Global Executive Search Senior Manager

JOB DETAILS

Position Job Title: Global Executive Search Manager

Line Manager’s Job Title: Global Talent Acquisition Director

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: Sant Cugat, Barcelona, fully on-site

JOB PURPOSE

The Global Executive Search Manager is responsible for defining and delivering the organisation’s global executive hiring strategy, ensuring the attraction, engagement, and appointment of high-impact senior leaders.

As part of establishing a more centralised and in-house Talent Acquisition model, this role will play a key part in building and embedding the organisation’s internal executive search capability.

Operating within the Global Talent Acquisition Centre of Excellence, the role partners closely with Executive Leadership, HR, and Regional TA teams to proactively identify and engage top executive talent. Acting as a trusted advisor, the role combines high-touch search execution with strategic insight to strengthen leadership capability and ensure the organisation is competitively positioned to attract diverse, high-calibre executive talent.

JOB DIMENSIONS & SCOPE

Owns and delivers global executive hiring (VP+ / critical roles)

Plays a key role in building internal executive search capability and approach

Works directly with Executive Committee, senior business leaders, and HR leadership

Acts as a core member of the Global TA Centre of Excellence

Leads proactive executive talent mapping and pipelining globally

Partners closely with Regional TA Heads and HRBPs

Defines approach to external search firm utilisation and governance

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

1. Executive Search Delivery

Lead end-to-end executive recruitment globally, from role definition through to offer and onboarding

Manage confidential, high-impact searches with professionalism, discretion, and strong stakeholder alignment

Partner with business leaders to define role requirements, success profiles, and tailored search strategies

Deliver a high-quality, high-touch candidate experience across all executive hiring processes

Support offer development, negotiation, and closing of senior candidates

2. Proactive Sourcing & Talent Engagement

Proactively source and engage senior talent through direct sourcing, networking, and market mapping

Build and maintain strong relationships with executive talent, industry networks, and professional communities

Develop and embed proactive executive sourcing methodologies as part of the internal search capability

Deliver innovative engagement strategies to attract and influence passive executive candidates

3. Strategic Talent Advisory

Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, providing insight on talent markets, competitor activity, and hiring strategies

Influence hiring decisions through data-driven insights and market intelligence

Partner with stakeholders to shape hiring strategies aligned to long-term business and transformation priorities

Champion inclusive executive hiring practices, ensuring diverse leadership pipelines

4. Executive Talent Pipelining

Build and maintain global executive talent pipelines aligned to critical roles and future succession needs

Conduct structured market mapping for key leadership positions across regions and functions

Establish scalable approaches to long-term executive talent engagement as part of building internal capability

5. External Search & Process Governance

Define and manage relationships with external executive search partners, ensuring quality, consistency, and value

Establish clear guidelines for when and how external firms are used, supporting a shift toward in-house delivery

Ensure effective use of ATS and talent systems for tracking, reporting, and compliance

Provide regular reporting and insights on search progress, market conditions, and hiring outcomes

6. Global TA Leadership Contribution

Contribute to the Global TA Leadership Team, shaping overall TA strategy and capability

Support the development of a best-in-class, globally aligned executive hiring model

Partner with Global Sourcing and Regional TA leaders to ensure consistent and scalable approaches

Share insights and best practices to continuously elevate executive hiring capability globally

MAJOR CHALLENGES & COMPLEXITIES

Building an effective in-house executive search capability within a newly centralised model

Managing highly confidential and business-critical hiring processes

Influencing and advising senior stakeholders in a global matrix environment

Engaging passive, high-demand executive talent in competitive markets

Balancing speed, quality, diversity, and stakeholder expectations

KEY INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS

Executive Committee and Senior Leadership

Global HR Leadership

Regional Heads of Talent Acquisition

HR Business Partners

KEY EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS

Executive talent networks and communities

External executive search firms

Industry associations and leadership forums

QUALIFICATIONS / REQUIREMENTS

Formal Qualifications and Experience

Significant experience in executive search (in-house or retained search firm, ideally both)

Proven track record delivering complex, senior-level global searches

Experience in building or evolving executive search capability or models is highly desirable

Experience operating in a multinational, matrix organisation

Strong understanding of global talent markets and executive hiring dynamics

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Specific Skills and Abilities

Strong proactive sourcing and talent engagement capability at executive level

Ability to build and embed new approaches and ways of working

Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills

Ability to act as a credible advisor to senior leadership

High levels of judgement, discretion, and professionalism

Data-driven mindset with ability to translate insights into hiring strategies