Planning Recruitment

Planning Recruitment didn’t begin as a business plan, it began as a career built on passion, resilience, and a real love for the architectural world and the people who shape it.

Our founder Claire Colley spent 13 years at a renowned recruitment firm specialising in Architecture, working through some of the industry’s most defining moments.

She witnessed the impact of the 2008 recession, saw how design studios rebuilt themselves, adapted, and diversified, and learned just how much strength and creativity sits at the heart of this profession.

Those years taught her the importance of relationships, honesty, and deep sector knowledge, values that would later become the foundation of Planning Recruitment.

In 2014, after the birth of her second child, she took a leap that was equal parts exciting and terrifying founding Planning Recruitment. The goal wasn’t to become the biggest agency, it was to create a boutique consultancy where clients felt genuinely supported, understood, and represented with care. A place where recruitment wasn’t transactional, but personal.

Since then, the journey has been anything but static. We expanded into New York and Los Angeles in 2020, and by 2024, we were supporting clients in Ireland, the UAE, and across the GCC.

Along the way, we navigated the pandemic, an event that not only reshaped working patterns globally but also reminded us how important connection, communication, and humanity are in recruitment. And in September 2024, we proudly reached a milestone 10 years in business.

We understand the realities of the people we support. Studio owners juggling deadlines, candidates balancing career aspirations with real life, teams trying to grow sustainably in a fast-changing market.

Recruitment is never just about placing someone in a role. It’s about listening, advising, reassuring, and sometimes saying what needs to be said, even when it’s hard.

Our values are simple:

• People matter most we take the time to understand each person’s journey, ambitions and challenges.

• Expertise you can trust 25+ years of sector experience means we genuinely understand your projects, technology, workflow, and culture.

• Honesty always We won’t tell you what you want to hear; we’ll tell you what will help you make the right decisions.

• Partnership over transactions We grow with our clients and candidates; we don’t just fill jobs.

• Adding value beyond recruitment From salary surveys to market trends and hiring advice, we make sure you have the insight needed to compete for the best talent.

Today, Planning Recruitment is more than a business it’s a reflection of the relationships built over decades, the trust earned, and the belief that when you treat people well, good things follow.

If you’re looking for a recruitment partner who genuinely cares, brings deep industry knowledge, and values long-term collaboration, we’d love to work with you.