Harper Fox Partners, Blythe Valley Park, Central Boulevard, Solihull (2026)

19/10/2026

3 key hiring signals this week and what they mean to you.

1. UK permanent placements reached a four-year high for the second month running.
IT, computing and engineering led demand. Hiring momentum is strongest in sectors where specialist expertise is central to growth and delivery.

2. PageGroup’s US gross profit rose 7% year on year in Q3.
Construction was up 12%, and manufacturing also grew. Activity in these sectors depends on having the people and leadership in place to deliver projects and expand capacity.

3. Hiring growth is concentrated by sector.
A stronger headline figure doesn’t mean every business should hire more. The useful question is where a capability gap could hold back investment, delivery or growth.

For employers in these sectors, reviewing critical leadership and specialist roles now can help avoid competing for talent only when the need becomes urgent. The message is to tie hiring plans to clear business priorities rather than assume the whole market is recovering at the same pace.

Sources: KPMG/REC UK Report on Jobs, September 2026; PageGroup Q3 Trading Update, 13 October 2026.

At Harper Fox Partners, we partner with organisations to find the executive and interim leaders who can turn business priorities into progress.

14/10/2026

Introducing HF Interim | For the leadership moments that cannot wait.

We are delighted to officially announce the launch of HF Interim, our dedicated interim leadership practice, led by our new Partner, James Deeley.

This marks an exciting next chapter for Harper Fox Partners, expanding our executive search capabilities to support organisations when experienced leadership is needed most.

Businesses don't always have the luxury of time.

Whether navigating transformation, accelerating growth, managing a critical leadership gap or delivering a complex programme, the right interim leader can make an immediate and lasting difference.

HF Interim has been established to meet that need.

Through our specialist network and research-led approach, we connect organisations with experienced interim executives who bring the expertise, commercial judgement and leadership to step in, take ownership and deliver measurable impact.

We are absolutely elated to welcome James as Partner, HF Interim!

James brings extensive experience in interim recruitment and search, a proven track record of building specialist interim practices and an incredible passion for connecting businesses with exceptional leadership talent.

Executive Search. Interim Leadership. One trusted partner.

The same values. The same commitment to service excellence. An expanded capability to support our clients and candidates when it matters most.

Please join us in welcoming James and celebrating the official launch of HF Interim!

Facing an immediate leadership challenge, or exploring your next interim assignment?
Connect with James Deeley or the Harper Fox Partners team. We'd love to hear from you.

12/10/2026

Two signals shaping executive hiring this week

Indeed’s September snapshot puts UK vacancies 31% below their February 2020 baseline. That’s a comparison with pre-pandemic levels, not a 31% fall in one month; postings have been broadly steady since June.

In the US, 29,000 payroll jobs were added in September, compared with an average of 45,000 a month over the previous year. Employment is still growing, but at a slower pace.

For boards and executive teams, this points to the need for sharper prioritisation. Each leadership appointment should have a clear mandate, a compelling business case and outcomes linked to the organisation’s priorities.

Where the longer-term structure is still evolving, interim leadership can provide the capability needed now while preserving flexibility.

At Harper Fox Partners, we help organisations define those mandates and find the leadership to deliver them.

08/10/2026

There’s a new Partner on the block… and a new chapter for Harper Fox Partners.

A little behind the scenes as we prepare to launch a new division, expanding how we support our clients when leadership matters most.

Fresh expertise. New possibilities. The same Harper Fox commitment 🧡
More to be revealed very soon...

06/10/2026

At the table with Harper Fox Partners’ Senior Partners and Executive Board Advisory, our team came together in the UK to look back on a landmark year of growth and results, and to lock in our strategy for 2027–28.

Exhilarated, proud and challenged is how we left the room.

Growth, purpose and impact are at our core: in the business we’re building, in the work we do for our clients and in the leadership challenges we help them solve.

We’re so proud of the year-on-year, industry-leading results we’ve delivered and the positive disruption we’re bringing to our sector! We’re equally proud of the transformation service excellence can make possible, and driven as ever to keep doing more.

Our discussions were candid: where are we making the greatest difference, what can we do better, and how do we keep raising our standards as our clients’ and candidates’ needs evolve?

A successful appointment is only part of the work. We discussed how to support onboarding integration so new leaders can build trust, find their footing and make an impact with pace and longevity. We also considered how Harper Fox Partners can help clients respond to changing challenges and build the leadership agility they need.

Our new division launches very soon...
It will broaden our offering and give you another way to build talent agility with an impactful people solution.

Our 2027–28 strategy is set, and we’re thrilled to put it into action.

We truly love this business.
More to come!

Harper Fox Partners
Search with substance.

05/10/2026

3 signals reshaping executive hiring this week.

Our latest Harper Fox Weekly Executive Hiring Snapshot explores AI’s impact on workforce planning, the gap between planning and implementation, and what this means for leadership appointments.

For CEOs, HR leaders and talent teams, here are three practical actions to take:

1. Revisit the leadership brief.
Before launching a search, define what the leader must deliver in the first 6–12 months. Where AI is changing the work, assess their ability to redesign teams, lead adoption and turn investment into measurable results.

2. Decide what needs leadership now.
If the permanent role is still evolving, consider whether an interim leader could address an immediate priority, maintain momentum and help clarify the longer-term mandate.

3. Test your succession assumptions.
Compare internal successors with the external talent market. Identify capability gaps early, then decide where to develop, hire or bring in specialist expertise.

Our view: a clearer mandate today creates a stronger leadership appointment tomorrow.

Which of these conversations does your leadership team need to have this week?

01/10/2026

What happens when the person who spots a problem stays silent?

Google’s Project Aristotle examined 180 of its teams to understand what made them effective. Its researchers found that how people worked together mattered more than who was on the team.

They identified five important dynamics. Psychological safety ranked first: the belief that you can ask a question, admit a mistake, offer an idea or challenge a decision without being embarrassed or punished.

The other four were dependability, structure and clarity, meaning, and impact. A team needs people who follow through, understand what is expected of them, find purpose in their work and see how it makes a difference.

For leaders, the research raises questions worth asking of their own teams:

• Who tends to speak, and whose perspective is rarely heard?
• What concerns reach leadership early—and which surface only after a decision?
• Are responsibilities and decisions clear enough for people to act?
• When someone raises a difficult point, how do we respond?

Google’s findings describe its own teams. They offer a useful starting point for examining how decisions are made in any organisation.

For a business, the leadership question is whether important information reaches the people who can act on it. When someone raises a risk, challenges an assumption or offers a different view, the response determines whether they and others watching—will feel able to do so again.

What happens after someone speaks up in your organisation?

29/09/2026

🦊 Introducing The Harper Fox Leadership Intelligence Report | September 2026

Our new monthly briefing translates market movement into the leadership decisions facing boards, CEOs and People leaders; leadership risk rarely arrives labelled as a vacancy.

It often appears earlier, in changing markets, shifting capability needs and succession plans that have not kept pace with the business.

September’s signals deserve attention.

🔺FTSE 100 CEO appointments doubled during the first half of 2026
🔻UK vacancies fell to their lowest non-pandemic level since 2014
🔺Services continued to expand, manufacturing recruitment strengthened
🔻Construction remained in contraction for a twentieth consecutive month

Taken together, these signals do not point to universally easier hiring, they point to increasingly specialised leadership mandates.

Growth businesses need leaders who can scale operations, accelerate digital capability and turn investment into commercial performance.

Organisations under pressure need cash discipline, productivity leadership and credible restructuring experience.

Boards facing faster movement at the top need to test succession depth before a vacancy forces the decision.

Swipe through for the market movement, leadership shifts and hiring signals worth taking into the boardroom 👉

Where is market movement already changing the leadership capability your organisation needs?

At Harper Fox Partners, we help boards and People leaders act on these signals early, before emerging capability gaps become critical vacancies.

24/09/2026

One appointment. Two futures.

For every leader Harper Fox Partners places, we proudly sponsor towards a young person entering STEM training and education across the UK, Europe and the US.

Our work connects exceptional leaders with organisations shaping the future of engineering, manufacturing, energy and technology.

We wholeheartedly believe the impact of a successful search should extend further than one organisation or one appointment.

Access to STEM education can change the direction of a young person’s life- giving them knowledge, confidence and a route into industries they may never have imagined.

That is the Harper Fox Pledge.

Every successful placement creates another opportunity. Every leader appointed helps a young person take a step towards their own future.

Because leadership shouldn’t only shape organisations.
It should open doors.

22/09/2026

Leadership hiring will always carry weight.
Our role is to share it.

Behind every successful search are our people carrying hundreds of details our clients should never have to worry about.

People who listen far beyond the vacancy description. Who deeply understand the market. Who make the difficult calls, notice the smallest concerns and keep every conversation moving with care.

People who know when to challenge, when to reassure, when to move quickly and when the right decision needs more time.

At Harper Fox Partners, we don’t stand at the edge of the process and simply send profiles.
We step into it with you, two feet in.

From the first conversation to the first day and long after the offer is accepted, we bring clarity to the complexity, momentum to the process and confidence to the final decision.

Because when the appointment matters this much, having the right people behind you changes everything.

Global reach. Personal partnership.

Harper Fox Partners

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