EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE
Deerfoot is a certified B Corporation and one of the longest-established independent tech recruitment consultancies in the UK. We have focused exclusively on technology talent since 1997.
Our team averages 12 years each in IT recruitment and 9 years at Deerfoot. In an industry known for churn, that means the consultant you speak to this year will still be here next year, and will already know your business.
We recruit permanent and contract roles across software engineering, cloud and DevOps, data and AI, cybersecurity, infrastructure and networking, business analysis and programme management — including security-cleared work.
HOW WE WORK
We present the best-matched candidates, not the most. We aim for a 2:1 CV-to-interview ratio — for every two candidates we put forward, one gets interviewed.
Our candidate assessment process is audited annually by the British Standards Institute under ISO 9001. We look for authentic candidates with the essential skills and experience, and for the behavioural traits that determine whether someone stays. We favour thorough, deliberate selection over speed.
We conduct certified biometric TrustID checks on every candidate you extend an offer to, and in-depth vetting to surface any concerns before they become your problem.
Every permanent placement carries a 6-month 100% refund guarantee.
OUR APPROACH
We offer a mature, objective, informed search service that supports in-house HR and talent teams as well as IT departmental managers. Our communications are fact-based rather than persuasive.
Our team training focuses on process excellence and on understanding the technology itself across all tech roles and disciplines. We deliberately avoid sales-based training and tactics, and work in a more considered way that delivers better long-term outcomes for hiring stakeholders and candidates alike.
TOOLS
We continually review and adopt the best available candidate attraction and selection tools. These include an AI diversity and inclusion tool that checks our vacancy adverts for bias, natural search technology that produces better-targeted shortlists than Boolean searching, and video interviewing software that reduces interview time for your hiring stakeholders. We also provide a platform for you to review shortlisted candidates and schedule interviews directly.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
We welcome partnerships with organisations that evidence and action a clear diversity, equality and inclusion policy, and that recognise the value a genuinely diverse workforce brings.
We use an AI tool to ensure our IT vacancy adverts are compliant and optimised to attract candidates from under-represented groups. For all IT vacancies, we aim to present a diverse shortlist of qualified candidates.
CORPORATE & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
We are a certified B Corporation, an accredited Living Wage employer, and we offset our carbon footprint through Ecologi. If your organisation holds its own B Corp certification, or has ESG commitments running through its supply chain, working with us contributes to them.
Certification matters to us because it is independently verified. It is easy to write policies on social and environmental impact; it is harder to be audited against them. We still think there is room for improvement, and we keep asking ourselves what we do, how we do it and why.
Each month we donate a sum for every employee to Ecologi, which plants trees and funds the world's best climate crisis solutions. Deerfoot has donated over £50,000 to charitable causes. And every time we send a candidate's CV to a recruiting client, we donate £1 to the Born Free Foundation (registered charity no. 1070906), which is devoted to compassionate conservation and animal welfare.
We recruit permanent and contract roles across an organisation's entire technology landscape, UK-wide.
Engineering & delivery — Software Engineers and Developers, QA and Test, DevOps, Site Reliability Engineers, Platform Engineers
Cloud & infrastructure — Cloud transformation consultants, IT Infrastructure, Networking
Data & AI — Data Engineers, Data Analysts, BI specialists, AI and Machine Learning
Security — Cyber Security Consultants, Security Architects, and security-cleared (SC/DV) technology roles
Change & leadership — Business Analysts, Project and Programme Managers, IT Product Specialists and Subject Matter Experts, strategic senior tech hires
Typical levels: permanent roles £25,000–£200,000; contract roles £200–£2,000 per day.
Locations: UK-wide, with particular strength across London, Hampshire and the South Coast, Manchester, and Bristol.
We work with established IT professionals across permanent and contract roles. The quickest way to reach us is to register through our website or browse our current vacancies there — we review every registration.
We don't often handle entry-level or first-role positions. If you're looking to move into IT, there's guidance on our website that may help.
PERMANENT IT JOB-SEEKERS
Moving jobs is a big decision. We understand our responsibility to support you.
Your CV goes nowhere without your say-so. We will always email you with full, complete vacancy details — including who our client is — and wait until we receive confirmation from you before presenting you as a candidate.
The decision to commence searching for a new permanent IT role is significant and has important implications for both you as an individual and your family. We never forget this and are careful to offer a supportive, impartial and confidential service to you. We will never coerce you into making premature decisions on job options.
We respect the right for all parties to make decisions in their time, not ours. At all times throughout the recruitment cycle we will act very responsibly. If you are fed up with slick, fast-talking, over-familiar or pushy IT recruitment consultants, you will find us refreshingly different.
Our service to you will be professional and informative. We work hard to have a strong knowledge of all the roles, products and disciplines across the IT industry.
IT CONTRACTORS
Every working day of every year since 1997, IT consultants have been adding value on assignments via Deerfoot.
Stability: If you are contracting via an agency, you should carry out some due diligence to ensure the agency is stable, with both a good trading history and ample cash reserves. Deerfoot has traded continuously since 1997 and is independently owned with no external debt. We are a stable partner for you.
Payments: We have a great back-office accounts team and, following on from helping you secure a good assignment, we understand that the most important service we can provide is to pay you efficiently. We pay on either weekly or monthly frequencies (depending on end client invoicing requirements) and pay as cleared funds within 14 days of invoice or delivery.
Contracts: Although our contracts always need to reflect the reality of relationships, we hope you and your advisors will find them workable for your needs, whether your concerns focus on IR35, AWR or conduct regulations. We will try to be supportive where we can on any amendment requests.
Approach: We are gentle throughout the whole contract placement life-cycle. We respect your position and never use clever closing techniques to get you to commit — no false deadlines for accepting a contract, no imaginary second choice candidate waiting in the wings, and no lies about what our client is willing to pay. We will tell you what our margin fee is, and we are happy for you to verify it with the end client once on site.
We recruit permanent and contract roles across an organisation's entire technology landscape, UK-wide.
Engineering & delivery — Software Engineers and Developers, QA and Test, DevOps, Site Reliability Engineers, Platform Engineers
Cloud & infrastructure — Cloud transformation consultants, IT Infrastructure, Networking
Data & AI — Data Engineers, Data Analysts, BI specialists, AI and Machine Learning
Security — Cyber Security Consultants, Security Architects, and security-cleared (SC/DV) technology roles
Change & leadership — Business Analysts, Project and Programme Managers, IT Product Specialists and Subject Matter Experts, strategic senior tech hires
Typical levels: permanent roles £25,000–£200,000; contract roles £200–£2,000 per day.
Locations: UK-wide, with particular strength across London, Hampshire and the South Coast, Manchester, and Bristol.
We have offices located at the following addresses:
We recruit candidates at the following experience levels:
Graduate, Junior, Regular, Senior, Team Leader, Manager, Senior Manager, Director
We recruit in the following industries:
Consulting, Digital, Executive / Management, Information Industry, IT, Project Management