Head of Executive Search

Remote or hybrid | Circa £70,000–£80,000 + bespoke commission

I’m working with an established specialist recruitment business that is launching a dedicated executive search division. They’re already winning senior assignments against recognised search firms, but they now want someone who actually knows how to build and deliver a proper executive search offering.

You won’t be walking into a finished desk and being told to follow someone else’s formula. You’ll have the freedom to shape the proposition, methodology, commercial model and future team.

What will you be doing?

Building and leading a new executive search division

Creating the full search methodology and client journey

Winning and delivering retained Director, VP and C-suite assignments in the pharmaceutical sector

Developing relationships with senior leaders and private equity firms

Leading pitches, briefings and board-level conversations

Establishing commercial terms and service standards

Recruiting and managing research support as the division grows

Who are they looking for?

Someone senior enough to know what excellent executive search looks like - and commercial enough to win the work as well as deliver on it (you can bring in a researcher to assist you with this).

You’ll ideally have:

A strong track record in retained executive search in the pharma industry.

Experience dealing with board and C-suite stakeholders

The ability to win senior-level assignments

A proper understanding of research, mapping and candidate assessment

An entrepreneurial mindset

Experience within pharma, life sciences or private equity - or a genuinely transferable network

What’s on offer?

A basic salary likely to be around £70,000–£80,000

Flexibility for someone operating at Partner or Principal level

A bespoke commission structure

Remote or hybrid (HP1) working

The freedom to build the division properly

Existing senior-level client demand

Support from an established delivery and client services team

The opportunity to build and lead your own team

Potential access to a planned employee share scheme

If you’re doing executive search successfully but would quite like to build something of your own - without having to start completely on your own - this is well worth a conversation.