Head of Global Executive Recruitment

Yum!•Plano, TX

5d•$142,500 - $167,600•Hybrid

About The Position

The Head of Global Executive Recruitment is the senior functional leader responsible for building and leading Yum! Brands’ global Executive Search capability. The role combines hands-on executive search expertise with enterprise-level leadership. The successful candidate will personally lead the company’s most critical and sensitive executive searches across U.S. and international markets while establishing the global strategy, operating model, standards, governance, and capabilities needed to deliver high-quality executive talent outcomes at scale. The position serves as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, including the Executive Team, CPOs, Functional Leaders, and Regional GMs. It partners with Talent Management, Succession, Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, and People & Culture to connect external executive talent with broader enterprise priorities. The role will build and lead a small, high-performing internal Executive Search team, progressively increasing internal delivery capacity while strategically optimizing the use of external search firms. The role requires attendance at the Plano, Texas office three days per week, Tuesday through Thursday. The expected salary range is $142,500–$167,600, with bonus eligibility. Final pay will take into account the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.

Requirements

10 or more years of progressive executive-search or senior Talent Acquisition experience, with significant depth in VP and C-suite searches.
Experience operating effectively at the highest levels of a highly matrixed, global organization.
Demonstrated experience personally leading complex executive searches across multiple functions and geographies.
Significant experience partnering directly with an organization’s most senior executives and influencing executive talent and hiring decisions.
Experience building or materially transforming an internal Executive Search capability, ideally within a complex global organization.
Experience leading and developing a team of Executive Search professionals.
Expertise in executive sourcing, market mapping, talent intelligence, assessment, and candidate engagement.
Strong experience managing Executive Search firms, commercial relationships, and supplier strategy.
Strong understanding of executive compensation, mobility, and offer dynamics, and ability to partner effectively with Total Rewards on complex executive hiring situations.
Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships across Talent Management, Total Rewards, Succession, Talent Acquisition, and broader People & Culture.

Responsibilities

Own and evolve Yum! Brands’ global Executive Search strategy, operating model, and roadmap across U.S. and international markets.
Establish global standards, methodologies, governance, and decision rights for executive search.
Advise senior stakeholders on whether searches should be conducted internally, through external firms, or using a hybrid model.
Establish a consistent approach to executive intake, market mapping, assessment, candidate management, stakeholder engagement, and closing.
Own and strengthen the executive assessment methodology, ensuring rigorous, consistent, evidence-based evaluation of leadership capability, experience, and potential.
Evolve the Executive Search model based on business strategy, market conditions, stakeholder feedback, data, and search outcomes.
Personally lead the company’s highest-priority, most complex, and sensitive executive searches across brands, functions, and geographies.
Serve as a senior search advisor and strategic partner to executives hiring for critical appointments.
Translate business strategy into search mandates, leadership profiles, and differentiated market strategies.
Provide external market intelligence, talent calibration, and evidence-based perspectives to executive hiring decisions.
Maintain a high-quality, discreet candidate and stakeholder experience and rigorous standards for confidentiality, assessment, candidate quality, and search execution.
Advise senior leaders on role design, leadership requirements, market feasibility, talent availability, succession implications, assessment, search strategy, and external talent trends.
Build credibility and influence with senior leaders, including Y9 leaders, and coach them on executive hiring, assessment, decision-making, and candidate engagement.
Build trusted, collaborative relationships with the executive assistant community to support discreet and seamless coordination.
Partner with Talent Management and Succession, providing external talent intelligence for succession planning, leadership pipelines, and enterprise talent discussions.
Build relationships with priority external executive talent beyond immediate hiring needs and identify recurring capability gaps and emerging leadership talent.
Influence Talent Acquisition and Talent teams on executive-search methodology, assessment, and white-glove practices that can strengthen other senior hiring populations.
Build, lead, and develop a small global Executive Search team, initially consisting of the role holder and two supporting resources.
Allocate search capacity across U.S. and international priorities according to business need, complexity, and risk.
Establish team roles, operating rhythms, quality standards, and performance expectations; coach practitioners and build scalable capability and succession depth.
Own the strategy for external executive-search firms, including preferred suppliers, selection, search allocation, commercial terms, performance management, and governance.
Set criteria for external-firm engagement, hold partners accountable for value and outcomes, and lead supplier negotiations and commercial optimization.
Increase internal search delivery where it improves quality, speed, control, and economics, and report on external spend, internalization, avoided fees, and return on the model.
Deliver sustainable economic value through progressive internalization and optimization of executive search.
Build global executive talent intelligence covering priority functions, geographies, competitors, and leadership capabilities.
Develop proactive external succession maps and talent pipelines for strategically important leadership populations.
Translate market intelligence into actionable insight for senior leaders and Talent Management and Succession, including talent availability, competitor moves, leadership profiles, organizational structures, and compensation dynamics.
Establish Executive Search KPIs and reporting for quality of hire, executive retention, speed, stakeholder confidence, candidate experience, and economic value.
Create governance for search intake, prioritization, assessment, documentation, and decision-making.
Maintain confidentiality, data integrity, compliance, and process discipline.
Champion effective use of technology, AI, talent intelligence, and assessment tools to improve search quality, market insight, productivity, and decision-making.
Use data and stakeholder insight to improve search effectiveness, candidate quality, and operating efficiency, ensuring practices align with global employment requirements, Yum! policies, and governance standards.

Benefits

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Legal insurance
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance
Flexible spending account or health savings account, depending on enrolled medical plan
Short-term disability insurance
Long-term disability insurance
Life insurance
401(k) plan
Four weeks of vacation
Paid sick leave
Ten paid holidays
A floating day off
Two paid volunteer days per calendar year
Bonus eligibility