HR, legal, operations, commercial, engineering and general management.
Blue Recruiting's Business Services division recruits senior and executive roles across the core business functions that sit outside finance and technology. We focus on high-impact leadership and specialist appointments that are critical to building scalable, well-run organisations, from HR Directors and Legal Counsel to COOs, Commercial Directors, and Engineers.
Why this market is hard to hire in.
Business services roles are among the hardest to fill because they sit at the intersection of technical expertise and organisational fit. A strong HR Director needs to understand the business as well as the function. A good Legal Counsel needs to be commercially minded as well as technically sound. Finding candidates who meet both criteria requires a recruiter who understands the nuance and who has built relationships with professionals who are not actively looking.
Senior, high-impact appointments across every core function
- ✓HR and People, Legal, Operations, Commercial, Engineering, and General Management
- ✓Senior, specialist, and executive appointments, not volume hiring
- ✓Mission-critical hires where culture and execution capability matter as much as technical skill
The trusted partner for complete leadership teams
- ✓Often engaged to complete leadership teams already built through our Finance division
- ✓Retained and exclusive search on senior roles with proper market mapping
- ✓Discreet, professional candidate engagement and rigorous assessment
Roles we fill
Sectors we work in
How we approach Business Services searches.
Permanent & Fixed-Term Appointments
Hire permanent or fixed-term professionals across South Africa, Africa and international markets. We manage the full search and assessment process to deliver high-fit candidates.
Contractor Payrolling
Hire vetted professionals without the HR burden. We manage payroll, contracts, salaries and compliance giving you total flexibility for short-term demand or project work.
Nearshoring & Employer of Record
Hire top South African professionals at up to 40% lower salary costs, aligned to your time zone. We cover employment contracts, HR administration, payroll, tax, compliance, and labour law risk mitigation.
What makes our business services practice different.
Specialisation
Our expertise in each specialist area ensures every candidate we present is a perfect match to drive your business. We are not a transactional agency; we are a strategic extension of your hiring team.
Relationships
We deep dive into your team, goals and culture to build long-lasting relationships. You get your time back with pre-vetted, high-fit candidates for every role.
Technology
Our use of pre-recorded candidate videos means less disruption and wasted time in failed first-round interviews. You see the candidate's communication style and presentation before committing to an interview.
The specialist behind this practice.
Lucy-Skye Hammond
Head of Business Services
Lucy-Skye Hammond leads Blue Recruiting's Business Services division, specialising in senior and executive appointments across HR and People, Legal, Operations, Commercial, Engineering, and General Management.
With a background in specialist recruitment and a deep understanding of how leadership functions fit together within a business, Lucy-Skye partners closely with CEOs, founders, and leadership teams to make appointments that strengthen the entire organisation, not just fill a vacancy.
Her approach is thorough, discreet, and focused on long-term fit. She works on retained and exclusive searches, ensuring every search receives the attention and rigour it deserves.
Trusted by the businesses we work with.
“I have worked with Blue Recruiting on a number of roles and I always find the quality of candidates submitted very good. The consultants take the time to understand the role in detail and they understand our company culture well, which is really important to us when finding the right person to join our team. I would absolutely recommend Blue Recruiting.”
Leanne
HR Manager, South African Business
“It is always a pleasure to deal with Blue Recruiting. The service I have received from their consultants and the rest of the team over the years has been nothing short of exceptional.”
Sireshan
Senior Leader, Financial Services
“Tebogo made my recruitment experience personal, professional, and genuinely supportive. She went above and beyond and continued following up after placement. A truly human-centred approach that made all the difference.”
Lebo
Placed Candidate
Placing a Chief People Officer for a listed South African retailer.
JSE-listed Retailer · Business Services · CPO appointment · Confidential search
Challenge
A JSE-listed retailer needed to appoint a Chief People Officer following a period of significant organisational change. The role required a leader who could balance strategic HR transformation with operational delivery across a large, distributed workforce. The search needed to be handled with complete discretion, as the outgoing executive was still in role.
Approach
We conducted a confidential market mapping exercise, identifying the universe of qualified CPO candidates across retail, FMCG, and financial services. We approached candidates directly and managed all communications with complete discretion. Every candidate presented had been personally assessed against both the technical requirements and the cultural brief.
Result
We delivered a shortlist of four candidates within three weeks. The appointed candidate was a passive candidate identified through our direct network who had not applied to any public advertisement.
We also recruit in these areas.
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