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Learn more about our services, approach and the sectors we operate in.
For more information on our Real Estate & Homebuilding services, get in touch with
Christopher Clay
Managing Director
Hundreds of 'Excellent' reviews
Helping Real Estate & Homebuilding companies unlock their next stage of growth
Specialisms We Cover
The global real estate and homebuilding market represents a multi-trillion-dollar sector, underpinned by long-term demand for housing, urban development, and mixed-use infrastructure, with sustained activity driven by population growth, urbanisation, affordability pressures, and evolving sustainability standards.
Real estate and homebuilding play a central role in shaping communities, economic growth, and quality of life. As housing demand continues to outpace supply in many markets, the sector faces increasing pressure to deliver high-quality, affordable, and sustainable developments while navigating planning constraints, regulatory change, and rising construction and financing costs. Innovation in design, materials, construction methods, and digital property technologies is reshaping how homes and communities are planned, built, and managed.Our commitment to the real estate and homebuilding market sets us apart from traditional executive search firms. We work with developers, housebuilders, investors, and operators to secure experienced leadership and specialist talent across development, construction, asset management, and commercial functions. By aligning people strategy with project delivery and long-term investment objectives, we help our clients build resilient teams, scale responsibly, and deliver sustainable, high-performing residential and mixed-use developments
Real estate and homebuilding are shaped by long-term decisions.
Organizations in this sector balance land strategy, planning, finance, and construction delivery while responding to market cycles and buyer demand. Progress depends on coordinated teams that can manage risk, control costs, and move developments from concept through completion.Strong hiring in real estate and homebuilding comes from understanding the full development lifecycle. Access to professionals with experience across planning, delivery, and commercial management helps businesses execute confidently and create sustainable value.
Team
Christopher Clay
Managing Director
Grace Smith
Principal Consultant
Charlie Schofield
General Manager
Over the last 2 years our team has made over 10 successful placements with the business across many seniority levels, markets and job functions.
Irving Knight have been the preferred supplier for Smith Douglas Homes for the last 2 years. Smith Douglas Homes is one of the fastest-growing homebuilders in the country and currently operates across the South and Southeast of the US.
Case Study
Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing – Atlanta, GA
Over the last 2 years our team has made over 10 successful placements with the business across many seniority levels, markets and job functions.
Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing – Atlanta, GA
Division President – Nashville, TN
Division President – Greenville, SC
Vice President of Operations – Nashville, TN
Vice President of Land Acquisition – Raleigh, NC
Vice President of Sales & Marketing – Raleigh, NC
Vice President of Land Acquisition – Dallas, TX
Director of Land – Greenville, SC
Corporate Estimating Manager – Atlanta, GA
Land Acquisition Manager – Atlanta, GA
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Did you know?
Hiring the wrong candidate costs more than just time—it can waste salary, training resources, and opportunities. The Department of Labour estimates a bad hire can cost up to 30% of the role’s first-year earnings.
We hire right
Organisations are
97% Placement Rate 11.78:1 CVs Sent to Interviews 2Avg. 32 Day Engagement to Placement 3
1. Based on all roles engaged on by a client on an exclusive basis from Jan 4 2025 - Dec 31 2025.
2. All CVs Sent from Jan 4 2025 - Dec 31 2025.
3. From Jan 4 2025 - Dec 31 2025.
Stats
1,908 placements made across 25 sectors
262,736 companies in our CRM
"At Irving Knight, we don't just fill positions; we build lasting partnerships. Our commitment to understanding your unique needs ensures that we deliver leaders who drive success and embody your company's values. When it comes to identifying the high-performers of tomorrow, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Our bespoke approach ensures every search is personal, diverse, and tailored from the ground up — delivering an individual, unrivalled experience for both clients and candidates. "
- Joe Davey, Group CEO of Irving Knight Group
Jeff Borchardt
Director of Planning, US
Mr. Clay was a wonderful recruiter. He was communicative and helped keep me informed through the process. He also fou...
Christopher Clay
Real Estate & Homebuilding
Rania Metwall
Head of Sales, France
Would highly recommend working with Luca Dowdell. He helped me find the perfect job. Very professional, friendly and ...
Luca Dowdell
Lubricants, Oil & Gas
Andreia Sa
Director, Italy
I would like to sincerely thank Evan Ball for all the support throughout the process. He provided assistance at diffe...
Ewan Ball
Food Ingredients & Biotechnology
Joerg Schlagmann
Senior Global Manager
Great expert: supportive, challenging and always empowered for his customers and his work! Not more to say: just exce...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Tim Mitchell
Plant Manager, US
Stewart did an amazing job representing me for a new opportunity.
Stewart Boyd
Construction Materials & Mining
Kerry Maye
Regional Sales Manager
Working with Joseph was a wonderfully positive experience from our first contact, through acceptance of my job offer....
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Rishi Sarkar
Environmental Process Engineer, US
Irving Knight helped place me with a company that I could have a positive impact on that aligned with my career goals...
Cian ODonnell
CDMO & CRO
Veronica Hagborg
Senior Director Global HR, Sweden
I have had the opportunity to co-operate with Joseph in a process and I found him very proactive in keeping me inform...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Kyle Corrigan
Technical Account Manager
It was a pleasure working with Joseph when searching for the next chapter in my career. Proactive, energetic and prof...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Sandeep Kulshrestha
Formulation Director, US
Oliver is very good in matching skills of the candidates with the company’s requirements. I personally got benefits o...
Oliver Kiddy
Flavors & Fragrances
Todd McBroom
District Sales Mgr, US
Great Experience!! This was my first time dealing with a recuiter and could not have been a better experience. Jack ...
Jack Purnell
Material Handling & Automation
Eduardo Valle
Development Mgr, US
This opportunity fell on my lap at the perfect time and the overall process with Christopher was great. It was a very...
Christopher Clay
Real Estate & Homebuilding
Andrew Coutts
Director Global Strategy, US
First Class Service Emma shared details of a relevant opportunity and did a great job helping to manage lengthy nego...
Emma Conlin
Kaitlin Lammers
Account Manager
Oliver made the hiring process smooth from start to finish. He was consistently responsive, understanding, and suppor...
Oliver Kiddy
Flavors & Fragrances
Matt Engelbrecht
VP Industrial Ops, US
Working with Lily was a phenomenal experience. She was fully transparent, professional, and provided timely communica...
Lily Newton
Animal Health
Tim Staniels
Territory Sales Manager, US
Joseph was very easy to work with. He was motivated and attentive during his recruitment process, very responsive to ...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Kay Witte
Global Director Performance Excellence
Joseph was instrumental in making my last professional opportunity happen. He was easy to work with, responsive, and ...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Christoph Snaga
Investment Manager, Germany
Christopher from Irving Knight handled the overall process well and we managed to get to a successful completion smoo...
Christopher Clay
Real Estate & Homebuilding
Valeria Pozzi
Procurement Category Manager, Italy
Working with Oliver has been a real pleasure!His highly professionalism and transparency made me comfortable to consi...
Oliver Kiddy
Flavors & Fragrances
Corinne Grice
Strategic Account Manager, US
Luca was an absolute gem to work with ! He reached out to me on linkedin with several different opportunities & was a...
Luca Dowdell
Lubricants, Oil & Gas
Jeff Borchardt
Director of Planning, US
Mr. Clay was a wonderful recruiter. He was communicative and helped keep me informed through the process. He also fou...
Christopher Clay
Real Estate & Homebuilding
Rania Metwall
Head of Sales, France
Would highly recommend working with Luca Dowdell. He helped me find the perfect job. Very professional, friendly and ...
Luca Dowdell
Lubricants, Oil & Gas
Andreia Sa
Director, Italy
I would like to sincerely thank Evan Ball for all the support throughout the process. He provided assistance at diffe...
Ewan Ball
Food Ingredients & Biotechnology
Joerg Schlagmann
Senior Global Manager
Great expert: supportive, challenging and always empowered for his customers and his work! Not more to say: just exce...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Tim Mitchell
Plant Manager, US
Stewart did an amazing job representing me for a new opportunity.
Stewart Boyd
Construction Materials & Mining
Kerry Maye
Regional Sales Manager
Working with Joseph was a wonderfully positive experience from our first contact, through acceptance of my job offer....
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Rishi Sarkar
Environmental Process Engineer, US
Irving Knight helped place me with a company that I could have a positive impact on that aligned with my career goals...
Cian ODonnell
CDMO & CRO
Veronica Hagborg
Senior Director Global HR, Sweden
I have had the opportunity to co-operate with Joseph in a process and I found him very proactive in keeping me inform...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Kyle Corrigan
Technical Account Manager
It was a pleasure working with Joseph when searching for the next chapter in my career. Proactive, energetic and prof...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Sandeep Kulshrestha
Formulation Director, US
Oliver is very good in matching skills of the candidates with the company’s requirements. I personally got benefits o...
Oliver Kiddy
Flavors & Fragrances
Todd McBroom
District Sales Mgr, US
Great Experience!! This was my first time dealing with a recuiter and could not have been a better experience. Jack ...
Jack Purnell
Material Handling & Automation
Eduardo Valle
Development Mgr, US
This opportunity fell on my lap at the perfect time and the overall process with Christopher was great. It was a very...
Christopher Clay
Real Estate & Homebuilding
Andrew Coutts
Director Global Strategy, US
First Class Service Emma shared details of a relevant opportunity and did a great job helping to manage lengthy nego...
Emma Conlin
Kaitlin Lammers
Account Manager
Oliver made the hiring process smooth from start to finish. He was consistently responsive, understanding, and suppor...
Oliver Kiddy
Flavors & Fragrances
Matt Engelbrecht
VP Industrial Ops, US
Working with Lily was a phenomenal experience. She was fully transparent, professional, and provided timely communica...
Lily Newton
Animal Health
Tim Staniels
Territory Sales Manager, US
Joseph was very easy to work with. He was motivated and attentive during his recruitment process, very responsive to ...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Kay Witte
Global Director Performance Excellence
Joseph was instrumental in making my last professional opportunity happen. He was easy to work with, responsive, and ...
Joseph Davey
Group CEO
Christoph Snaga
Investment Manager, Germany
Christopher from Irving Knight handled the overall process well and we managed to get to a successful completion smoo...
Christopher Clay
Real Estate & Homebuilding
Valeria Pozzi
Procurement Category Manager, Italy
Working with Oliver has been a real pleasure!His highly professionalism and transparency made me comfortable to consi...
Oliver Kiddy
Flavors & Fragrances
Corinne Grice
Strategic Account Manager, US
Luca was an absolute gem to work with ! He reached out to me on linkedin with several different opportunities & was a...
