Zebra People

Business Details

25 Years

experience

Your Trusted Digital Recruitment Partner in London

Zebra People is a specialist recruitment agency with over two decades of expertise in the digital sector. Established in 2001 as Europe's first digital-focused recruiter, we combine deep industry knowledge with a commitment to matching technical skills with cultural fit. Our process prioritises diversity, equity, and inclusion, delivering a 2:1 CV-to-interview ratio and 3:1 interview-to-placement success rate.

As a certified B Corp, we uphold ethical practices while maintaining a 96% candidate retention rate through rigorous competency assessments and long-term career alignment. Our team of specialists attends industry events and maintains a database of 60,000+ qualified professionals to serve enterprise clients and startups across UX, product design, software engineering, and emerging technologies.

Services

UX Recruitment Product Management Hiring Tech Team Building Creative Roles Placement User Research Specialists

Details

Year established: 2001

Highlights and features

20+ years pioneering digital recruitment expertise
All consultants DE&I trained with inclusive hiring practices
Certified B Corp with ethical business framework
Industry-leading 2:1 CV-to-interview conversion ratio
Global network spanning startups to enterprise clients

Associations and certifications

B Corp

What people say

Talented team success Best recruiters worked with Career growth support Exceptional introductions made Transparent process

Website

Update Listing

Services

UX Recruitment

Specialist recruitment for user experience professionals, from junior designers to executive leadership roles. We assess technical capabilities alongside cultural fit, maintaining industry connections through events like UX Crunch and salary benchmarking research. Our consultants possess deep UX domain knowledge to identify candidates who deliver measurable improvements in user-centric design.

Product Management Hiring

Strategic placement of product professionals across all experience levels. Our process combines competency frameworks with personality profiling to ensure alignment with organisational goals. We maintain relationships with 60,000+ product specialists and offer ongoing career development support, achieving 96% candidate retention in first-year placements through rigorous due diligence.

Tech Team Building

Comprehensive technology recruitment solutions covering software engineering, DevOps, and cloud architecture roles. Our technical recruiters maintain industry certifications and attend AWS summits to stay current with emerging technologies. We specialise in scaling teams from startup phases to enterprise-level operations, with notable success placing engineers for fintech and mapping software companies.

Creative Roles Placement

Targeted recruitment for motion design, brand strategy, and visual communication specialists. Our consultants evaluate portfolios for both technical execution and creative impact, maintaining connections with design schools and industry events. We provide career coaching to help creatives articulate their value proposition while matching them with organisations that appreciate their unique skill sets.

User Research Specialists

Specialist recruitment for quantitative and qualitative research professionals. Our process includes portfolio analysis to verify candidates' methodological rigor and ethical standards. We serve clients across academia, government, and private sectors, placing researchers who drive data-informed decision making in product development and service design initiatives.

People

Nick Cochrane

Founder & Specialist Recruiter

Founded Zebra People in 2001 as Europe's first digital recruitment agency. Pioneered industry events like UX People and Zebra Labs training programs. Maintains hands-on involvement in recruitment while leading business strategy.

Ben Clarfelt

Director & UX Recruiter

Joined in 2009 and became Director in 2013. Developed the widely-used Zebra People salary survey and established industry partnerships. Specialises in UX recruitment with decade-plus experience matching design leaders to high-profile clients.

Nick Grantham

Associate Director

UX recruitment expert since 2008 with industry-recognised expertise. Created mentorship platforms for recruitment professionals and contributes to industry podcasts. Manages UX recruiter teams while maintaining client relationships with major tech firms.

Mitch Hooper

Associate Director

Tech recruitment specialist with five years at Zebra People. Focuses on software, security, and DevOps engineering roles. Recognised for technical understanding and cross-timezone communication, placing engineers for companies like Vault and Cond Nast.

Ele Mafham

Group Head of People Operations

Former recruitment industry executive who joined Zebra People as their first People Operations Manager. Now oversees 80+ staff across the group, focusing on internal hiring strategies, diversity initiatives, and employee development programs.

Questions

What digital sectors do you specialise in?

We focus on UX design, product management, software engineering, creative design, and user research roles across startups to enterprise organisations.

How do you ensure diverse hiring?

All consultants receive DE&I training. We analyse recruitment processes for bias, craft inclusive job descriptions, and maintain a diverse candidate database of 60,000+ professionals.

Are you B Corp certified?

Yes, we achieved B Corp status in 2024 after 18 months of rigorous assessment across governance, workers, community, environment, and clients.

How do you support candidate career growth?

We offer CV/portfolio optimisation, interview coaching, salary benchmarking, and long-term career planning tailored to digital industry trends and opportunities.

What client support do you provide?

We offer discovery sessions, competency frameworks, interview guidance, and retention strategy support to ensure successful long-term placements aligned with business goals.

Reviews (6)

Write a Review

Conor Fallon

Jan 15, 2016 Report

I struck up a great relationship with Andrew. He understood what I wanted to achieve through my next move and would only make relevant suggestions for this. Out of several recruiters, his decisions and leads won out at the end if the day. He was worked with me to achieve the next step in my career that I am excited about. I can honestly say that Zebra people are the best recruitment agency for UX that I have worked with in London.

MarkinMotion

Dec 20, 2015 Report

Zebra and in particular Megan Willis, were great. She gave me great advice and I came away thinking about my career a bit differently and very positively. That is what I want from a recruiter. She didn't just tell me what I wanted to hear, it was very productive and I would more than recommend Zebra to anyone. Megan Willis was such a great help :)
You don't get this kind of help from a lot of recruiters. Great job.

Louise Bartlett

Nov 21, 2015 Report

I don't work with many recruiting agencies, but ZebraPeople is one that I call on when I'm looking for a new contract. They provide me with jobs that are relevant to my skill set and provide clear and straightforward details about the jobs and requirements. I'm particularly impressed that they are part of the UX community and give back by sponsoring meet ups and events - A smart way to stay involved in the community and see both sides of the recruiting fence. I recommend them all the time to people looking for UX work. Great job, guys!

Patric Donnachie

Nov 18, 2015 Report

Zebra People and Raj Khatra really know their stuff. She took the time to get to know me and my skill set so when it came to potential opportunities she knew what would be a good fit and how I could position myself in the market. She made my transition to London seamless. From initial face to face meetings, to follow up conversations, she was always proactive when looking for potential opportunities and great at keeping me in the loop.
Open, honest and hard working. Brilliant recruiter and great company. Would highly recommend working with them.

Clara Lavina

Oct 01, 2015 Report

I had the pleasure to work with Maryanna, User Experience Resourcer at Zebra People. As recruiter, she honestly takes care of your interests and has an excellent knowledge of UX. Very professional and friendly, always there when you have some question and need a quick answer. She does all this with integrity and a smile, so I definitely recommend Maryanna and Zebra People.

Jonny Robb

Jul 11, 2015 Report

Zebra People are a genuine breath of fresh air in the world of recruitment. I've used them exclusively for 5 years as well as recommending them to pretty much every agency I've worked who's needed new talent. Their people are friendly and honest, as business they're genuinely interested in the sectors in which they specialise in (particularly UX) and ultimately they're great at what they do. All round good guys.