Client Relations Manager

Whitewater Recruitment is looking for a Client Relations Manager to represent the business across our yacht, UHNW and hospitality divisions.

This is not a traditional recruitment role.

The focus of the position is client relationships, business development and account growth.

The successful person will spend much of their time speaking with existing, previous and prospective clients, strengthening relationships, identifying recruitment opportunities and helping Whitewater become a trusted recruitment partner across the sectors we serve.

Once a recruitment opportunity is identified, it will be passed to the relevant Whitewater recruiter to manage and deliver.

About Whitewater Recruitment

Whitewater Recruitment is an independent recruitment company working across the superyacht, UHNW and luxury hospitality sectors.

The business has been built around genuine industry experience rather than traditional high-volume recruitment.

Our team has direct backgrounds across yachting and related sectors, allowing us to understand the environments our clients operate in and the standards they expect from the people they hire.

Within yachting, Whitewater works across multiple departments including:

• Engineering
• Deck
• Interior
• Senior and specialist yacht positions

We also work within the wider UHNW and private household market, supporting clients with roles across private residences, estates and hospitality environments.

Whitewater is an MLC-certified recruitment agency and continues to grow its client base across yachts, management companies, private employers and other organisations operating within the luxury sector.

Our aim is not simply to fill vacancies.

We want to build long-term relationships with clients, understand their businesses and become a recruitment partner they can rely on when they need good people.

The Client Relations Manager will play a major part in that growth.

The Role

You will act as a key relationship point across the entire Whitewater business.

The role will include:

• Developing relationships with new prospective clients
• Maintaining and strengthening existing client relationships
• Re-engaging previous and dormant clients
• Identifying upcoming recruitment requirements
• Introducing Whitewater and its recruitment services
• Generating new recruitment opportunities
• Obtaining clear job briefs from clients
• Passing vacancies to the appropriate Whitewater recruiter
• Following up with clients after assignments and placements
• Maintaining accurate client records, communications and follow-up activity within our CRM
• Supporting wider client-development and business-development initiatives

The role may involve working with:

• Yacht Captains and other HoDs
• Yacht Managers
• Management Companies
• Senior Crew
• Owners' Representatives
• Family Offices
• UHNW Employers
• Private Households
• Luxury Hospitality Businesses
• Other senior hiring decision-makers

Who We Are Looking For

We are particularly interested in speaking with someone who has significant experience within the yachting industry.

You do not necessarily need to come from recruitment, but you must understand the industry, its culture and the people within it.

Experience in any of the following would be particularly relevant:

• Yacht recruitment
• Yacht management
• Senior yacht crew positions
• Business development
• Account management
• Client relations
• Luxury hospitality
• Family office or private household environments
• UHNW services

You should be comfortable speaking with senior decision-makers and confident building relationships over the phone.

This is not a role for someone who simply wants to send emails or LinkedIn messages.

You need to be willing to pick up the phone, start conversations and build genuine relationships.

You should also be:

• Personable and confident
• Commercially aware
• Highly organised
• Comfortable working independently
• Persistent without being aggressive
• Professional in your communication
• Disciplined with follow-up
• Comfortable using a CRM
• Discreet and trustworthy
• Able to represent Whitewater professionally across several sectors
   

Structure of the Role

This is an Associate / Freelance position rather than a salaried employment role.

The position operates on a performance-based, uncapped commission structure.

The Client Relations Manager is primarily responsible for generating and developing client relationships rather than candidate recruitment.

Once a genuine recruitment requirement is secured, the vacancy will usually be passed to the relevant Whitewater recruiter, who will then manage the recruitment process.

For the right person, this provides the opportunity to build a meaningful long-term income stream by developing strong client relationships across the Whitewater business.

The Opportunity

Whitewater is still growing, which means this is not a role where you simply inherit a fixed list of accounts and maintain them.

There is genuine scope to help shape how we develop client relationships across the company.

The successful person will work across the entire Whitewater brand rather than one individual recruitment desk or department.

If you have strong industry experience, enjoy speaking with people, understand how important relationships are within yachting and UHNW recruitment, and want to work in a commercially focused role without being responsible for the day-to-day recruitment process, we would like to hear from you.

Please send your CV along with a short introduction outlining your background and why you believe you would be suited to the role.