Human

RESOURCES

From HR Officer to HR Director, across the full breadth of the function. We’ve been recruiting HR roles in the East of England and Home Counties for over two decades, with a team that also leads our HR partnerships work – the retained search, market mapping, EVP development, and strategic advisory engagements that go beyond a single hire.

HR hiring is rarely simple. The hard skills are easy to find on a CV. What’s harder, and what actually determines whether a hire works, is the softer qualities that don’t show up on paper. That’s what good HR recruitment focuses on, and that’s where we earn our money.

Our work covers Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from offices in Cambridge, Peterborough, Northampton, and Hertfordshire & Essex.

WHAT WE COVER

Our work covers Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. We work with family-run SMEs, FTSE 100 corporates, and global brands with a footprint in the region, across sectors as varied as consumer goods, professional services, and the charity sector.

Compensation,
Benefits & Rewards

The technical specialists who design and run your reward strategy.

DEI leads, advisors, and specialists.

ER specialists and managers, often for sensitive or complex caseloads.

Business partners and generalists across SMEs and larger organisations.

HR systems specialists, from implementation through to business-as-usual.

L&D managers, instructional designers, and capability leads.

In-house recruiters and TA leaders.

Retained search for senior HR appointments, including CPO and HRD.

How WE Work

We recruit across permanent, contract, and interim briefs in HR, and we’ll always give you a straight read on the role – whether the salary is competitive for the level you’re hiring at, where the spec might benefit from refining, and which type of hire fits the situation if you want our take. Permanent hires usually work best for the HR roles you want embedded long-term. Contract or interim suits transformation programmes, TUPE work, ER caseloads, parental leave cover, and the periods where a business needs senior HR capability without permanent commitment. Plenty of our clients run both.

Beyond standard recruitment, we also offer retained executive search for senior appointments and HR partnership work for businesses building out the function from scratch or going through significant change.

Our Approach

Our HR consultants stay in this sector (60 years and counting!) and know the difference between a Generalist who’ll thrive in a 50-person business and a Business Partner who needs the scale of a larger organisation to use their skills well. They understand why an HR Director from a regulated industry brings a different mindset than one from a scale-up, and why a Head of Reward from one sector might transfer easily to another. That depth of judgement is what we bring to every brief, and it’s why so much of our HR work is repeat business.

RECENT PLACEMENTS

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

“

I have had the pleasure of working with Sarah for many years and would not hesitate to recommend her. Sarah takes the time to listen and truly understand the needs of her clients, providing thoughtful, practical support and always acting with professionalism and integrity. She is approachable, reliable and consistently goes above and beyond to help, making her a trusted partner and invaluable resource. Over the years, I have always known Sarah to be there when support is needed, and her commitment to building long-term relationships is one of the many reasons she is so highly regarded.

Group Director of People Services – Worked with Sarah Warburton
“

Sarah is one of the three most professional Recruiters in the business. High standards, valued approach. A pleasure.

Kevin, People & Culture Director – Worked with Sarah Warburton
“

If Sarah reaches out to you regarding an opportunity I would urge you to be open to a conversation with her. Whilst searching for a role I have encountered various experiences, good and bad and by far my experience with Sarah has been the best! She is incredibly passionate and dedicated to both candidate and client, I thoroughly enjoyed liaising with her over the past two weeks, she provided consistent updates and feedback and despite not actually securing a role through Sarah I received detailed feedback after two interviews and the best candidate experience through a recruitment agency! Sarah thank you for your time and commitment! It’s been a pleasure!

Talent Acquisition Director – Worked with Sarah Warburton

Meet the HR team

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THE ONE GROUP

Where we're from,
and how we got here

Twenty years of specialist recruitment in the East – and a lot of small decisions that added up.

TOG started in Peterborough in 2004 with a small team and a simple idea: that recruitment is a people business, done best by specialists who stay in their sector long enough to know it properly.

More than two decades on, we've grown into four offices across the East of England and Home Counties. We recruit for finance leaders, HR directors, engineering managers, tech founders, scientists, and the commercial teams that keep businesses running day to day. Between us, we've built up over 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of more than 150,000 candidates we've placed, coached, or come to know across two decades in the region.

The founding principle hasn't changed. Recruitment as it should be.

OUR STORY

Key events timeline

2004

Doors open in Peterborough.

Our first office launches with a team of six on Lynch Wood. Cambridge follows the same year, giving us two offices before our first anniversary.

2015

Northampton makes it three.

Our third office opens with a team of five, quickly growing to eleven consultants covering the wider Midlands region.

2017

Peterborough moves across the road.

The team has outgrown the founding office. We move into Arena House on Lynch Wood, big enough for a growing consultant base and the back-office team that supports the whole group.

2018

Cambridge moves too.

Our second office relocates to Cambourne Business Park, giving the growing Cambridge team the space it now needs.

2023

Four offices, three counties, one very good year.

The Hertfordshire & Essex office opens in Potters Bar, extending our footprint into the Home Counties.

In the same year, we're named Business of the Year in Northamptonshire, and Employer of the Year in both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire at the regional SME Business Awards. Three counties, three panels.

TODAY

Still growing.

Four offices, more than 258 years of collective recruitment experience across our specialist divisions, and a network of over 150,000 candidates.

Same founding principle.

SPECIALISTS BY DESIGN

What we do

We're specialists, not generalists. Every consultant at TOG focuses on one sector and stays in it. Not because it's the only way to do recruitment, but because it's how you build the depth to spot the difference between a strong CV and a strong hire.

It's also why so many of our clients come back to us years, even decades, after a first placement.

Beyond the recruitment itself, we produce annual salary guides, regional market reports, and the practical resources our clients and candidates turn to when they want a clearer view of what's happening in their sector.

THE WAY WE WORK

How we work

Four principles show up in every conversation and every process.
01

Be curious.

We stay interested in the market we work in, and in the people who work in it.

02

Keep it human.

We remember your kids' names and know how you take your coffee. That's just how we work here.

03

Make a difference.

We're here to help people build careers they love and businesses they're proud of.

04

Enjoy the ride.

Recruitment is a career, but it should be fun too. If it isn't, we've done something wrong.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Recruitment
as it should be.

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