Members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) board are to act as headhunters after its three-month search for a new chief executive ended unsuccessfully.

The trade association had advertised the position in The Sunday Times at the beginning of September last year and are now unsure when a replacement will come on board.

Director of external relations, Tom Hadley, told Recruiter: "We will probably not re-advertise the position and we won't be using an external headhunter. The board members will invest their own time and carry out a search.

"We do not want to make a rash decision and no formal time scale has been set."

Hadley says the challenge is to get someone who can handle the high profile role and also run what is a big business. "We have to get the balance right between getting a good person in but not breaking the bank because it's not our money.

"We had quite a lot of applicants, and interviewed more than 20 people, but just not the right one. We had applicants from varying backgrounds. Some people were from a recruitment background, some from trade associations and some were currently in high profile roles."

Current acting chief executive Helen Reynolds, who applied for the chief executive role, will act as deputy to the new leader. Reynolds, who is in the process of formalising her new role with the Board, said: "The position is at an operational level. I will be assisting the management team and supporting the new chief executive. It is all about having a stable ship so we can continue to provide support to our members and champion the recruitment industry."

Reynolds has been acting chief executive since last April.

The REC also announced that Gary Irvine, managing director of Diamond Recruitment, is to step down as chairman of the board and will leave the board completely to focus on his business commitments. Irvine has been involved with the REC for 12 years and has been chairman for the past two years. Angela Masters will take over the role.