About the practice
Braidwood is an independent, founder-led recruitment practice based in Glasgow and working across the UK. We were founded on a straightforward observation: that the appointments which matter most — in technology, in policy and governance, in the specialist professions — are best made by small teams who know the field, keep a small book of work, and stay with every search to its end.
Depth over volume
We would rather run a small number of searches properly than a large number approximately. It shapes everything: how many assignments we accept, how we map a field, and how we report on it.
Honesty in both directions
Clients hear what the market actually looks like, not what keeps a mandate alive. Candidates hear a straight answer about fit, timing and process — including when the answer is no.
Patience as method
The right person for a specialist role is often not looking. Part of the work is knowing the field well enough to find them, and part is having earned the standing to approach them properly.
- The first conversationWe start by understanding the role properly — its context, its constraints, and what good looks like — before anything is searched, promised or sent.
- The search, done openlyClients receive a mapped, honest view of the field: who is plausible, who is reachable, and what the market actually looks like for the brief as written.
- Shortlists with substanceFew candidates, well known — each one spoken with, each worth the client's time, each with a straight account of strengths and gaps.
- Through to settledOffer conversations handled carefully, and contact kept through notice periods, start dates and the first months in post.
Recruitment is handled in confidence as a matter of course: candidate details move nowhere without a conversation first, and client circumstances are discussed with no one. It is a small profession; behaving well in it is both principle and strategy.
The practice was founded by Iain Caldwell, an independent recruiter who works across technology and policy appointments with a particular interest in emerging roles and new professions. Iain works directly with every client and candidate, keeps a small book of assignments so each one gets proper attention, and sees each through personally.