Head of Leadership Search, Business Recruiting
About The Position
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. At Datadog, we place value in our office culture - the relationships and collaboration it builds and the creativity it brings to the table. We operate as a hybrid workplace to ensure our Datadogs can create a work-life harmony that best fits them.
Requirements
- 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
- Passionate about technology and want to grow your skills
Responsibilities
- 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
Benefits
- Opportunity to build and scale a global executive search function from the ground up
- High visibility role partnering with executive leadership on critical hiring decisions
- Ability to shape leadership hiring strategy and influence organizational growth
- Professional development through complex, high-impact search engagements
- Collaborative, cross-functional work environment
- Exposure to global markets and leadership talent ecosystems
- healthcare
- dental
- parental planning
- mental health benefits
- a 401(k) plan and match
- paid time off
- fitness reimbursements
- a discounted employee stock purchase plan
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
