Who we are
We set up Spark* to offer a more personalised recruitment service based on our 20+ years’ experience in the branding and communications sector.
We offer tailored practical advice to both candidates and agencies to ensure you get the most out of your next move or hire.
Our ambition is to be the most personal and the most effective – not the biggest, which means you get a more focussed service with a dedicated team you can trust with wide experience from within the industry.
Current jobs
You can find our latest opportunities here.
If you see something you like please get in touch and we can talk you through the opportunity in more detail.
If you are looking for a certain type of opportunity but can’t see it here, give us a shout and we can search our wider independent network.
Our partners
B&B Studio
Bloom
Brandpie
Bulletproof
Canary Wharf
Circus
Columns
Emperor
Frank Bright & Abel
Heavenly
Hugo & Cat
Identity
Interstate
Made Thought
Nomad
Pentagram
PS London
Saffron
Saboteur
Sampson May
Siegel + Gale
SomeOne
Straightline
Straight Forward
Structure
Studio Minerva
Turquoise
venturethree
Wolff Olins
Wordsearch
Our client offer
We work in close partnership with our clients and take the time to get to know your agency. It is important to understand your culture and your goals in order to find exactly the right talent for your team.
We work with you to create a brief. We conduct a thorough search, utilising our network, contacts and through advertising. This provides you with a tailor-made candidate short list. This personalised approach delivers better candidates.
In addition we can assist you to define and articulate specific new roles in your organisation, and on a broader level, we can also help you to define and plan your recruitment strategy during periods of rapid growth or business change.
We try to take the pain out of the recruitment process. We endeavour to get it absolutely right and can handle those delicate negotiations, so you don’t have to.
We have forged great relationships with other independent recruiters, providing even greater market coverage for you but without losing the personal touch.
Our business terms are very fair and our costs are always transparent. In this particularly challenging Covid market, we’re happy to discuss a personal payment schedule that works for your agency.
Our candidate offer
We want all our candidates to feel confident we really understand what they want from their next move.
We always make an effort to take time to get to know you as an individual, either face to face or on the phone, so we can better understand your motivations and interests; and find out how you tick. It is important to build trust and a sense of partnership as we explore opportunities together.
Understanding your long-term career goals will help us guide and challenge you so that you can reach your ambitions.
And once we’ve found you the right opportunity, we’ll always stay in touch to make sure that it’s working out for you.
Many of our clients and candidates have been with us for many years. Building a successful long-term relationship with you is important to us.
Looking for advice?
Spark is here to help. It’s a big part of what we do.
If you’re considering where your next move might be, or you’re thinking about a change of direction within branding and communications, we can help.
Alternatively, you might be working out how to resource a new client or an increase in demand from an existing client – many of our agencies have been with us for several years because they value our thoughts and advice.
We offer independent, impartial advice for both our candidates and clients based on our 20+ years' accumulated experience, not just in recruitment, but from within the industry too.
You can speak to us in confidence.
Our thoughts
From time to time we come across an industry topic that has a significant impact on the industry and the recruitment process.
We seek the views of those across the industry and produce an article to share.
We publish an article 3-4 times a year.
Testimonials
We really do try our hardest to make sure our partners and candidates are pleased with the services that we provide. Here’s a small taste of what some of them have to say about working with us.
“Lucy is a natural recruiter – intuitive, meticulous and a pleasure to deal with. I would recommend her wholeheartedly to anyone in the industry.
Lucy takes time to get to you know you, your agency’s culture, the type of work you do and clients that you work with to ensure that the candidates she puts forward can not only do the job but are also a good fit for the agency.
She is my first, and almost always, only, port of call for recruitment”
Linda Garcia Bowles, Partner - Turquoise Branding
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Lucy for nearly 15 years across a variety of complex recruitment briefs. I really enjoy the way we can collaboratively brainstorm not only what the business needs for the now but where the team needs to be in the future. This ensures we select and invest in the very best candidates, whilst also setting them up for success within the company so they can continue to grow with us. I see working with Lucy as a partnership and extension of our business, I really value her strategic advice, expert insight and continuous support”
Nicole Clemens, CEO - Structure
“Lucy has successfully placed me in pretty much every role I have had in London, and she has always been my first port of call when looking for a new role. I trust Lucy's judgement implicitly, and over the years she has also given me some really wise advice. Lucy knows the industry inside out, and always provides an honest and insightful view. Lucy is professional, personable and a great listener - all attributes that, from a candidate's perspective, make for an exceptional recruiter”.
Rachael Myburgh, Managing Director - Wordsearch NY
“The challenge with talent search for us is mostly personality and cultural fit. As a trusted partner who has worked with us for several years, Lucy takes the time to get know candidates and considers whether they will blend with our team. No random CVs, just qualified talent that will fit seamlessly into our business. Lucy turns the pressure of the talent search into a pleasure”.
Nick Ranger, Managing Partner Consulting - BrandPie
“I am not sure I ever thanked you properly for all your help and support on this role. You understood what I wanted and the type of person I was and that is so rare. Thank you!”
Joanne Kerr, Head of Creative Strategy – BrandPie
“We had really good meetings this week. All three are interesting and credible candidates, and I really appreciate the thought and effort that you’ve put in to find these people!”
Johannes Smith, CEO and co-founder, Hugo & Cat
“Working with Lucy is always a pleasure. She ensures searches are relevant and focussed, with the right balance of EQ and IQ. She can read culture and how important that is to find the right fit.”
Luz Erhardt, Chief Client Services Officer, Saffron Consultants
“I’ve worked with Lucy for many years and she pretty much found me all of my roles! Lucy took the time to really know me throughout my career. As a result, she was able to find me the right roles, always considering my ambitions and personal circumstances at the time. A recruiter who cares and listens is absolutely key and I can recommend Lucy without any hesitations! ”
Emmanuelle Davidson-Merritt, Head of Special Projects, Change Please
“Lucy has a unique ability to match companies and candidates. She really listens to a brief and will never try to match people for the sake of it. She's incredibly experienced with great contacts, and I have always relied on her insights into the world of branding. She somehow manages to take away all the painful parts of getting a job and makes it an enjoyable experience for everyone involved! ”
Lucy Shaw, Account Director
“Lucy is my favourite recruiter by far. She totally understands the roles, companies and their nuances - so always comes up with good matches which are right for the candidate. She's personal, bright and fun to talk to and very empathetic. Simply a great person to deal with! I highly recommend her!”
Claudia Rimington, freelance brand & innovation strategist
Get in touch
For advice, tailored support or a specific opportunity please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
Email: hello@sparkopportunities.com
Tel: 07958202983
To get in touch about a specific request, please select an option below.
Website design by Gareth Rutter, Bellow
Development by Kieran Startup