Executive Search in Zurich: direct approach for the roles advertising does not fill.
Implecio is a Geneva-based executive search boutique running mandates in Zurich and across German-speaking Switzerland. We recruit executives, senior managers and rare specialists by direct approach, on a retained basis, with one partner in charge from the brief to the first day in the job. We work in German, French and English.
Why search works differently in Zurich
Zurich is the largest job market in Switzerland and still a small one: for any specialised function there are a few dozen qualified people, almost all of them employed, well paid and approached every week. Job boards and generic recruiters reach the ones who are looking. Executive search reaches the ones who are not.
Implecio only works by direct approach. We map the market by name, contact the right people personally and present a short, argued shortlist. We recruit for banks and asset managers, industrial groups, technology companies and luxury houses, in Zurich, Basel, Zug and the rest of German-speaking Switzerland.
The searches we take on in Zurich
- Leadership roles: general management, finance, operations, technology, risk and compliance, including for Swiss subsidiaries of international groups.
- Senior experts and rare specialists: network and security engineers, front-office business analysts, architects, quants, compliance officers.
- Positions open for months despite advertising, job boards and one or two contingency recruiters.
- Confidential replacements that cannot be advertised without exposing the organisation or the incumbent.
- Several positions to fill at once, on a timeline that leaves no room for trial and error.
How a mandate runs
- A written brief, validated with you: the real scope of the role, the non-negotiables, what you offer and what would make a candidate decline.
- A named market map in one week: who holds this function, where, in which language region, and what might make each of them move.
- A direct, personal and confidential approach. No name circulates without consent; nothing is advertised.
- Interviews, assessment and references before any presentation. A short shortlist with a written report after each interview.
- Negotiation, resignation and onboarding, followed beyond the probation period.
The Zurich market, read every week
We track open IT positions across Switzerland continuously. In one week of reading, 7 to 11 September 2026, our watch recorded 1,024 distinct IT job postings in Switzerland, excluding placement agencies, temporary work and internships: 114 in Zurich, 140 in the canton of Bern, 62 in Geneva, by declared location. The most represented families: systems, cloud and infrastructure (241), specialised software (223), cybersecurity (151), ERP and SAP (148). This reading feeds our market notes and tells a client, before a search opens, whether the role is reasonable as written.
- Private banking · GenevaHead of Database Administration, confidential mandate. Unadvertised role; mapping of the banking and technology pool, name-by-name direct approach, short shortlist presented.
- Cybersecurity · SwitzerlandHard-to-find specialist, a few dozen comparable profiles in the country. Market mapping, direct approach without advertising, references before any presentation.
- Financial Services · GenevaFront Office Business Analyst. Brief built with business and IT teams, compensation tested against the market, search run by a partner through to the start date.
- Industry · German-speaking SwitzerlandSeven positions opened at once by a single manufacturer, seven distinct technical scopes (cybersecurity, infrastructure, SAP, among others). Searches run in parallel on a tight timeline, several appointments made.
- Watchmaking · GenevaIT business continuity project manager and disaster recovery (DRP) expert for a watch manufacture. Strictly local profiles required, in an already narrow market: direct and confidential approach within the Geneva basin, references before presentation.
Frequently asked questions
You are based in Geneva. Do you know the Zurich market?
Yes. We run mandates in German-speaking Switzerland and in Ticino, and we hold interviews on site when the mandate requires it. Being in Geneva has one advantage: we bring profiles from French-speaking Switzerland and from abroad to Zurich that local intermediaries do not reach.
How long does an executive search take?
One week from brief to shortlist, two weeks at most when a second sourcing round is needed. The timeline is set and shared from the start, with regular progress updates.
What does executive search cost in Zurich?
Retained search fees are usually a proportion of the annual compensation of the role, with a part invoiced when the mandate is signed. Implecio sends a written proposal after the brief, with no surprises along the way.
What is the difference between retained and contingency recruitment?
A contingency recruiter advertises and forwards available candidates, paid only if a hire is made, often alongside several competitors. A retained search firm is engaged exclusively, maps the market by name and approaches people who are not looking.
Can you bring candidates from outside Switzerland?
Yes, and we often have to. We know what makes an engineer or a manager based in Munich, Paris, Milan or London accept a role in Zurich, and what makes them decline. This is built into the brief from the start.
A senior role to fill in Zurich?
A few lines on the situation are enough. A partner replies directly and in confidence.
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