Candidates

Your Next Move

You've worked hard to get where you are. The next step deserves the same level of expertise, discretion, and dedication.

At Darwin Hawkins, we partner with finance professionals across Ireland, the UK, and internationally, not just to find you a job, but to help you build a career.

We understand the world you work in. Our founders are Chartered Accountants. Our consultants know the difference between a solid opportunity and a genuinely career-defining one. When you register with Darwin Hawkins, you're not entering a database; you're starting a conversation.

What Sets Us Apart

People Who Speak Your Language

Darwin Hawkins was founded by Mark Baker FCA and Niall O'Kelly FCA, Big 4-trained Chartered Accountants who moved into recruitment because they saw a gap: most recruiters don't truly understand the roles they fill. We do. That insider's perspective means we can assess an opportunity with the same rigour you would, and advocate for you with credibility when it matters most.

Our team of consultants, the majority of whom are qualified accountants or finance professionals, don't just review your CV. They understand your career trajectory, your technical skill set, and what a meaningful step forward actually looks like for someone at your level.

Market Access

The best roles don’t always appear on job boards. At Darwin Hawkins, our network runs deep, across financial services, practice, industry, and executive leadership. Through our executive search arm, DH Partners, we access board and C-suite mandates that never reach the open market.

With offices in Dublin and London and the backing of Ingenia Global Partners, we move across markets with ease. Whether you’re a newly qualified accountant ready for your first industry move or a seasoned CFO exploring a change, our business is built for you.

Discretion

We understand that exploring a career move is often a private matter. Your confidentiality is never taken for granted. We will never share your profile with a client without your explicit consent, and we will always keep you informed before any step is taken on your behalf.

Our approach is consultative, not transactional. We don’t send CVs speculatively. We have conversations first.

Quality Over Volume

We work with the top companies in Ireland, the UK, and beyond. We are selective about who we represent and the roles we put forward, which means when we introduce you to a client, it carries weight. We won’t waste your time with opportunities that don’t fit. Every shortlist we present is a considered recommendation, not a numbers game.

Insights That Inform Decisions

Knowing whether to move, and when, is rarely straightforward. We provide honest market intelligence: where salaries are moving, which sectors are hiring, and what your profile is worth in the current market. Whether you’re actively job-seeking or simply benchmarking, we’re a resource worth having.

We also offer access to our Advice Centre and Newly Qualified Hub, built specifically to support finance professionals at key moments in their career journey.

Where We Place Talent

Our work spans Ireland, the UK, and international markets, covering permanent, fixed-term, and contract appointments from newly qualified level to C-suite. The sectors we operate in are areas our consultants have worked in, trained in, or built deep networks within.

Financial Services

Ireland is one of Europe's most active financial services markets, and Darwin Hawkins has been placing talent at its heart since 2018.

We recruit across the banking, insurance, aircraft leasing, and funds sectors, which demand both technical depth and regulatory awareness. Our consultants understand the compliance landscape and what distinguishes a strong candidate in these environments from a merely qualified one.

Banking · Insurance · Aircraft Leasing · Funds · Risk & Compliance · Regulatory Affairs

Industry

The move from practice or financial services to industry is one of the most consequential career transitions a finance professional can make.

We've guided hundreds of candidates through it, working across the full spectrum, from ambitious SMEs and founder-led businesses to listed companies and large multinationals, and we know the right fit depends on far more than job title.

SMEs · PLCs · Multinationals · Fintech · Pharma & Life Sciences · Real Estate

Professional Services

We recruit across public practice firms of all sizes, from the Big 4 to boutique advisory houses, as well as corporate finance, transaction services, and finance transformation.

For senior leadership mandates at partner and director levels, our executive search arm, DH Partners, handles the assignment.

Big 4 & Top-Ten Practice · Boutique Firms · Corporate Finance & M&A · Consultancy · Executive Search

What to Expect When Working With Us

Submit your CV and speak with one of our consultants. We take time to understand your background, ambitions, and what ‘the right move’ actually means for you.

Market Mapping

We identify opportunities that match your profile — both live roles and confidential mandates that haven’t been advertised. We’ll share honest market intelligence at this stage.

Role Briefing

Before we put your name forward for anything, we brief you fully on the role, the organisation, and the culture. No surprises. No speculative submissions.

Interview Preparation

We prepare you thoroughly for every interview stage: competency frameworks, likely questions, company context, and what the hiring team is really looking for.

Offer & Negotiation

We manage the offer process on your behalf, advising on package, notice period navigation, and counteroffer scenarios with candor.

Post-Placement Support

Our relationship doesn’t end when you start. We check in at one, three, and six months to ensure you’ve landed well and are thriving in your new role.

Register With Us

Share your details with us and take the first step towards a move that makes a difference. Submit your CV, browse our live roles, or simply get in touch for a confidential conversation.