Retained EV charging executive search typically runs 25% to 35% of a hire's first-year total compensation, paid in stages across an exclusive search. Permanent recruitment is typically a success fee of 15% to 30% of first-year salary or compensation, paid when the candidate starts. The ranges overlap, so what the percentage is actually calculated against matters more than the headline rate.
We work exclusively in EV charging and eMobility, and the question we get from CPOs, EVSE OEMs, and contractors mobilizing for a federal contract is rarely "which model is cheaper." It's "which model gets me the right VP of Grid Integration or CFO without six months of wasted interviews." That's the question this is really answering.
How retained search and permanent recruitment are priced
Retained search funds a defined body of work: role definition, market mapping, direct outreach to passive candidates, structured assessment, a shortlist, reference checks, and support through to offer acceptance. It's exclusive, so one firm can commit the depth of outreach a confidential C-suite search needs. Payment is usually staged, commonly across three milestones: engagement, shortlist delivery, and placement or offer acceptance. You're paying for the search as it happens, not only for the result.
Permanent, contingency-style recruitment is a success fee. The recruiter is paid when their candidate is hired, and the arrangement is often non-exclusive, meaning you can run multiple recruiters or your own process at the same time. For a role with a broader, more accessible candidate pool and a settled brief, that structure can work well: you pay only for a result, and the recruiter carries more of the risk.
| | Retained executive search | Permanent recruitment | |---|---|---| | Typical range | Roughly 25-35% of first-year total compensation | Roughly 15-30% of first-year salary or compensation | | When you pay | Staged across the search | On successful hire | | Exclusivity | Usually exclusive | Often non-exclusive | | Scope | Market mapping, direct outreach, structured assessment, search management | Sourcing and introduction, scope varies by firm | | Fits best | C-suite, VP, confidential or strategically critical roles | Settled brief, accessible pool, success-only payment preferred |
A retained search priced at the low end of its range can cost close to the same as a contingency fee at the high end. The model you choose should be driven by the role and the market you're searching, not by an assumption that one is always the cheaper route.
What the percentage is actually applied to
The same 25% fee produces two very different invoices depending on whether it's calculated against base salary alone or against first-year total compensation, including target bonus, signing bonus, commission, or equity. Get the fee basis in writing before you compare two proposals.
The calculation itself is simple:
Estimated professional fee = agreed fee percentage x agreed compensation basis
Before signing anything, ask:
• Is the percentage applied to base salary or total first-year compensation?
• Does it include bonus, commission, sign-on payments, equity, or benefits?
• Is the fee reconciled if the hired candidate's actual compensation differs from the estimate used at the start?
• Is there a minimum fee, or a fixed-fee alternative?
• What sits outside the fee: travel, advertising, assessments, background checks?
A proposal that answers all five in writing is one you can compare honestly against another.
Why an EV charging brief changes the scope, not automatically the rate
There's no EV-specific surcharge built into how search fees work. What changes with an EV charging brief is the work required to find and properly assess someone, because the leaders this sector needs rarely sit in one lane. We've built the operations teams at Mer Charging, L-Charge and Mitra EV. We've built the sales function at Go Eve, L-Charge and Mitra EV. A VP of Construction search and a CFO search for a hardware-and-software EVSE OEM both carry a senior title, but the work to reach and assess the right person for each is different.
Before we put a brief in front of candidates, we map the live landscape across charge point operators, EVSE OEMs, installers, utilities, and the automotive OEMs they compete with for talent. That's where scope gets defined, not in the fee structure. If you're scoping an EV charging leadership search yourself, work through:
• The business outcome this leader needs to deliver in year one.
• Which charging-market experience is essential, and which is transferable from adjacent sectors like utilities or automotive.
• Whether the search needs to be confidential.
• The geographies and target organizations in scope.
• The full compensation package you can offer, not just base salary.
• Who makes the final call, and how quickly that group can move once a shortlist lands.
Get those answered and the fee conversation with any firm gets a lot more precise.
Which model fits the role you're hiring for
Retained search tends to fit when the role is C-suite, VP-level, confidential, or strategically consequential enough that you need a mapped view of who's actually out there, not just who applies. It also fits when the people you need are employed and require direct, discreet outreach, which describes most of the senior EV charging market right now given how tight the talent pool is around DC fast-charging and combined hardware-software profiles.
Permanent recruitment fits better when the brief is settled, the pool is broader, and you want to pay only on a successful hire. Success-only payment shifts financial risk onto the recruiter, which changes how much depth of market coverage is economically viable for that firm at that fee, so it's worth weighing against retained search on scope as well as rate.
What to check before you sign a search agreement
The headline fee is one line in the agreement. These are the others that determine your actual risk:
• Exclusivity: who owns the search, and for how long.
• Payment schedule: exact milestones, and whether paid instalments are refundable if the search pauses.
• Replacement provision: what triggers it, how long it runs, and what it excludes.
• Candidate ownership: how long a firm can claim a fee if their candidate is hired later, or for a different role.
• Off-limits terms: whether the firm can recruit from your organization after the engagement ends.
• Expenses: what's inside the fee, what's billed separately.
• Scope changes: what happens to the fee if the role's seniority, location, or compensation shifts mid-search.
We review our interview-to-shortlist process and offer-stage handling closely enough that we hold an 89% offer acceptance rate and a 66% candidate interview rate. That kind of process discipline protects your fee investment regardless of which model you're running, because a search that drags on an untested brief can cost more than the difference in percentage points.
How to compare two quotes fairly
• Confirm the role's outcome and must-have experience before you request quotes.
• Get the fee percentage, fee basis, minimum fee, and a worked calculation in writing.
• Compare payment timing alongside the total fee, not after it.
• Confirm whether the search is retained, hybrid, or contingency, and whether it's exclusive.
• Ask exactly what's included: market mapping, direct outreach, assessment, references, offer support.
• List every potential extra expense and who approves it.
• Compare replacement terms, cancellation terms, candidate ownership, and off-limits commitments side by side.
• Ask who personally leads the search, and how they'll test grid, hardware, software, and commercial experience against your actual brief.
If you're weighing retained search against a contingency fill for a grid integration, operations, or commercial leadership role, bring us the brief. We've spent seven years in this market and can tell you honestly which model fits the hire you're trying to make.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 25-35% retained search fee more expensive than a 15-30% contingency fee? Not automatically. A retained search at the low end of its range (25%) can cost close to a contingency fee at the high end (30%), so the percentage alone does not tell you which is cheaper. What decides the real cost is what the percentage is calculated against, base salary or total compensation, and how that compares between the two proposals you are weighing.
Do EV charging roles cost more to search because they are EV charging roles? No universal EV-charging-specific fee or automatic sector premium exists in published benchmarks. What can change is the scope of work, because a brief that needs someone fluent in both grid integration and commercial delivery takes more market mapping and direct outreach to fill than a single-discipline role, and that work, not the sector label, is what should shape a proposal.
Is a retained search fee paid even if the search does not result in a hire? Retained search fees are typically staged across the search itself, commonly at engagement, shortlist delivery, and placement or offer acceptance, so you are funding the work as it happens rather than paying only for a completed hire. Whether installments already paid are refundable if a search is paused or canceled depends on the engagement letter, so that should be confirmed in writing before signing.
What is the difference between an exclusive and a non-exclusive search? An exclusive search means one firm has sole responsibility for filling the role, which is how retained search is usually run. A non-exclusive search, more typical of contingency recruitment, means you can work with several recruiters or run your own hiring process at the same time, and only the firm whose candidate you hire gets paid.
What should I ask before comparing two recruitment proposals? Ask whether the fee is calculated on base salary or total first-year compensation, whether it includes bonus, commission, or equity, and whether there is a minimum or fixed-fee option. Then compare payment timing, exclusivity, replacement provisions, candidate ownership terms, and what expenses are billed separately, since these determine your actual cost and risk as much as the headline percentage does.
Who does AYM Recruitment place?
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Commercial, product, infrastructure and leadership people across EV charging and grid infrastructure, in every state.