Executive Recruitment Partner - Shape the future of Fortrea Leadership

Fortrea•Durham, CA

About The Position

The executives we hire today will define our strategy, shape our culture, drive innovation, and influence outcomes for thousands of employees, customers, and patients around the world. We're seeking an accomplished Executive Recruiter to lead the identification, assessment, and acquisition of exceptional leadership talent across our global organization. This is a high-visibility role operating at the heart of strategic decision-making, partnering directly with C-suite leaders, Executive Committee members, HR executives, and external advisors to deliver world-class executive hiring outcomes. If you thrive in complex environments, enjoy influencing senior stakeholders, and possess the confidence and credibility to engage at the highest levels of an organization, we'd like to hear from you. Every search represents a strategic business decision that can influence company performance, leadership culture, shareholder value, and organizational success for years to come. As Fortrea's Executive Recruitment Partner, you will lead the search and selection of senior leaders across our global enterprise, building trusted relationships with executives while navigating complex talent acquisition. You will sit at the intersection of internal talent activation, external search, business strategy, compensation, and executive decision-making.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (or country equivalent). Fortrea may consider relevant and equivalent experience and successful project outcomes in lieu of educational requirements.
Deep knowledge of executive search practices, executive hiring governance, and senior‑level assessment methodologies.
Strong understanding of legal frameworks related to executive employment, including restrictive covenants, non‑competes, notice periods, and confidentiality obligations.
Demonstrated ability to coach senior leaders and candidates through complex, high‑risk hiring scenarios.
Excellent negotiation, influencing, and stakeholder management skills at executive level.
Proven ability to manage confidential, sensitive, and high‑impact work with sound judgement and discretion.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage credibly at Board and Executive Committee level.
High levels of commercial acumen, pragmatism, and adaptability.
Significant experience (typically 8+ years) in executive search, either within a retained search firm and/or an in‑house executive recruitment function.
Demonstrated track record delivering successful C‑suite and senior executive hires across complex organizations.
Experience managing executive search firm partnerships and external vendors.
Exposure to executive compensation structures and offer design is strongly preferred.
Experience operating in a global or highly regulated environment is an advantage.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting executive hiring in life sciences, healthcare, professional services, or similarly complex industries.
Exposure to succession planning, leadership assessment, or executive development discussions.
Familiarity with global executive hiring considerations across multiple geographies

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end executive searches for C-suite and senior leadership roles.
Partner with senior executives and HR leaders as a trusted talent advisor.
Develop executive search strategies, talent maps, and leadership pipelines.
Assess executive talent against leadership, culture, and succession criteria.
Navigate complex hiring matters, including non-competes, notice periods, and restrictive covenants.
Structure and negotiate executive compensation, incentives, equity, and sign-on packages.
Deliver market intelligence and competitive insights to inform hiring decisions.
Manage retained search firms and external executive search partners.
Uphold the highest standards of confidentiality, judgment, and professionalism.
Enhance executive recruiting processes, governance, and candidate experience.
Support critical senior hiring needs across the organization as business priorities evolve.
Mentor and develop future executive search talent and best practices.