Finance role
Middle Market Relationship Manager Recruiters
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: Sourcing and underwriting deals while managing the loan cycle through to closing and monitoring
This is what we do all day: recruit accounting, finance, banking and insurance professionals.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- Controller
- CFO
- VP Finance
- FP&A Director
- Accounting Manager
- Director of Accounting
- Assistant Controller
- Tax Director
- Treasury Manager
- Internal Audit Director
- Senior Accountant
- Financial Analyst
- Head of Financial Reporting
- Commercial Lender
- Chief Credit Officer
- Business Systems Finance Lead
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Accounting, finance, banking and insurance
- We reach people who aren’t on job boards
- Replacement terms on standard searches
01
What does this hire really come down to?
This role requires a direct balance between aggressive business development and maintaining strict credit quality within a middle market portfolio. You need someone who can independently source leads, conduct initial credit assessments, and present viable deals to your credit committee. The hire must show they understand your specific risk appetite for C&I and owner-occupied CRE deals.
Can the candidate move from a sales pitch to a signed term sheet without constant intervention? You need a person who manages client expectations on pricing and structure early in the process. They must handle the full life cycle of the loan, from initial outreach and underwriting support to final closing and ongoing portfolio monitoring.
During interviews, ask them to explain their last three declined deals and why they were rejected. Ask them to describe their process for preparing a credit memo for your specific committee. Probe them on how they handle competing for business on price versus terms when your institution has higher rates than non-bank alternatives.
Aligning on search scope is our first step. We define if you need a business developer or a portfolio manager. If the role requires new loans, the person needs a local network and the ability to write credit memos. If they manage a portfolio, the focus is on risk-rating and borrower retention. I clarify the deal sizes and the credit authority you expect them to carry. You must state if they work with a credit analyst or perform the underwriting. This changes the candidate profile. I ask for past deal structure examples to gauge their risk appetite for CRE versus C&I. If they only know small deals, they may struggle with mid-market complexity. I review their history with your bank software to verify they can produce reports without training. I ask why you are adding headcount to help sell the opportunity to someone closing deals elsewhere. We search for a match between their historical deal flow and your current goals.
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
We review their history managing a middle market portfolio. We confirm their skill in cash flow analysis and balance sheet review. We assess their ability to communicate deal terms to stakeholders. We cross-reference their past deal size with your volume. We check their fluency with banking software for risk monitoring. We verify their institutional credit training credentials.
We start with a conversation to map your exact loan process. I ask how you handle credit memos and where the approval bottleneck sits. If you want a builder, we look for someone who has sourced and funded their own portfolio from scratch. If you need a maintainer, we look for a heavy focus on risk rating and covenant monitoring. A common tradeoff is the decision to hire for raw volume versus complex deal structuring. You might find a candidate who brings in five million in new loans every month but struggles to explain the nuances of a cash flow projection to your board. Alternatively, you might find an expert at underwriting who lacks the push to hunt for prospects outside the bank. I ask candidates to provide a redacted deal list to prove they held the pen on the structure. We look for evidence they navigated their own credit committee for non-standard terms. I verify if they personally gathered the data for their memos or relied on an analyst. This tells me if they can stand alone or if they create a dependency on your internal resources before they start.
03
Where do we find them?
We look for candidates in commercial lending units at community and regional banks. We also source from commercial finance companies that focus on asset-based lending. A candidate might move if their current institution is shifting its focus away from their specific market niche or if they have hit a ceiling on their lending authority. They may also move when their bank introduces new credit restrictions that make it impossible to win deals they previously closed. We look for individuals whose portfolio management skills are currently being underutilized in a support or junior lending role.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
These errors often stall the search and lead to poor hires.
Ignoring the need for formal credit training and relying only on sales personality.
Overestimating a candidate's ability to cross-sell treasury management services without a track record.
Failing to clearly define the expected balance between new business production and portfolio management.
05
The search in three steps
We define the specific credit exposure and business development targets for the role.
We screen candidates against your credit criteria and documented deal history.
We introduce qualified individuals for your internal interview and committee review.
How your Middle Market Relationship Manager search runs
How does The Six-Step Search work?
One sequence, from a well-defined seat to a shortlist you can judge.
Search Calibration
We start with a call about the seat, the books, the owners and the people the hire will work with. We learn what the role must fix in the first year and what would make a candidate wrong even if the resume looks right.
You get: A written search brief: scope, must-haves, deal-breakers and the pay range, agreed with you.
Market Mapping
We map the companies and institutions where the right people already work: similar size, similar ownership, similar complexity, in your market and in others.
You get: The target list of companies and institutions we will search, reviewed with you before outreach.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We find direct ways to reach the people on the map. Most are employed and not reading job boards, so reaching them takes real research.
You get: Direct routes to people who are not on job boards, researched for your search.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We call and write to people individually and follow up. Interest varies, so we discuss the actual opportunity rather than promising a particular response.
You get: One-to-one conversations about your actual role, followed up, never a mass email blast.
Live Candidate Qualification
We speak with every candidate before you do. We check scope, systems, reporting lines, compensation expectations, location and why they would move.
You get: Only candidates we have spoken with, checked on scope, systems, pay, location and motive.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You receive a short written brief on each finalist covering what they have done, where they are thin and what they want. Then we help with interviews, references and the offer.
You get: A short written brief on each finalist, plus help with interviews, references, counteroffer risk and the offer.
Questions people ask
Are there upfront charges to find someone who can present deals to our committee?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
What is the difference between this role and a Credit Analyst?
The Relationship Manager owns the client relationship, revenue goals, and business development. The Credit Analyst focuses on underwriting, modeling, and administrative support for the loan.
How do you verify their lending experience?
We verify their history through documentation of their past portfolio performance, their specific credit authority limits, and their experience with internal credit committees.
What if we need a contract worker instead?
We offer contract and temp-to-perm arrangements upon request. These engagements are subject to specific terms agreed to per project.
What is the fee for a Middle Market Relationship Manager search?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The fee and terms are agreed in writing before we start.
How soon will I see a Middle Market Relationship Manager shortlist?
It depends on the seat, the location and the pay. We give you an honest read after the calibration call and we do not promise dates we cannot control.
What about counteroffers on a Middle Market Relationship Manager hire?
We ask every Middle Market Relationship Manager candidate early why they would move and what their employer might do to keep them. Counteroffer risk goes in the written brief before you make an offer.
What is your guarantee?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What don't you do?
We do not post your Middle Market Relationship Manager job and forward whoever applies. We do not send stacks of unscreened resumes, and we do not recruit outside accounting, finance, banking and insurance.
Start a search
Tell us about the seat.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
Not ready to start a search?
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What does the published pay data show?
$76,690 national annual median. SOC 13-2072: Loan Officers.
BLS reports Middle Market Relationship Manager within a broader occupation. It does not publish separate wages for this exact title, credentials, seniority or industry. Compare the listed SOC duties with your actual role before using this range.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Released 2026-05-15. This is not a separately measured salary for this exact title.
Read the full salary guide