restrictive covenants or notice terms.
- Leadership coaching or development after joining.
A senior search depends on the brief, the compensation, the people available, their notice periods and the speed of decisions. The engagement does not guarantee a placement or a timeline.
Good to know
Timeline and How to Prepare
Timeline
The schedule depends on the role, the level, the market, the availability of decision-makers and the notice periods of the people approached. We confirm the plan after the scoping discussion.
Useful inputs
- Why the role is open and what it must achieve in its first year.
- The reporting line and the decision-makers for the appointment.
- Approval to hire and the compensation range.
- Any existing role description or organisation chart.
- Who knows about the search, and who must not yet.
- Any organisations you do not want approached.
If the role is not yet written down, we can start with a briefing and write it with you.
Good to know
Confidentiality for You and for Candidates
Agreed before anyone is contacted
A senior search often involves a role that has not been announced and candidates who are still employed. Before any approach, we agree in writing what can be disclosed at each stage, who in your organisation knows about the search, when your name is revealed, and how information is stored and shared.
Protecting candidates too
Candidates are told what they need to decide whether to talk, and their details are shared with you only with their agreement. References are taken with their consent and at a stage agreed with them.
Used for the agreed search
Information about your business and about candidates is used for the search it was shared for. We discuss with you how search records are kept or removed when the engagement ends.
Good to know
Support After the Appointment
A handover for onboarding
At the end of the search we share a handover note covering the brief, the priorities agreed with the decision-makers, what the search showed and the open points, so onboarding starts from what is already known.
Further support, scoped separately
- A structured onboarding plan for the first months in the role.
- Succession and leadership development planning around the new appointment.
- A manager development programme for the leaders who will report into the role.
- A review of the role brief and priorities once the leader has settled in.
Where you want it, a separate engagement can support the new leader and the team around them. It can include:
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Executive search is a targeted search for senior and leadership roles. Instead of advertising and waiting for applications, suitable people are identified through market mapping and approached directly and discreetly. At GullyHR it is offered as a separate service, scoped per engagement.
Talent acquisition covers sourcing and placement support for roles across the business, often through several channels at once. Executive search is for senior and leadership roles, works mainly through direct and confidential approach, and gives more weight to the brief, assessment and referencing. Each is scoped separately.
The roles, levels and locations covered are agreed at the start of each engagement and written into the scope. Share the role, its reporting line and the location, and we confirm in writing whether we can support the search.
Before anyone is contacted we agree in writing what can be disclosed about the role and the business, who in your organisation knows about the search, how candidate information is stored and shared, and when your company name is revealed. The search then follows those terms.
Yes, where you want that. Disclosure, internal awareness and the way candidates are approached are set out in the confidentiality terms. How and when the current person is told is your decision, and we can discuss the sequence with you.
Against the requirements in the written brief, through structured conversations and a review of what each person has led and delivered. Notes are kept on every candidate put forward. Psychometric or other assessments are used only where agreed with you.
With the candidate's consent and at a stage agreed with them and with you, so that a candidate who is still employed is not exposed. Reference notes are shared with you to inform your decision.
Yes. The market map is agreed with you before any approach, and any organisations you do not want approached are recorded in writing and left out of the search.
You do. We brief, map, approach, assess, coordinate and follow up. The selection, the compensation, the offer and its terms remain your decisions, together with your board or leadership team.
Pricing depends on the role, its level, the scope of the search, the locations and the support you want before and after the offer. Share your requirements and we will send a tailored proposal.
No. A senior search depends on the brief, the compensation, the people available, their notice periods and how quickly the panel meets and decides. We agree what we do at each stage and report on progress, but we do not promise a placement or a date.
Where agreed, we stay in touch with the candidate through the notice period and tell you if anything changes. We then share a handover note for onboarding, and leadership or manager development support can be scoped separately if you want it.
Brief the Role. Keep It Confidential. Keep the Decision.
Give your next senior hire a written brief, a market map and agreed confidentiality terms, and keep the decision with the people the new leader will work with.
Prefer to talk first? Call +91 80958 58589 or write to hello@gullyhr.com.
Discuss a Senior Role
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