Three engagements, each written down to the last deliverable: the search itself, candidate scorecards your board will actually read, replacement cover if a hire walks early, and ninety days of onboarding after the offer is signed. Below is exactly what each one includes, how long it takes, and what it costs.
No engagement begins until we agree the scope and the fee in writing. From there the same six stages hold for every permanent search — the schedule shifts with seniority and market, but the sequence does not.
A working session with the founder, board, or CEO to define what the role must accomplish in year one — the mandate, the reporting lines, the non-negotiables. This becomes the scorecard every candidate is measured against.
We chart the operators and finance leaders who could genuinely do the job — in the East Bay, across Silicon Valley, and nationally where relocation makes sense — then open confidential conversations with the ones worth having.
Each serious candidate is assessed against the agreed mandate and written up in plain language — strengths, risks, and how they rate on what matters. References are checked before anyone reaches your shortlist.
You receive a shortlist you could stand behind entirely, each with a scorecard, and we schedule and coordinate the interview loop around your calendar rather than ours.
Offer structure, counter-offer pressure, notice periods, start date — we manage the delicate final stretch so a “yes” stays a yes. Most permanent searches reach a signed offer inside ten weeks of intake.
Signing isn't the finish line. Over the first ninety days we run check-ins with the new leader and the team, so a good hire becomes a landed one — and the replacement clause rarely gets used.
Each engagement is exclusive and priced as a flat fee agreed before the work begins. Permanent searches carry a six-month replacement commitment; interim placements are scoped to your term. Every fee below is billed per completed search — bank transfer or card.
For the COO, VP of Operations, or Head of Ops who turns ambition into a working machine — supply, delivery, systems, and the people who run them. The hire that decides whether your next stage scales or stalls.
For the CFO, VP of Finance, or Controller a board can lean on — fundraising, forecasting, and the rigor that survives diligence. The deepest of our engagements, because the wrong finance hire is the most expensive one you can make.
When the seat can't sit empty — a proven operator or finance lead placed for a defined stretch while the permanent search runs, or a fractional leader for a company not yet ready to hire full-time. Faster to shortlist, built around your timeline.
Whatever the seat, four things are constant. They're the reason a Ferryman search costs a flat fee rather than a percentage — you're paying for the judgement, not the candidate's paycheck.
Every finalist rated against the mandate we agreed — in plain sentences, not adjectives. The document your board actually reads before it decides.
One active search per client at a time. Yours is never queued behind three others or handed to a junior sourcer.
If a placed leader leaves within six months, we re-run the permanent search at no additional engagement fee.
Ninety days of check-ins with the new leader and the team, so the offer signing turns into a landed hire.
A quick read on where each engagement earns its fee. Still unsure? Send us the role and we'll tell you honestly which one we'd run.
| Operations search | Finance search | Interim & fractional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | COO / VP Ops / Head of Ops | CFO / VP Finance / Controller | A seat that can't stay empty |
| Fee | $29,500 flat | $38,000 flat | from $12,000 |
| Time to shortlist | 4–6 weeks | 4–6 weeks | Days, not weeks |
| Vetting depth | Scorecards + references | Diligence-grade + technical assessment | Availability + track-record check |
| Replacement cover | 6 months | 6 months | Scoped to term |
| Onboarding support | 90 days | 90 days | Handover at term's end |
— the founding principle at Ferryman Talenta percentage fee rewards the firm for a bigger salary. a flat fee rewards us for the right hire — which is the only thing you were ever paying for.
Send the role, the stage you're at, and when the hire has to be in place. You'll hear back within one business day — usually with a first read on which engagement fits, how the search would run, and what it would cost.