Privacy Policy

This policy explains how we process personal data within our businesses delivering search, consulting and assessment services.

Who we are

We are SOS Executive Search Limited. 

SOS Executive Search Limited ("we", "us") is committed to keeping your information secure and managing it in accordance with our legal responsibilities, the privacy and data protection laws applicable, as well as theGeneral Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“GDPR”) in the European Union (“EU”).

This policy was last updated in May 2018. Please review this policy periodically for any changes.

Who this policy applies to

We provide executive search, assessment and leadership services (“our services”) to a range of clients throughout the UK and EU. Details of our services can be found elsewhere on this website.

This policy applies to you,

a candidate for one of our clients, an individual we are assessing as an employee of one of our clients, a client, or whether you are a candidate or an employee of one of our clients.

Additionally, this policy will apply to you if you attend one of our events or have subscribed to receive information about our service marketing materials such as our newsletter.

Observe

For the purposes of this policy:

candidate(s) means an individual who is a candidate, applicant, potential candidate, employee of a client; client(s) means any, business, firm, organisation, government body or individual that mandates us to perform any of our services; a referee is a person who provides a personal or work reference in respect of a candidate and;

a source is a person who provides us with information or intelligence about a candidate.

Gathering your information

Our clients expect that we identify the best individuals to fill roles within their organisations. So, we need to research systems, online, other information sources, and talk to many individuals. Besides our clients, these will include referees and sources to help inform our process.

The nature of our work means we are required to process personal data quickly, confidentially and often without reference to the data.

Accordingly, we process such data in accordance with the Data Protection Laws, regularly using our legitimate interest where it is not feasible to speak directly with the data subject. 

Beyond this, we will seek consent in the circumstances explained later in this policy.

We collect information from candidates directly when you upload your CV or resume to our email or website or when you send this in the post. We also collect information from you when you speak with an SOS Executive Search Limited employee.

How we use your personal data

Candidate

We use the personal data we collect from you for a number of purposes:

Processing job applications, in partnership with our clients, on whose behalf we are instructed to help fill a job vacancy. This means that for a specific job, we may pass your details to the relevant client to proceed with the application. As a result, you may receive further direct information from them.

Searching for relevant candidates for confidential recruitment assignments where our client is not initially named.This means that if we believe that you are suitable for a specific role, we may pass your basic details on to the relevant client. If that client agrees that you might be suitable, we will contact you with a view to you agreeing to supply the client more detailed information about you. You might be interviewed for the role by one of our employees. 

If successful , you might be shortlisted for interview, and, at this point, we will pass further details to the client and you may receive further direct correspondence from them.

From time to time, we conduct mapping or research exercises on behalf of our clients. This is to enable the to understand a particular skill mix, this skill mix may include certain aspects of your personal data. 

You will not be contacted by any third party about this unless we first obtain your consent

For equality monitoring purposes, to understand the diversity of our applicant pool, but only if admissible under the applicable law.

Improving the service we offer. For example, you may be asked to complete one of our online satisfaction surveys.

For marketing purposes to send you information on our services, newsletters, events and so forth. Please note you may opt out of marketing materials at any time by writing tous.

We will only use your information in accordance with this Policy, or where we are required or authorised by law to disclose your information or, have your permission to do so.

Please be aware that we are not responsible for the data processing activities of others, such as our clients. 

Client

We will use client data to perform our services to you and other legitimate business purposes such as marketing. 

Source and Referee

We will use source and referee data to perform our services, in particular, to enable us to obtain your opinions on a candidate.

We may also use this information to enable us to market our services to you as a potential client.

The type of personal data we collect and process

In all cases, we collect and process personal data about you, including your name, address, telephone number and email address. 

Candidate

If you proceed with a job application, or should we consult you about a role, you may be required to submit additional personal data, date of birth, education and career history and curriculum vitae (CV), or resume. Your CV or resume may contain employment history or professional qualifications, memberships, details of papers written, references and referees, amongst other things.

Based on your explicit consent, we will also process any relevant psychometric assessments, psychological tests, or results from suitable tests.

From time to time, we may ask you to provide information relating to protected characteristics, such as your race or marital status. equal opportunity monitoring purposes and from time to time online, but only if that’s admissible under local law. This information will be anonymised and aggregated and will not be revealed to third parties without your specific consent.

We might also collect personal data from third-party databases and other public sources. 

Client

As well as basic contact information we will also collect information about your role and other information provided to us by your organisation.

Source and Referee

As well as basic contact information we will also collect information regarding your credentials as a source, details of your relations candidate and your opinions of that individual. We may obtain this information directly from you or publicly available information.

What we do

For certain roles, we may run an advertisement to which you may respond, either electronically or via mail. Other roles may involve researchers or employees calling you to discuss the details.

Then, we will either inform you verbally that we will process your personal information.

Besides filling particular leadership vacancies, we also process personal data when we conduct market intelligence exercises to map business sectors or functions to help clients understand the available talent.

Sensitive Data

From time to time, we will seek your consent to process personal data in respect of certain specific and limited purposes. 

We may process any sensitive personal data: racial or ethnic origin , political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership concerning health or sex life and sexual orientation, genetic and/or biometric data.

We encourage you not to provide us with sensitive information unless it is specifically requested, and we have your consent.

Your right to object and to have your data erased

You are not obliged to provide any personal data to us.However, please note that this may mean we will not be able to consider you for our services.

Remember, you may withdraw any consent you have previously given, at any time. Also, you have the right to ask us to stop processing data and to have it erased.

In the circumstances, we reserve the right to maintain basic personal data such as your name and address. This is to ensure your processed information is not used by us in the future.

Please note that no automated decisions, such as computerised candidate profiling, are made on the basis of the information we collect.

Newsletters and other communications

If you would like to receive one of our newsletters, we will ask you to provide us with your name, email address, job title, company, country of residence.

When you have indicated you would like to receive newsletter(s) from us, we may send email alerts and bulletins about our service that might interest you.

You can unsubscribe from our electronic marketing messages by following the “unsubscribe” instructions included on our website, and you may change your preferences and cease receiving direct marketing from us through by writing to us or emailing us.

From time to time, we may contact you with updates on our services, terms of business or simply to ensure that the data we hold is correct and up todate.

Satisfaction surveys

If you take part in a user satisfaction survey, we may ask you to provide us with personal data, including your name, email address, opinions.

Third parties

We may also provide information to third party service providers who process information on our behalf. This is to help run some of our business operations, including email distribution, IT services and customer services. As part of our agreements with them, these third parties are required to process such data securely and only in accordance with our instructions.

We may sometimes be required to disclose information about you to law enforcement bodies, agencies or third parties, under a legal court order. We will act responsibly and take account, where possible, of your interests when responding to these requests.

If you are concerned about these arrangements to disclose or share personal data with third parties, you should contact us and ask your personal data to be removed.

Keeping information secure

We invest significant resources to protect your personal data, from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We cannot however, be held responsible for unauthorised or unintended access that is beyond our reasonable control.

Information about others

If you provide us with information about other individuals, like details of a referee or personal contact, you must ensure they’ve agreed, and we would advise you to keep a record of their agreement and provide them with a copy of, or link to, this Privacy Policy.

Keeping your records

We keep your personal data for as long as required to provide our services, and in accordance with legal, tax and accounting requirements, and when your personal data is no longer required, we will ensure it is disposed of in a secure manner.

Where required by law, we will notify you if this has happened.

Access rights

You may have the right to request copies of your personal data held by us. If you think any of that data is inaccurate, you can also ask us to correct it. You may also have a right, in certain circumstances, to require us to stop processing your personal data. Also, you have the right to ask us to transfer your personal data to someone you nominate for your own purposes.

To get in touch with us about any of this, please email or write to us at the address below. Please note that we may request proof of your identity to respond to your requests within the time frame that applies.

About our websites

This Privacy Policy applies to our websites too, where we process personal data within and through this website at www.sosexecutivesearch.co.uk

The primary purpose of our websites is to provide you with information regarding the services provided by SOS Executive Search Limited and employees. You may use our site to view and apply for jobs.

We use the personal data we collect from you on our website for additional purposes such as personalising the look and feel of the personal preferences inferred from how you’ve used the site. (See the "Analytics" and "Cookies" sections for more information.)

Finally, we might also use your data, to help our clients understand who is making use of our website and how their job vacancies are progressing

Updating your account and preferences

If you register for any email marketing or to be kept informed, you have the right to change or cancel your preferences by writing or emailing us.

Analytics

We use analytics tools and cookies on this website to help deliver our online services, identify any service issues, improve our service tailored to users' personal preferences, and to monitor site traffic and usage.

These tools may be provided by third-party service providers and may include the collection and tracking of certain data and information such as the characteristics and activities of visitors to our website. We may disclose data, including personal data, to certain third-party service providers in order to obtain such services.

One of these providers is Google Analytics. More information about the ways in which they collect and process your personal datawww.google.com/policies/privacy/partners

You can opt-out of Google Analytics here: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Cookies

Cookies are small computer files which are downloaded onto your device when you browse the web. They collect information about how you navigate and use this website and the wider web. This information may allow us to identify you or your approximate location. 

We only collect "session" cookies, which are not usually stored after your browsing session has ended. These are used to establish location and to serve up the website in an appropriate language.

You may delete and block all cookies, or just certain types of cookies, via your browser settings. However, if you choose to block or may affect the functionality of the website.

Third party websites

ThisPolicyonlyappliestothiswebsite.Ifyoulandonoursitefromotherwebsitesormovetootheronesfromourwebsite,youshould read their separate privacypolicies.

Complaints procedure

If you have a complaint about how we have handled your personal data, contact us using the details below, and we will investigate Please use the same contact details to instruct us to cease processing your personal data.

Contacting us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or would like to exercise your rights with respect to your personal data, please email: [email protected]