Clients sometimes ask what they will actually receive during a retained search. These four samples show the format and depth of the documents a Reffett Associates Managing Director prepares. The client, the candidates and every detail are invented; real search documents are confidential and are never shared outside your search team.
Sample document. The client, candidates and all details are fictional.
The organization
Halyard Mission Systems is a privately held provider of engineering, logistics and sustainment services to Army and Air Force customers. The company has about 900 employees and $210 million in annual revenue, and its backlog has doubled in three years on the strength of two large task order wins.
The role
The Vice President, Program Delivery reports to the Chief Operating Officer and leads 14 program managers and roughly 600 staff across 22 active contracts. This is a new position, created because the company's growth has outpaced a delivery model built when it was half its size.
What success looks like in the first 18 months
- A consistent program review cadence across every contract, with early warning on cost, schedule and staffing risk.
- The company's two largest recompetes, together about $90 million, submitted on time with strong past performance behind them.
- A ready successor identified and developing for each of the five largest programs.
Must-have experience
- Ten or more years leading Department of Defense programs, including a portfolio of $50 million or more
- Direct involvement in winning at least one major recompete
- An active Secret clearance
- A record of developing program managers into senior leaders
Helpful, not required
- Army or Air Force sustainment programs
- Experience leading through an acquisition or integration
- PMP certification
Leadership qualities
Calm and direct under pressure. Comfortable holding experienced program managers accountable without micromanaging them. Credible with government customers at the colonel and SES level. Builds process because it helps people deliver, not for its own sake.
Compensation and location
Base salary of $240,000 to $275,000, an annual bonus target of 30 percent and participation in the company's long-term incentive plan. Based in Huntsville, Alabama, with three days a week on site. Relocation support is available.
Sample document. The client, candidates and all details are fictional.
Summary
The search is on schedule. Five candidates are on track for presentation in week 6, and candidate response to the opportunity is strong. Two decisions from you this week will keep that timeline.
Pipeline by stage
Identified164
Contacted118
In conversation41
Screened by Managing Director17
Assessed in depth8
Ready to present5
Activity this week
- 36 new direct outreach contacts, most of them sitting program directors who are not looking
- 9 screening conversations led by the Managing Director
- 3 in-depth competency interviews; written assessments attached for 2 advancing candidates
What we are hearing in the market
- Candidates respond strongly to the backlog growth and the direct line to the COO. Several said the role is “bigger than the title.”
- Relocation is the main hesitation: 4 of the 9 candidates screened this week asked about Huntsville.
- The base range is competitive. Candidates at larger primes are asking about the long-term incentive earlier than expected.
- Two competitors are recruiting for similar roles, so the pace of interviews will matter.
Adjustments to strategy
- Extended the target list to mid-tier Air Force sustainment contractors, where the fit has been better than at the largest primes
- Prepared a one-page summary of the long-term incentive to share with candidates at the screening stage, with your approval
Decisions needed from you
- By Friday: whether a candidate may work partly remote for the first 90 days while relocating
- Hold on calendars: two dates in week 7 for first-round interviews with the COO and CEO
Sample document. The client, candidates and all details are fictional.
Currently Director of Programs at a mid-tier defense services company, leading 9 program managers and a $120 million portfolio of Army sustainment contracts. Interviewed in person by the Managing Director in week 3.
Against the agreed criteria
Major strengths
- Built the monthly program review process her current company still uses, very close to the cadence this role must establish
- Strong, specific customer relationships in Army sustainment
- Described difficult conversations with underperforming program managers clearly and without defensiveness
Potential limitations relative to the role
- Has not led a team of this size; would step up from 9 to 14 program managers and about three times the headcount
- Limited Air Force experience, which accounts for about a third of the portfolio
Why this role, specifically
Her current company was acquired last year, and she sees fewer paths to a vice president role there. She was drawn to the backlog growth and to building a delivery organization rather than inheriting one. She has family in north Alabama and sees relocation as a benefit.
Compensation and timing
Current base in the low $230,000s with a 20 percent bonus target. Expects a base near the middle of the range. Available with four weeks' notice.
Recommendation
Advance to first-round interviews. The scale step-up is real but is the kind we would expect for a new position of this size. We suggest the COO probe how she would build the successor bench.
Sample document. The client, candidates and all details are fictional.
Five candidates recommended for first-round interviews, drawn from 164 identified and 17 screened. Full written assessments for each are attached to this summary.
Pool composition
The slate draws from five different companies and includes candidates from both large primes and mid-tier firms, as well as a veteran who moved from uniformed service into industry. As agreed at kickoff, the full applicant pool of 41 candidates in conversation is available for your review at any time.
Also flagged
One highly qualified candidate declined to proceed because of a program milestone in the next quarter. She has asked us to stay in touch, and we recommend a second approach if the search extends past week 12.