Three firms dominate construction executive search in the United States for different reasons, and the right one depends entirely on what you are filling. Kaye/Bassman has run the most searches. Amundson Group is the fastest on paper. The Birmingham Group has done it the longest.
None of that helps unless you know which measure matters for your seat. In the AGC of America and NCCER 2025 Craft Workforce Survey, published August 2025, 92% of construction firms that are hiring reported difficulty finding qualified workers. Picking the wrong type of firm in that market costs weeks.
| Comparison | The Birmingham Group | Kaye/Bassman | Amundson Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction since | 1967 | 20+ years, per their site | January 2020 |
| Construction only? | Yes, always | No. Construction is one of 30+ practices | Yes |
| Published search volume | 800+ construction managers placed; 600+ searches since 2017 alone | 5,000+ mid- to senior-level construction searches over 20+ years | Not published. Inc. 5000 in 2024 and 2025 |
| Time to shortlist | 7 to 10 days | Not published | 7 days |
| Geography | National. 39 states plus DC since 2017 | National, Texas-based | Sun Belt focus. Houston, Tampa, and South Africa sourcing |
| Sector depth | Commercial, healthcare, heavy civil, wastewater, industrial, concrete, multifamily, military, oil and gas | Commercial, CRE, A&E, ConTech | Heavy civil, paving, rail, tunnels, data centers, water |
| Also offers | Salary survey, M&A practice | Board search, acquisition advisory | Salary guide, 30/60/90-day check-ins |
The Birmingham Group: the longest construction-only record
We have recruited construction leadership and nothing else since 1967. More than 800 construction managers placed with general contractor clients, and more than 600 searches across 39 states plus DC since 2017 alone. Shortlist of 3 to 5 verified candidates in 7 to 10 days. Retained, engaged and contingency options, quoted per search.
Pick us when the seat is field or project leadership, the search has to stay confidential while someone is still in the chair, or the strongest candidate is two states away. Nine sectors, national coverage, no other industries competing for our attention.
The trade-off is honest too. If you need a 7 day turnaround on a heavy civil superintendent in Texas, Amundson is built for that. If you need a CFO, Kaye/Bassman has functional depth we do not claim. Ask us and we will say so on the call.
Kaye/Bassman: the volume leader
Kaye/Bassman publishes more than 5,000 mid to senior construction searches across 20 plus years, with seven named construction recruiters and case studies covering Webcor, Manhattan Construction, Pepper, GE Johnson, Haskell and Wharton-Smith. They also run board search and acquisition advisory.
Pick them when the seat is C-suite or board level, or when the role is a corporate function rather than a construction one. A CFO or chief strategy officer search benefits from a firm that recruits finance across dozens of industries.
The trade-off is that construction sits alongside healthcare, academic medicine, banking and food and beverage. Depth in one practice does not follow automatically from breadth across many.
Amundson Group: the fastest, and the heavy civil specialist
Founded January 2020 in Houston, Amundson publishes a 7 day qualified shortlist, an intake call within 24 hours, and 30, 60 and 90 day post-placement check-ins. They hold a 4.9 star rating across 93 public Google reviews, made the Inc 5000 in 2024 and 2025, and list Kiewit, Flatiron, Zachry, Walsh, Sundt and Traylor among clients. A South Africa office extends sourcing coverage to about 15 hours a day.
Pick them when the work is heavy civil, paving, rail, tunnels or site development in the Sun Belt, or when speed is the binding constraint. Their 7 day shortlist is faster than ours and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
The trade-off is reach outside the Sun Belt. They say so themselves: for local recruiting in markets where they lack specialist depth, they tell you on the intake call rather than run the search.
Which firm fits which search
- Superintendent, PM, project executive, chief estimator: any of the three. Decide on sector fit and geography.
- Heavy civil, tunnels, rail, paving in the Sun Belt: Amundson Group.
- C-suite, board, or a corporate function at a contractor: Kaye/Bassman.
- Confidential replacement of a sitting leader: a retained search at any construction-only firm. Not contingency, and not four firms at once.
- Healthcare, wastewater, military federal or oil and gas leadership: The Birmingham Group.
- Hourly craft labor at volume: none of the three. Use a staffing agency.
Five criteria worth more than any list
1. Construction placements as a number, not a percentage. If a firm answers with a share of total business, that share is doing work a number would not.
2. Whether they can describe three candidates before you sign. No names, just detail. Real market knowledge sounds different from a database search.
3. Days to a verified shortlist, not days to first resume. Anyone can forward a resume overnight.
4. Engagement model matched to urgency. A contingency search competes with every other contingency search on that desk. The three construction search fee models exist because the seats differ.
5. A reference who hired your exact title in your sector in the last 18 months. This separates firms faster than anything else here.
When you do not need any of us
If you have run a market for twenty years, know every superintendent in it, and the seat is not confidential, call the two people you already have in mind. If the role is hourly craft, use a staffing agency. If it is one administrative hire, post it.
Where a search firm earns the fee: the seat is senior, the search is confidential, the pool is national, or you have already tried and it is still open. The cost of a wrong executive hire is usually what moves contractors from the first list to the second.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best construction recruiter in the US?
There is no single answer. Kaye/Bassman leads on published search volume, Amundson Group on speed and heavy civil depth in the Sun Belt, and The Birmingham Group on construction-only tenure and national sector breadth. Match the firm to the seat.
What should a construction recruiter cost?
A percentage of first-year compensation including base and realistic bonus. What varies between firms is when you pay and how much priority your search gets, not usually the percentage.
How long should a construction executive search take?
A verified shortlist in one to two weeks, an accepted offer in six to twelve weeks for senior field and project leadership. Longer than that usually signals a scope problem, not a market problem.
Should I use more than one recruiter on the same search?
Rarely. Four firms working one requisition reach the same finite pool, and the strongest candidates disengage first when approached repeatedly about the same job.
Is a national firm better than a local one?
For craft and junior roles, local depth wins. At superintendent level and above, the best candidate is often two states away and will relocate for the right project.
Pick the firm that can already name the people. If that is not us for your search, we will tell you. You can open a construction executive search or call 248.647.7766.
