Director, Executive Recruiting

AutoNation • Fort Lauderdale, FL

9d • Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Executive Talent Acquisition & Advisory owns the strategy, design, and execution of AutoNation’s enterprise-wide executive recruitment lifecycle. The Director will build and lead an in-house executive search function and manage end-to-end recruiting for critical VP, SVP, EVP, and C-suite roles across corporate functions and business units. This is an onsite position at the company’s Fort Lauderdale corporate headquarters.

The role is a high-influence advisory position, partnering with the CEO, Executive Committee, Board of Directors, CHRO, Brand Presidents, and business unit leaders. It will optimize executive hiring, elevate the candidate experience, support succession planning, and reduce reliance on external search firms. The Director will develop market intelligence and diverse talent pipelines, oversee retained search vendors when needed, and align executive recruitment with long-term business strategy.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Human Resources, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of recruiting experience, including 5+ years conducting VP, SVP, and C-suite searches.
• Closed top-level executive searches per year, in-house or at a retained search firm.
• 3+ years managing recruiters, researchers, or search partners.
• Direct experience advising CEOs, CHROs, and senior leaders on search strategy, slate decisions, and final selection.
• Strong direct sourcing skills, including target-company mapping, passive-candidate outreach, and market research without relying on agencies.
• Experience structuring and negotiating executive offers, including base salary, bonus, equity, sign-on, and relocation.
• Experience conducting confidential searches, including replacement and succession hires.
• Working knowledge of Workday or a comparable ATS, plus LinkedIn Recruiter.

Nice To Haves

• Experience at a retained search firm followed by an in-house role; examples listed include Korn Ferry, Spencer Stuart, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds, and Egon Zehnder.
• Executive hiring experience in automotive retail, dealer groups, or multi-site retail operations, such as Market Presidents, regional VPs, and General Managers.
• Experience building or scaling an in-house executive search function with measurable reductions in retained search fees.
• Experience at a Fortune 500 or publicly traded company, including officer-level and board-facing searches.
• Track record measured by time to slate, offer acceptance rate, and 12-month executive retention.
• Experience using structured leadership assessments, such as Hogan, behavioral interview design, and executive references.
• Ownership of executive onboarding from offer acceptance through the first 90 days.
• Experience building diverse candidate slates without sacrificing speed or quality.
• Graduate degree strongly preferred, or equivalent relevant years of experience.

Responsibilities

• Design and scale an efficient in-house executive search model that improves senior leadership hiring quality and reduces enterprise search costs.
• Lead full-lifecycle recruitment for executive vacancies, from profile calibration and target-company mapping through compensation negotiation and onboarding.
• Advise the CEO, CHRO, Brand Presidents, and business unit leaders on talent profiles, expectations, and talent-market insights.
• Build and maintain proactive, diverse external talent pipelines for succession-planning roles, using industry trends and competitor talent maps to inform hiring strategies.
• Design and continuously refine a confidential, high-touch executive candidate experience that reflects the AutoNation brand.
• Manage and evaluate retained search-firm relationships, including standards, negotiated terms, and performance benchmarks for necessary external searches.
• Align executive sourcing with corporate strategy and maintain robust, diverse leadership succession pipelines.
• Manage recruiters, researchers, or search partners.
• Support executive onboarding from offer acceptance through the first 90 days, where applicable.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Wellness incentives.
• Retirement benefits and 401(k) matching.
• Paid vacation days, up to 15 days per year.
• Paid sick days.
• Paid personal leave, up to 5 days per year.
• Paid holidays, up to 13 days per year.
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
• Life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment coverage.
• Health Savings Account, Health Care Spending Account, and Dependent Care Spending Account.
• Maternity benefits.
• Associate purchase and discount programs for vehicles, services, parts, collision, accessories, and AutoGear.
• Discounts through YouDecide, a website offering deals from providers and retailers.
• Competitive compensation.
• Participation in the DRV PNK charitable mission.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director