Executive HR Jobs

Katrina has placed me in two HR Director roles in Financial Services over the years. Both roles have been a perfect fit for me – and I would like to think the organisations I became part of have been happy too.  I really don’t think I would have found either of these opportunities or been successful in pursuing them, without Kat’s involvement.

Not only is Katrina personable, professional, responsive and easy to work with, she is also extremely focused on getting the right outcome for candidates and firms alike. It is clear that Katrina carefully considers not just skills and experience but also overall fit, when she matches candidates to roles. She has actually put me in front of very few of her clients, but with a very high success rate – this tailored approach makes her unique and an invaluable resource for candidates and firms.

Once you have been put forward for a role something that Katrina does extremely well is brief you on what to expect in terms of process and each of the people you are meeting. She also solicits and provides very constructive and productive feedback and is very clear on where one stands in a process.  This means that as a candidate you are able to perform at your best through the assessment process, and also that there are few surprises at offer stage. That is helpful to both candidates and firms and means the process is quicker and smoother at the final stage.

In my experience, Katrina represents the client she works for, and the role, incredibly accurately to you as a candidate.  I have also always felt 100% confident that I am well (and accurately) represented by her as a candidate, partly because Katrina really understands the HR space and partly because she builds long term relationships with her candidates and gets to know them very well.

Finally, I really admire Katrina’s forthrightness and ability to get to the point quickly and get stuff done,  whilst remaining personable and supportive at the same time.  I regularly recommend Katrina to my peers both from a candidate and a hiring perspective.

I have been an Executive Interim via Oakleaf Executive for over 18 months, and from placement to contract renewals, to helping me navigate IR35, they have been fantastic.

The whole team are always on hand to offer any support when I need it.

Oakleaf Executive values long term relationships, and this is what they have built with me over the period.

They check in with me regularly and are at the end of the phone when I need them, as an interim I couldn’t be in safer hands.

I have been working with Katrina and the team @Oakleaf, both as a candidate and a client, for the last 10 years.

As a candidate, Katrina has personally placed me in two roles during that time, both of which were aligned not only to my capability and relevant experience, but to my interests and career ambitions. This was only possible because Katrina took the time to ask the right questions, understand my drivers, think outside the box and get to know "me".

I have subsequently recommended Katrina to many ex-colleagues looking for new, and especially, senior level opportunities.

As a client, Katrina and her team are highly responsive, communicate effectively, ensure a smooth running process and take the time to present both the candidate profiles I ask for, and the left field options that they instinctively know will work. The latter most recently evidenced by the hire I have recently made to my team @Xceptor.

Would highly recommend.

Jamie has been a great partner throughout the entire interview and hiring process. There are times when working in different time zones can be challenging but our partnership proves working globally works even during a pandemic.

During the challenging time the world is in, Jamie continued to stay present ensuring I was informed on where BNY Mellon was in the hiring process. This was a great comfort when wondering if the position was moving forward.

Jamie was professional in managing both his relationship with the client and me, as the candidate. I appreciate his honesty, insights and continued support. Jamie is very knowledgeable in the Rewards space and thoroughly prepared me during the interview and contract process. I would recommend Jamie and Oakleaf for anyone looking for the next step in their Rewards career.

I have been hugely impressed with the professionalism of Katrina Stewart and Jenny Scrivener on search and executive interim placements across Financial Services HR.

They were really personable and listened to me.

Their market knowledge and intelligence was second to none.

Their advice and guidance was amazing and were not afraid to push back on me when my ideas went astray.

I am very much indebted to Oakleaf Executive. They are the only consultancy that I have felt actually cared about their candidates as much as their clients.

It's a long term relationship to be built on. A huge heartfelt thank you.

Oakleaf provided an excellent, professional and open response to my request to work together to source and secure a new global Head of HR for Henderson. Excellent in the quality and diverse backgrounds of the candidates that they sourced and the in-depth analysis on each candidate; professional in how they dealt with me, Henderson and the candidates; and open in the ease in which we were able to discuss the profile of the role, the candidates and agree on the shortlist and final selection.

The fact that we recruited the existing interim head of HR is itself a testament to Oakleaf. They presented each candidate equally and fairly, whilst being incredibly helpful in identifying the relative strengths of each candidate, but did not push for a result.

As well as excellent service, I enjoyed working with Oakleaf and would recommend them to others.

In relation to a recent senior HR appointment within our organisation I found Oakleaf Partnership to be professional in every way in fulfilling the assignment. They quickly formulated a comprehensive insight into our business and the specific requirements of the role. I have no hesitation in recommending Oakleaf Partnership as a specialist customer focused recruitment partner within the HR and Payroll disciplines.

I was referred to Katrina Stewart when my organization was looking for a Head of Human Resources. Katrina immediately grasped the role and the complexity. She sourced and presented candidates in line with the recruitment process we discussed at the beginning, showed her ability to identify candidates right for our business.

I have worked with Richard and Oakleaf for some years and have complete confidence in all the Oakleaf team. I have valued not only their HR knowledge and expertise but also their business perspective.

Oakleaf Partnership have been a valuable talent acquisition partner and their service has always been excellent. Their understanding of the business needs and culture of our organisation has enabled them to provide us with high calibre applicants. They have always been professional, honest and reliable and I would not hesitate in recommending them to anyone.  In particular, it has been a pleasure working with Katrina who I highly recommend as a professional, diligent and extremely competent senior consultant who helped us find the right talent and identified critical talent for our organization.

Although a new supplier to Centrica, Jade and her team look like they are on target to fill 100% of the external roles that we've given them so far. Jade has been a delight to deal with, she's bright, bubbly and full of enthusiasm. Her subject matter knowledge means that she knows what will work and what won't, especially when it comes to the candidates that she puts forward. Her energy means that she seems to work tirelessly.

Personally, I like the way that Jade is constantly reviewing her position and corralling her colleagues to deliver a joined-up solution across multiple areas within Reward. I have no hesitation in recommending both Jade and Oakleaf as highly trusted partners.

Oakleaf Partnership did an excellent job for us! They produced a high-quality “long list” of well-qualified candidates in a short period of time in our search for a Global HR Director. From this, I was able to select a strong short list for our final decision. The approach of Oakleaf was professional, thoughtful and responsive, and I would recommend them as a company.

The Towergate HR Exec and I have been delighted to form a strategic partnership with Oakleaf throughout 2015 & 2016.  Working together we have successfully recruited HR leaders & professionals in Service Delivery, Transformation, Reward and Business Partnering.  Client focus, integrity and constant straightforward communication are the strengths we value most, resulting in great candidates that fit our business and deliver results.

We have used Oakleaf for a number of roles and they have delivered excellent candidates. Their knowledge of the HR market is thorough and they seem to build a great rapport with candidates.

Having worked with Oakleaf over a number of years, both as a client and a candidate, I can say that their advice and knowledge of the HR profession and the marketplace has given us confidence in the solutions, support and ultimately the candidates they offer.

Candidate experience has been exemplary with careful matching of candidate to organisation and support offered once in post.

From a company perspective, insightful questioning and probing alongside their extensive market database enables successful and confident hiring.