Contingency search for senior and mid-senior roles

Mid to senior management across FMCG, retail, automotive, real estate, engineering, private equity, and group of companies, covering sales, marketing, general management, finance, and specialist commercial functions across Dubai, Riyadh, and the wider GCC. FMCG is our core. The others we know well enough to place into with the same confidence.

Contingency search is a pay-on-placement model. You brief us, we search, you pay when the right person starts. No upfront fees. No exclusivity requirements.

What makes it work is not the model. It is what sits behind it. We do not send a shortlist of people who applied. We go to the professionals already performing in the role you are trying to fill, inside the sector you operate in, and we have a conversation they will take.

Different tools for different mandates.

Contingency recruitment is faster, broader, and payment is post-placement. It is designed for mid-to-senior roles where the market has strong supply and speed is a factor. You do not pay unless we place.

Executive search is retained, exclusive, and typically used for C-suite and board-level mandates that require a more structured, confidential search process.

At Mindfield, both sit on the same foundation: 21 years of sector knowledge across FMCG, retail, automotive, real estate, engineering, private equity, and group of companies, and a process that storyboards every candidate before they meet you. The model changes. The standard does not.

Contingency recruitment works when you understand the industry, not just the job description.

The mid-to-senior professionals we place in FMCG companies, retail groups, automotive businesses, real estate firms, engineering organisations, and private equity-backed entities across Dubai, Riyadh, and the GCC are not found through job boards. They are in our network because we have spent 21 years inside these sectors, placing people, watching them grow, and staying close to them. Our database spans 400,000+ professionals across MENA and Africa.

We reach them through direct relationships and referrals from within the same industry circles. When we call, the conversation happens because the relationship already exists.

That is the difference between a contingency search firm that aggregates CVs and one that knows the people inside the sector. The network is not a feature. It is the product.

Contingency recruitment is a pay-on-placement hiring model. You brief a firm, they search, you pay only when the right person accepts and starts. No upfront fees, no retainer, no exclusivity required.

It works best for mid-to-senior roles where the talent market has depth and speed matters. The firm takes the search risk. You take on only what converts.

At Mindfield, contingency search covers mid to senior management across FMCG, retail, automotive, real estate, engineering, private equity, and group of companies across Dubai, Riyadh, and the wider GCC and Africa. 21 years in market. 400,000+ professionals in our database. You pay when the right person starts.

You brief us on the role, the team, the business context, and what good looks like. We debrief, agree on the search parameters, and go to market immediately.

Within five working days, you receive a shortlist of qualified candidates. These are not people who applied. They are professionals our team has identified and spoken to, inside the sector and seniority level you are hiring for, across Dubai, Riyadh, and the wider MENA and Africa.

You interview, select, and make the offer. We manage the process throughout. You pay a placement fee when the candidate starts. No placement, no fee.

The model is straightforward. What sits behind it is 21 years of sector-specific relationships and a 400,000+ professional database across 32 markets.

The model and the mandate type are different.

Contingency search is pay-on-placement. You engage a firm, they search, you pay only if a candidate is placed and starts. Multiple firms can run the same brief simultaneously. It suits mid-to-senior roles where the talent market has supply and speed is a priority.

Retained search involves an upfront fee, exclusivity, and is typically used for senior leadership mandates. The firm works exclusively on your brief and reports back at each stage.

At Mindfield, contingency covers mid to senior roles across FMCG, retail, automotive, real estate, engineering, private equity, and group of companies across Dubai, Riyadh, and the GCC. Executive search handles C-suite and board-level. Both draw on the same 21 years of regional networks across 32 markets.

Speed, risk transfer, and market access.

Speed: a qualified shortlist within five working days. Risk transfer: you pay only when the right person starts, no upfront commitment. Market access: a firm like Mindfield brings 21 years of sector-specific relationships across Dubai, Riyadh, and the GCC that an internal team or a generalist agency does not have.

In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the mid-to-senior talent market is relationship-driven. The best candidates in FMCG, retail, automotive, real estate, and engineering are not on job boards. Contingency search reaches them through direct networks. That is where the value sits.