‍When it comes to search, there isn’t much we don’t do

We are proud of our ability to remain agile and reactive, ensuring consistent delivery that gives tangible results.

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Adam Dowson Divisional Manager at Spencer Riley

Connecting Excellence is Our Mission

We're dedicated to finding the right candidate for your business, and we won't stop until we find a great fit. Our tenacious attitude and unwavering determination mean we get results.

We don’t favour markets, we don’t mess about.

We don’t like negativity or waffle.

We don’t stop until the job is done.

We work in any location, time zone or market, and our track record speaks volumes. We're results-driven. We measure our success by the number of lives we change with amazing career opportunities.

A Decade of Experience

Careers change lives, that’s why we're committed to forging the perfect fit. We connect businesses and professionals in a way that fosters authentic relationships and mutual success.

We're genuinely passionate about our work, and pride is at the heart of everything we do and the stories we tell. After ten years providing bespoke recruitment solutions, we know what works.

Spencer Riley logo on a wall in their Leeds recruitment office
Scott Ellam MD at Spencer Riley wearing a suit and tie smiles for the camera.
"At Spencer Riley we are continually developing a deeper understanding of every person we are working with, which allows us to deliver results for each clients unique requirements and allows every individual candidate to consider opportunities they didn’t know were possible."

Scott Ellam

Managing Director

Our Values

Integrity

Integrity is our foundation. We unwaveringly stick to our professional, moral, and ethical principles.

Tenacity

Tenacity drives us. With relentless enthusiasm, we're committed to securing the right outcomes.

People-focused

People are at the heart of our approach. Building strong, meaningful relationships is key to everything we do.

Passion

Passion fuels us. It's the energy behind every success story we write, pushing us to go the extra mile in every task.

Senior Leadership Team

Scott Ellam
Managing Director
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Adam Garvey
Divisional Director
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Adam Dowson
Divisional Manager
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Ben Hardy-Gillings
Head of Professional Services
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Gordon Roy
Head of Business Advisory & Consulting
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Jonathan Russell
Head of Technology and Digital Assets
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Meet the wider team
Testimonials

What Our Clients Say About Us

It was a great pleasure working with Ben - I felt he invested time to fully understand what my background was and what I was looking for - something that is important. Knowing my story and goals, Ben provided help in understanding and interpreting the current job market and provided great support through the recruitment process I’ve been through before accepting and starting my new role. I would certainly recommend anyone looking to change jobs (at least in tax) to reach out to Ben

Renata Shokayeva

Senior Manager, M&A tax | Wealth & Asset Management, PwC Abu Dhabi

I had the pleasure of working with Ben and I would recommend him without hesitation. From the very start, he was incredibly responsive and always quick to follow up. His professionalism and proactive approach made the entire process very smooth. Ben consistently went the extra mile to ensure everything progressed seamlessly. His dedication and reactivity were truly instrumental to the success of the process.

David Roseels

Transfer Pricing Director, KPMG Belgium

"Claire is a highly component and very experienced senior level PA, who is customer and service focused and used to supporting extremely busy executives. Claire is very pro-actice and well respected amongst her peers and the executive team. She has played a key role working hand in hand with various executives over her years at Bupa. She is a fantastic team player and colleague."

Susan F.

Head of Wellbeing Solutions, APAC

"I worked with Claire for a number of years, she is a very experienced PA and is highly respected. Claire has excellent communication skills, is extremely organised and was a pleasure to work with. She would be a great asset to any company."

Gary Osborne

Co-Founder/Director at Helpful Solutions Consulting

"Corey was very thorough and professional while helping me navigate a very tough job market. If you're in the market for a new gig, can't recommend him enough!"

Reza Dadkhah

Account Executive at Tag-N-Trac

"Corey was excellent as my recruiter. He championed me, kept me in the loop, helped me understand the company's landscape, and exhibited an enormous level of patience (with me). He accurately shuttled questions and answers back and forth between myself and the interviewing company. When the company offer came, he was able to give me the insight I needed to feel comfortable with accepting the offer. Thank you, Corey!"

Kevin Stuart

Principal Firmware Engineer

"Gordon is a very friendly person and a reliable consultant. I had the chance of working with him while I was looking for new career opportunities. He has always been available for discussions, followed up on each step of the recruitment process timely, and has provided valuable feedback. For me, it has been a pleasure working with him, and I would recommend him to everyone who is looking for a good professional match."

Irem Gurbuz

Senior Manager at PwC | Commercial Strategy & Access | Pharma & Life Sciences

"Gordon is very friendly and easy to work with. He listened to my needs/questions carefully and made helpful recommendations. I recommended Gordon to anyone who is interested in a career change."

Tolga Bilgicer

Principal at Charles River Associates specialising in IP and Antitrust

"Ben did a great job helping my firm find strong senior talent for the Saudi market. The whole process with Ben was very smooth from start to finish and communication was perfect. It was one of the smoothest processes from start to finish that I have experienced with hiring at the senior manager level. I highly recommend Ben!"

Zachary Noteman

PwC Partner - ME Financial Transactions TP Leader

I have been working with Ben for the past year and he goes above and beyond to ensure that his candidate(s) and our process are aligned. I would highly recommend Ben to recruit for your next high level opening or any opening for that matter.

Sean Smith

Talent Acquisition Lead at Forvis Mazars US

"Adam is a highly recommended recruiter. I have been able to deal with him while looking for my new challenge and am happy to trust him now to strengthen our team. He is proactive, has a wide network and is able to catch exactly what is required to connect the right candidate to his future employer."

Manuel Boerwanger

Project Manager at Sottas SA

"Adam acted on my behalf in negotiating my position with DMC Walling. All through he acted with total professionalism whilst not being officious. He managed me and DMC and brought us together, fulfilling both our expectations. He understood the requirements of DMC whilst exploring my potential and ended up matching us up perfectly. I can honestly say it was a pleasure dealing with Adam, being one of the very few recruitment agents that were there for both sides rather than just trawling for CVs, which most agents seem to do nowadays." It must be said that there are good recruitment agents out there and Adam is one!

James Powell

Facade Designer/Design Manager at DMC Walling

"I would recommend Adam for helping me find a new role. Adam has great communication skills and was always in touch throughout the process."

Peter Daly

Senior Estimator at GEN Drywall

"I have had recently the pleasure of working with Adam Garvey and I have been impressed by their professionalism, expertise, and dedication to their work that is why I am writing to enthusiastically recommend him. His ability to build strong relationships with both candidates and clients is exceptional. He possesses a deep understanding of the recruitment industry and are always up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices. In particular, I was highly impressed by his successful recruitment campaign working with me. I wholeheartedly endorse Adam as a highly qualified and dedicated professional. Please do not hesitate to work with him."

Svetlana Dzambova

Facade Designer at Vision Arch

The initial contact was handled professionally, and communication was consistent, transparent, and proactive throughout the process. I appreciated the constant updates and feedback after each call with Staticus. The entire hiring process duration was just right—not too long or short. Lengthy procedures can demotivate, while shorter ones can induce anxiety. Overall, the recruitment process gave me a very positive impression of Spencer Riley, and I would surely recommend them to other job seekers.

Luca Bordin

Staticus – Head of Procurement & Supply Chain

We have worked in partnership with Spencer Riley on Business Development hires for new business ventures, Engineering hires for our core business, and Director level hires on difficult-to-fill positions. Their tenacity in ensuring that they provide an exhaustive search, means we can be confident we have secured the very best candidate for our company.

Graeme Thomason

Recruitment Manager, Nuvia Group

Corey was very thorough and organised during the recruiting process. It was a pleasure working with him.

Phillipe Lilavois

Account Executive, Tag-N-Trac

"In connection with my recruitment process, I have had a close dialogue with Corey. And based on this experience, I can only give my best recommendation for Corey."

Claus Hugo Frykman

Global Sales Manager, Onset Data Loggers

"We had a great experience partnering with Spencer Riley. We had been struggling for some time to find the right person for the role, but Jordan knew our business, what we did, how we did it, and was able to find the candidate with the right skill set as a result.”

Luke David

Finance Director, Skipton Properties

"Adam Dowson is great at what he does. He was extremely helpful in my career search post-MBA as we worked together to find an organization and role that best suited my career aspirations."

Alex Guyette

Alliance Management Director, Marken

"Adam has been an excellent ally in my search for the next career adventure. He was able to make the transition from a candidate to a new hire very smoothly and efficiently. I was always able to convey my expectations to him, knowing that he would relay them to a prospective employer. Thanks to Adam and his team, I'm now part of a new company where I would be able to grow and prosper." 

Muntasir Ahmed

Cold Chain Logistics CRM and Banking Specialist

“Adam was a key driver in the expansion of our global team and the development of a new unit to meet increased demands as a result of Covid-19. Over the last year, he has helped secure numerous candidates within Marken across areas such as global accounts through to operations. He continues to do so with high efficiency. There was a clear process laid out by Adam at the start which was concise and helped us secure the best international talent on the market. Collaborating with a specialist recruiter such as Spencer Riley in the Cold Chain industry meant Adam already understood the nuances of our niche sector and ultimately saved us time by utilising his existing knowledge of our company culture and the various allied markets.”

David Lee

Vice President of Strategic Accounts, Marken

“I highly recommend Adam. He is very helpful with organizing the process of my application and constantly kept me up to date with the progress and status of my employment. He is very professional and communicated effectively between me and my employer. It has been a pleasure to work with him."

Jessica Mae Cruz

Structural Engineer, Billings Design Associates Limited

“Working with Adam is a great pleasure. He understands the need of the client and is able to present a selection of candidates for a vacancy. During the hiring process he takes care of the candidate as well as the client and is able to identify and resolve unclarities. Adam really goes the extra mile which is very helpful. We have filled a number of difficult and critical positions with the help of Adam and will continue to do so."

Marcel Wenzin

Director Business Unit Facade, Ernst Schweizer AG

“Adam has been absolutely competent throughout the whole recruitment process. He was always available and ready to answer our questions about the candidate. He knows which competencies of new employees are important for the facade sector. Our new employee settled down at Lindner very quickly and we are all very happy to have her as a new colleague. The whole process was very uncomplicated".

Julia Grötzinger

Lindner Group

"Adam is a very thorough guy when it comes to recruitment and works in a very transparent and to-the-point way. I've worked with him as an individual being placed into a role, and as an employer recruiting staff members and would have no hesitation in recommending him to others (as I do already)."

Mark Harrison

The Protein Partners (CNP) – Managing Director

"I found Adam to be a breath of fresh air, he was very driven and passionate on making sure my needs were heard and delivered. He managed the relationship with myself and the employer superbly with constant feedback and transparency."

Dean Gahagan

Joint Managing Director at IDS Media UK

“In connection with my recruitment process, I have had a close dialogue with Corey. And based on this experience, I can only give my best recommendation for Corey.”

Claus Hugo Frykman

Global Sales Manager, Onset Data Loggers

“Ben is an outstanding professional recruiter and has been a trustworthy guide to me. After establishing contact, and understanding my profile and what I am looking for, he came back to me very quickly with things to consider and potential opportunities. While exploring some of these opportunities further, Ben stayed connected and kept me up-to-date in a proactive way. During the whole process, he was very supportive and always available for questions. I would highly recommend Ben to anyone seeking new career opportunities in the tax industry. Ben, it has been a pleasure working with you. Thanks for all your support”

Rene Goerke

Director, Deloitte Germany

“Ben has helped us find the right profiles to fit the roles and the team not only from a technical point of view but also from a cultural and future growth and development perspective. He has shown commitment to understand deeply our requirements and has used his broad market knowledge to help us find the right profiles. Ben has shown that, through his approach, he cares more about building a strong long term business relationship than a quick placement. The process has been smooth, the approach direct and honest and the result a nice win-win for both parties. I recommend Ben with no hesitation and I look forward to working together in the future”.

Adina Connor

Transfer Pricing Partner, BDO Luxembourg

"I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ben as a candidate looking for a transfer pricing position and he helped me immensely during the recruitment process. I find Ben to be very engaging, trustworthy, and dependable. The close rapport he holds with law firms and big four makes him an extremely valuable point of contact. I would thus highly recommend Ben for your job search!"

Benjamin Tempelaere

AVP PSI, Barclays

Ben has a very strong understanding and knowledge of the transfer pricing market and has close relationships with the main law and advisory firms. I would highly recommend Ben to help with transfer pricing recruitment, both for candidates for firms.

Badr Lamhamedi

Senior Tax Manager, EY

“I had the pleasure of working with Ben on an Executive appointment which crossed the US and Japanese markets. From his initial call and throughout each of the interview stages which progressed over a series of months and culminated in an offer being received and accepted, Ben was transparent in his approach, meticulous in his preparation and focused on ensuring that the cultural and professional aspects of the role aligned. I valued his advice throughout the process and look forward to working with him again as we further develop the Japanese practice”.

Masatake Kuramoto

Director, NERA, US & Japan

Adam Dowson has completed a number of assignments for UPS resulting in key appointments that have added real commercial value to our team and had a great cultural fit. The first candidate Spencer Riley placed with UPS involved an international relocation and they managed the process very effectively, maintaining clear communication between the candidate and our business functions.

Trevor Sewell

European Director of Sales, UPS Supply Chain Solutions

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Kirsty Jade Sykes - Consultant at Spencer Riley