Global Executive Search Senior Manager
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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