Head of Executive Search, Business Recruiting

The shape of it

In the posting’s own words

We are seeking a Head of Executive Search to build and lead a centralized, specialized function responsible for global leadership hiring across sales, marketing, technical solutions, and G&A. This role will bring consistency, rigor, and strategic ownership to Senior Director, VP, and SVP hiring while partnering closely with executive stakeholders to deliver high-impact talent outcomes. You will elevate assessment and decision-making practices, develop proactive executive talent pipelines, and generate market intelligence that informs hiring and organizational strategy. This is a high-visibility opportunity to shape how Datadog attracts, evaluates, and hires senior leadership globally, with potential to expand scope to Director+ and executive-level searches over time.

What it asks for · 6

• Experienced executive search leader with a track record of delivering Senior Director+ hires in complex, global organizations
• Skilled at building and scaling teams, with the ability to set clear standards and drive consistent execution
• Trusted partner to senior executives, with strong communication skills and the ability to influence and navigate complex decision-making
• Adept at executive assessment, market mapping, and proactive pipeline development
• Data-driven in approach, using metrics and insights to improve hiring outcomes and inform strategy
• High integrity operator with experience managing confidential and sensitive searches

What the job covers

• Own end-to-end strategy and execution for Senior Director, VP, and SVP searches, with dotted line to APAC
• Recruit highly confidential searches end to end, taking on execution responsibilities when needed
• Build and lead a specialized executive search team, including defining operating rhythms and performance expectations
• Establish and operationalize a standardized leadership hiring playbook, including executive assessment frameworks, confidentiality protocols, and stakeholder governance
• Partner directly with C-suite, VP, and SVP stakeholders to drive alignment, calibration, and high-quality hiring decisions
• Develop proactive, long-term pipelines for critical leadership roles while producing market intelligence to inform talent and organizational strategy
• Define and execute an agency engagement and executive candidate closing strategy to reduce external spend and deliver a high-touch candidate experience

Tools and skills named

Words the posting leans on

• executive9×
• senior5×
• strategy5×
• leadership4×
• searches4×
• build3×
• execution3×
• executive search3×
• inform3×
• pipelines3×
• stakeholders3×
• svp3×
• talent3×
• bring2×
• complex2×
• confidential2×

Counted from the posting after the mission statement and the legal notices are set aside. The ones near the top are the ones a screener is looking for.

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