Iceland’s labour market is small and tightly connected, so many senior and specialist roles are filled through recruitment consultancies rather than open advertising. A handful of firms with roots in the old Hagvangur and Gallup, later Capacent, recruitment teams still handle much of the country’s management, specialist and public sector hiring, and their consultants often sit on qualification committees for government posts. Alongside them sit staffing firms that place foreign workers and interim platforms that supply freelance specialists.
For employers the choice depends on the role. Executive search for a chief executive or board member needs discretion and a deep network, public sector hiring follows formal rules, and volume hiring for tourism or construction often relies on workers from elsewhere in the EEA. This list covers recruitment agencies in Iceland that do each of these well, from Reykjavík consultancies to firms based in Kópavogur, Akureyri and Selfoss.
For this list we checked each company on its own website for an Iceland office address, recruitment as a core service and named client work. No company paid to be included, and the order reflects our judgement of strength and fit. For more Iceland lists and guides, visit our Iceland hub.
1. Hagvangur — Recruitment And HR Consulting With 50 Years In The Market
Hagvangur is a recruitment and consulting firm at Skógarhlíð 12, 105 Reykjavík. It says it has more than 50 years of experience in the Icelandic labour market and a broad network across industries.
The firm offers recruitment, consulting, job search support and a general application database for candidates. Its profile on Alfreð describes eight specialists in recruitment and in management and HR consulting, who have served hundreds of clients with recruitment, consulting and personality and skills assessments. Hagvangur started with management and specialist hiring and later expanded to full recruitment across all industries. Current openings on its site include roles for data centre operator atNorth, Korda and the municipality of Vopnafjarðarhreppur.
Hagvangur suits employers hiring specialists and managers who want an experienced firm with assessment tools and national reach.
2. Vinnvinn — Executive Search And Board Placement From Senior Consultants
Vinnvinn ehf. is based at Kringlan 7, 103 Reykjavík and says it has connected people and companies for over 20 years. Managing director and owner Jensína Kristín Böðvarsdóttir helped build the recruitment service at Gallup, later Capacent, where owners Auður Bjarnadóttir and Hilmar Garðar Hjaltason also worked for years.
Services include recruitment of managers and specialists, executive search, public sector recruitment, front line and office staff, and board placement, with screening and assessment of skills and personality. Auður has served on government qualification committees, and consultant Unnur Ýr Konráðsdóttir previously recruited for CCP Games. Current openings include roles for Atlantsolía and the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute.
Vinnvinn suits boards and owners filling chief executive, director and board seats where discretion and senior judgement matter most.
3. Intellecta — Recruitment, Consulting And Research Since 2000
Intellecta was founded in 2000 and works from Höfðabakki 9A, 110 Reykjavík. It describes itself as an independent knowledge company working in three areas: consulting, recruitment and research.
Recruitment covers executives and specialists, public sector roles, office and service positions and IT roles. Intellecta also advises on job descriptions and employment contracts and administers personality tests. Consultants named on its site include Einar Þór Bjarnason and Thelma Kristín Kvaran. Its jobs page lists searches for VélRás, Vélanaust, the municipality of Rangárþing eystra and Rennsli ehf.
Intellecta suits municipalities, public bodies and companies that want recruitment combined with HR consulting and research in one firm.
4. Capacent — Recruitment Alongside Management And IT Consulting
Capacent is an Icelandic consultancy at Laugavegur 182, 105 Reykjavík. Recruitment and HR consulting is one of its four service areas, alongside operational consulting, IT consulting and mergers and acquisitions support.
The firm says it has years of experience in recruitment and HR consulting, keeps a list of open positions for candidates, and stresses confidentiality and a professional process. Its operational consulting covers audits, budgeting, valuations and financing advice, and its IT team helps select and implement ERP and business intelligence systems.
Capacent suits companies that are restructuring or implementing new systems and want hiring advice from the same consultancy.
5. Brú Talent — Executive Search Firm That Absorbed Geko
Brú Talent describes itself as an executive search, recruitment and consulting firm based in Reykjavík, with an address at Aðalstræti 12, 101 Reykjavík. The tech recruitment agency Geko is now part of Brú Talent, according to Geko’s own website.
Geko built its name as a specialist recruiter for technology and innovation talent, so the combined firm brings that network to executive search. Brú Talent runs a jobs board and a candidate sign up on its site.
Brú Talent suits technology companies and scale ups hiring engineers, product people and leaders, as well as firms looking for executive search with a younger network.
6. Ráðum — Recruitment And HR Consulting With SHL Testing
Ráðum is a recruitment agency at Urðarhvarf 6, 203 Kópavogur, specialising in recruitment and HR consulting.
It keeps a candidate database, offers SHL testing, and says clients often ask it to find staff at short notice or without advertising the role publicly. That makes it useful for confidential replacements or urgent hires where a public advertisement would cause problems.
Ráðum suits mid sized employers that need a quick, discreet search for professional, finance, HR or operations roles.
7. Elja — Recruitment, Payroll And Staffing For Icelandic And Foreign Workers
Elja is a staffing and HR services firm on the 17th floor of Turninn, Smáratorg 3, 201 Kópavogur. It describes itself as a modern recruitment and consulting firm that manages hiring from start to finish.
Its four services are job search for candidates, recruitment, payroll and staff services. The site has English pages on living and working in Iceland and a Lithuanian language page, reflecting its work with candidates from outside Iceland.
Elja suits employers in tourism, hospitality and other sectors that need to hire and pay staff from elsewhere in the EEA and want payroll handled by the same provider.
8. Hoobla — Interim Specialists And Part Time Managers On Demand
Hoobla is based at Grandagarður 16, 101 Reykjavík and connects companies with freelance specialists, managers and consultants for temporary projects and part time roles. It says it has access to over 650 freelancers.
Companies post a project, receive proposals and pick the specialist. Typical roles include project managers, finance specialists, HR managers, quality managers, digital marketers, developers, designers and bookkeepers. Testimonials on its site come from Icelandair, BYKO, Hopp Reykjavík, Reykjavíkurborg, Fjarðabyggð, the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute and others.
Hoobla suits companies that need senior help for weeks or months, such as an interim CFO or HR lead, without a permanent hire.
9. Mögnum — Recruitment And Coaching For North And South Iceland
Mögnum works from Akureyri (600) and Selfoss (800), which makes it one of the few recruitment firms based outside the capital area.
Its recruitment service runs from the job description to the hire, and it also offers consulting, workshops and training, and coaching. Testimonials on its site come from Eimur, the lifelong learning centre SÍMEY, the municipality of Norðurþing and Akureyri Hospital (SAK).
Mögnum suits municipalities, hospitals and companies in North and South Iceland that want a recruiter who knows the regional labour market.
10. Góð samskipti — Executive Search Targeting The Top 10%
Góð samskipti is based at Týsgata 3, 101 Reykjavík. Founder Andrés Jónsson and managing director Diljá Ragnarsdóttir both work as executive advisors.
Alongside its communications practice, the firm specialises in executive search and says it targets the top 10% in each field. It promises first ideas within one week and a shortlist within two. It also runs closed leadership training and one to one coaching, which can support a new hire’s first months.
Góð samskipti suits boards and owners hiring a chief executive or senior leader quickly, especially where the role has a public profile.
How To Choose A Recruitment Agency In Iceland
Should You Use A Search Firm Or Advertise?
Advertising on job boards such as Alfreð reaches active candidates, but many experienced people in Iceland are not actively looking. Search firms such as Vinnvinn, Brú Talent and Góð samskipti approach passive candidates directly. For confidential or urgent roles, Ráðum and Hagvangur can search without a public advert.
Do Candidates Need To Speak Icelandic?
It depends on the role. Customer facing, public sector and many management roles require Icelandic, while tech companies, data centres and international firms often work in English. Tell the agency early, because the language requirement changes the size of the candidate pool dramatically in a labour market this small.
Can An Agency Help Hire From Abroad?
EEA citizens can work in Iceland without a work permit, which is why staffing firms such as Elja recruit from countries such as Lithuania. Hiring from outside the EEA requires a work permit through the Directorate of Labour and the Directorate of Immigration, so ask whether the agency has handled permit cases before.
How Does GDPR Affect Recruitment?
Iceland applies GDPR through the EEA Agreement, so candidate CVs, test results and references are personal data. Ask how long the agency keeps candidate data, how references are collected, and whether personality tests are stored securely.
How Do Recruitment Fees Work?
Most firms charge the employer, either a fixed fee per search or a percentage of first year salary in ISK, often split between a retainer and a fee on placement. Candidates normally pay nothing. Ask what happens if a hire leaves within the guarantee period and whether advertising costs are included.
Conclusion
Recruitment in Iceland is relationship driven. Hagvangur, Vinnvinn and Intellecta bring decades of specialist and public sector hiring, Capacent and Brú Talent add consulting and tech networks, and Ráðum, Elja, Hoobla, Mögnum and Góð samskipti cover confidential searches, foreign workers, interim talent, regional hiring and executive search.
Define the role, the language requirement and the timeline before you brief an agency, then ask to meet the consultant who will run the search and see how they will reach candidates who are not on the job boards.
