Three decades.
One Standard.
— OUR STORYBuilt on relationships.
Jamal Henry and Nick Allen founded AJH Partners to offer something the larger firms couldn't: genuine sector expertise, delivered by the partners themselves, on every single mandate.
Between them, they bring over three decades of experience placing senior professionals across financial services and law — relationships built through doing the work, not managing it from a distance.
The firm operates on a fully retained or exclusive basis, working with a limited number of clients to maintain the focus and discretion that senior appointments require.
— HOW WE WORKA process built for search.
01
BRIEFING & DISCOVERY
We invest significant time understanding the role, organisation, culture, and the unwritten requirements. This is where most searches succeed or fail.
02
MARKET MAPPING
A comprehensive view of the relevant talent landscape — those visible, and those who are not actively looking but would consider the right opportunity.
03
DISCREET APPROACH
Direct, confidential outreach from the partners. We represent your organisation with precision, protecting your brand throughout.
04
SHORT LIST
A curated shortlist with full assessments. We stay engaged through offer, negotiation, and the first 90 days of on-boarding.
05
OFFER & ACCEPTANCE
we ensure the offer will be accepted by advising clients and candidates whilst managing reasonable expectations on both sides.
06
POST-START SUPPORT
We follow our candidates after starting, ensuring they have a neutral point of advice when integrating in a new role.
You work with the founders.
Jamal Henry
FOUNDING PARTNER
20+ years · Compliance, Legal, Risk, Operations
Specialising in executive search for over two decades, Jamal has delivered mandates globally across financial services, discreetly and at the most senior levels.
Jamal’s work has included assisting a major bank in the complete rebuild of it’s compliance, risk, legal, financial crime compliance functions and accounting.
He has also supported US firm’s expaning in the UK and EU with critical hites such as Regional GC, CCO and COO.
He has advised numerous firms, such as hedge funds and alternative investment managers on the candidate market in new jurisdictions such as the City and Manhattan.
Nick Allen
FOUNDING PARTNER
10+ years · Private Practice, In-House Legal
Nick previously worked as a finance lawyer at an international firm and, as a result, has gained an extensive network in the legal market as well as in-depth, first-hand experience of all that being a lawyer entails. Nick also has a direct understanding of the challenges and pressures faced by lawyers, which helps him empathise with and work effectively for his clients.
Having moved into legal recruitment in 2013, Nick has substantial experience of delivering Associate to Partner hires across UK, US and International law firms, based in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Offshore jurisdictions. Nick's extensive network has also provided him with the opportunity to work on search assignments for a range of in-house roles in sectors ranging from financial investment companies to professional services firms to start-up fintech companies.
— WHAT WE STAND FOR
Our Principles.
Discretion
Every engagement is confidential by default. We do not disclose mandates, clients, or candidates without explicit permission.
Brand Ambassadors
We ensure you firm is well represented in market, overcome any potential misconceptions and provide detailed feedback of how the appointment and your business are viewed.
Conviction
We only put forward candidates we genuinely believe in. Culture fit is as important as technical ability and commerciality. A shortlist of 5 high-calibre, commited candidate is worth more than ten speculative ones
Longevity
We measure success by placement quality over time, not volume. Most of our work comes from clients who return or refer us to their network.
Let’s begin a conversation
All enquiries are treated in complete confidence.