Senior search for life sciences
The firm you call when the search has already stalled
Enfusion Bio places the senior talent other firms could not find. Director, VP, and C-level searches across biotech, pharma, CRO, and medical device. Every search is worked like a retained search, with no retainer and a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Second firm on the search
Most of our work starts after another firm has handed the role back.
Retained depth, no retainer
Full market map and real assessment. Exclusivity is the trade, not a fee up front.
Roles that stay filled
Every placement backed by a full 90-day replacement guarantee.
One recruiter, start to finish
Richard runs every search personally. No handoff to a junior sourcer.
Some roles do not fail on sourcing.
They fail on judgment.
A senior clinical role that has been open six months is almost never a role nobody can find. The names are findable. What is missing is someone who can tell, from a conversation, whether a Director has actually run the thing or has only sat next to it.
That is the gap Enfusion Bio was built for. We are usually the second firm on a search, brought in after a shortlist that kept missing, a candidate who fell out late, or a job description that quietly stopped describing the job. We start by re-reading the role, not by re-running the search.
- Senior focus: Associate Director, Director, VP, and C-level
- Deepest in clinical operations and clinical development, broad across the rest
- A specialty in searches that have already been worked and returned
- One search at a time, run by one recruiter, start to finish
- 90-day replacement guarantee on every placement
Retained-level work. No retainer.
Retained search buys depth: a real map of the market, direct approach to people who are not looking, honest assessment, and a recruiter who stays with the search until it closes. It also usually asks for a third of the fee before anyone has been introduced.
We do the first part without the second. There is no money up front. What we ask for instead is exclusivity while the search runs, because the work only holds together when one firm owns the market and the story the market is being told.
- No retainer, no fee until someone starts
- Exclusive while the search is live
- Weekly market feedback, including the bad news
- 90-day replacement guarantee
Two ways to engage
A permanent leader, or a specialist embedded fast. Both run with the same senior focus and the same person on the search.
Exclusive Search
Full-cycle search for senior permanent hires. Market mapping, direct approach, competency-based assessment, offer strategy, and close.
- Director, VP, and C-level focus
- Shortlist typically inside two weeks
- Written assessment on every candidate presented
- Compensation benchmarking and offer strategy
- 90-day replacement guarantee
Contract & Interim
Experienced clinical contractors and interim leaders for trial ramp-ups, coverage gaps, and program-critical work that cannot wait for a permanent hire.
- Interim leadership and senior individual contributors
- Pre-vetted contractor network
- W-2 and 1099 engagement options
- Short-term coverage through multi-year programs
- Contract-to-hire where it makes sense
How a search runs
Re-read the role
Before sourcing, we work out what the role actually requires, what the last search got wrong, and what is genuinely non-negotiable versus what has been copied forward.
Map the market
We build the list of people who could do this job, not the list of people who applied. Active and passive, approached directly.
Assess and shortlist
Every candidate is interviewed against the real requirements. You get a short list with written assessments, typically within two weeks.
Close and stand behind it
We manage offer strategy, counteroffer risk, and onboarding coordination, then back the placement for 90 days.
Senior searches, by level
The pages below cover the roles we are asked for most often, what makes each one hard, and how we approach it.
What hiring leaders say
In 20 years of working with recruiters, both as a hiring manager and as a candidate, Richard clearly stands out. We received a high percentage of resumes closely aligned with our objectives, and Richard felt very much like a partner within our organization, a recruiter of this caliber who gave us a high rate of retention among the teammates we hired.
Richard was instrumental in helping us with a difficult position to recruit for. I appreciated the vetting and quality of candidates presented; he processed and applied our feedback until we got the desired candidate. Would work with again gladly.
Richard is an experienced recruiter, attentive to client needs and collaborative for success. He works closely with clients to build strong relationships while providing quality services in an ethical manner. I would recommend him to any company that needs skilled, high-quality contract and full-time staff.
What hiring managers ask first
What kinds of roles does Enfusion Bio fill?
Senior and hard-to-fill roles in life sciences, typically Associate Director through C-level. The deepest bench is clinical operations and clinical development, and we regularly place senior talent in quality, medical, drug safety, and program leadership. We do not work pre-clinical or regulatory searches.
Do you charge a retainer?
No. Every search is worked the way a retained search is worked, but there is no money up front. The trade is exclusivity: while the search runs, we are the only firm on the role. That is what makes the depth of work possible, and it is why we take on searches other firms have already returned unfilled.
How is this different from a contingency firm?
A contingency firm is usually running your role alongside a dozen others and sending whatever surfaces first. We run one search at a time to a defined map of the market, and you see a shortlist, not a stream of resumes. The full comparison is here.
How long does a search take?
Most shortlists land inside two weeks. Closings vary with your interview process, though we have filled a VP role in 14 days and a QA leadership role in 21. On a role that has already been open for months, the shortlist is usually the point where things start moving again.
Do you work nationwide?
Yes. Searches run across the United States, remote, hybrid, and on-site. Location is a variable in the search, not a limit on it.
What happens if the placement does not work out?
Every placement carries a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Let us look at the search
Tell us the role, the level, and how long it has been open. If it is one we can fill, you will know quickly. If it is not, you will hear that too.