Private equity recruitment agency
A private equity recruitment agency for the fund team
Rainmakrr recruits for private equity fund managers: the investment team and the people who run the fund.
That means associates to partners on the deal side, and investor relations, fund finance, operations and compliance behind it.
For the companies a fund backs, see portfolio company CFO recruitment and operating partner recruitment.
- Buyout, growth, credit and infrastructure
- Deal team and fund operations
- Confidential approaches
- Run by Fractional Quest Ltd
How a search runswhat we undertake
- 01BriefThe seat, the fund or company stage, and what the hire must deliverCall
- 02MapThe firms, funds and companies where that experience sitsResearch
- 03ApproachConfidential conversations with people who fit the briefOutreach
- 04ShortlistAssessed candidates, with references we take ourselvesReport
- 05OfferInterviews, offer and the notice period, managed to a start dateClose
First step15 min call
01/ roles
The roles a private equity recruitment agency fills
A fund manager hires in two halves: the people who do the deals, and the people who run the fund.
Pick a team to see the roles.
ASSOCIATE TO PARTNER
Investment professionals
Associates and senior associates screen deals, build models and run diligence workstreams.
Vice presidents and directors lead transactions day to day and manage the portfolio relationship.
Partners originate, lead investment committees and raise the next fund.
The search tests transaction experience, sector focus and fit with the fund strategy.
CAPITAL FORMATION
Investor relations and fundraising
Investor relations leads run the fundraise with the partners, manage limited partner reporting and answer due diligence questionnaires.
Limited partners increasingly expect reporting in standard formats such as the ILPA templates.
CFO · FUND CONTROLLER
Fund CFO and finance team
The fund CFO owns fund accounting, capital calls and distributions, valuations, the management company and the relationship with the fund administrator.
Many come from audit, a fund administrator or another manager’s finance team, and hold a professional qualification from a body such as ICAEW.
COO · LEGAL · COMPLIANCE
COO, legal and compliance
As a manager grows it adds a chief operating officer, general counsel and a compliance officer.
A UK manager authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority has senior management functions to fill under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime.
OPERATING TEAM
Operating partners and portfolio talent
Some funds hire operating partners and a head of portfolio talent to support the companies they back.
02/ agency or search
Recruitment agency, or executive search?
A private equity recruitment agency and an executive search firm overlap, but they run differently.
Here is how we think about the choice.
→ For partner and senior hires, a search-led approach widens the field.
→ Off-cycle and senior hires need a process built around the seat.
03/ when to call
When funds call us
Four situations where a fund manager brings in a recruiter.
Which sounds like you?
A larger fund or a new strategy means more people on the deal team and in investor relations.
- → Senior associate or VP hires ahead of the first close
- → An investor relations lead for the raise
The fund needs to replace sector coverage and deal leadership, often confidentially.
- → A discreet search with no advert
- → A target list agreed with the remaining partners
Growth brings regulatory and operational demands the investment team cannot carry.
- → A COO or fund CFO
- → A compliance officer for an FCA-authorised manager
Moving into private credit, infrastructure or growth needs people who have done that strategy before.
- → A strategy head or founding partner
- → A small founding team hired together
04/ the brief
Brief a private equity hire
What a recruiter needs from the fund before the first approach.
0 of 8 ready
05/ guide
Hiring through a private equity recruitment agency
A private equity recruitment agency works for the fund manager, not for the candidate.
The fund briefs the seat, and the agency finds, approaches and assesses people against that brief.
What to expect
Expect a target list of funds, banks, advisers or companies where the experience sits.
Expect candidates to be approached confidentially, and the fund named only when both sides agree.
Expect references, taken by the agency and by the fund, before an offer.
Rules that apply
Employment agencies in Great Britain operate under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.
Candidate data is handled under UK GDPR, on which the Information Commissioner’s Office publishes guidance.
Recruitment must also comply with the Equality Act 2010.
For a senior management function at an FCA-authorised manager, the FCA must decide on the approval application within 3 months of receiving it (FCA).
Industry bodies
UK Private Capital, formerly the BVCA, represents the UK industry, and Invest Europe represents the European industry.
UK Private Capital reports £58.7bn raised by UK-managed private equity and venture capital funds in 2025 (What is private equity?).
06/ questions
Questions, answered
It finds, approaches and assesses candidates for a private equity fund manager.
Roles range from associates and partners to investor relations, fund finance, operations and compliance.
The terms overlap.
A headhunter usually means search-led recruitment, approaching people who are not looking, which is how we work on senior roles.
Many senior roles at an FCA-authorised manager are senior management functions under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime.
You can check a firm’s permissions on the FCA Financial Services Register.
Yes, through Fractional Quest, which places interim and fractional executives, including the option to hire a fractional CFO.
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to talk through the hire
Tell us the seat, the fund or company, and the timing. We set out how we would run the search.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the search
- 03A written search plan after the call
- 04Permanent, interim and fractional briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
07/ sources
Sources and further reading
Primary sources for the rules and figures on this page.