Business Head - Executive Search

Description:

About Peepal Consulting:

Peepal Consulting is a strategic talent consulting and hiring partner with a 20-year legacy built on trust, judgement, and long-term client relationships.

We work closely with leadership teams, boards, and founders to solve complex talent challenges across leadership hiring, organisation design, and critical growth roles.

As part of our 2026 expansion strategy, Executive Search is a core focus area - positioned not as transactional hiring, but as a high-trust, high-impact advisory business.

Role Snapshot:

- We are looking for a Business Head - Executive Search to scale Peepals executive search business by -building deep, trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and consistently converting them into long-term search partnerships.

- This is a senior commercial role with clear revenue ownership.

- You will be responsible for driving new executive search mandates, expanding existing relationships, and strengthening Peepals positioning as a trusted advisor for leadership hiring.

- This role reports directly to the COO and is ideal for someone who understands that executive search is sold through credibility, judgement, and long-term relationships, not volume or speed alone.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Executive Search Revenue Ownership:

- Own the revenue growth charter for Peepals Executive Search business.

- Drive acquisition of retained and exclusive executive search mandates.

- Build a strong pipeline of leadership hiring opportunities across priority industries and role types.

- Bring predictability and discipline to a business that naturally operates on longer sales cycles.

Senior Stakeholder & Relationship Building:

Build and nurture long-term relationships with:

A. Founders

B. CEOs

C. Board members

D. CHROs

E. Business heads

- Position Peepal as a trusted advisor, not a vendor.

- Convert advisory conversations into executive search engagements through credibility and insight.

Go-To-Market & Positioning for Executive Search:

- Define and sharpen Peepals executive search positioning across industries, role types, and client segments.

- Identify priority segments for leadership hiring (e.g. scale-ups, enterprises, transformation-driven organisations).

- Shape how Peepal presents its executive search capability in the market - discreet, credible, and insight-led.

- Partner with marketing and leadership teams to amplify thought leadership relevant to CXOs and boards.

Mandate Structuring & Commercial Discipline:

Lead discussions on:

a. Search scope

b. Retainer structures

c. Fee models

d. Timelines and success criteria

- Ensure all mandates are commercially sound, clearly scoped, and aligned with delivery realities.

- Protect the quality and integrity of the executive search business by avoiding misaligned or low-trust engagements.

Delivery Alignment & Client Governance:

Work closely with executive search delivery leaders to ensure:

a. Clear intake and briefing

b. Realistic expectations

c. Strong candidate and client experience

d. Act as the primary escalation point for senior clients from a business standpoint.

- Maintain continuity and trust across long-running or sensitive searches.

Portfolio Growth & Account Expansion:

- Deepen existing client relationships beyond single mandates.

Identify opportunities for:

a. Repeat leadership hiring

b. Succession planning conversations

c. Broader advisory engagement

- Build Peepals executive search business as a portfolio of long-term accounts, not isolated deals.

Process, Reporting & Scale Readiness:

- Bring structure to executive search BD without compromising discretion.

- Maintain disciplined pipeline visibility and forecasting.

- Partner with the COO to prepare the executive search business for the next phase of scale.

Who We Are Looking For:

Experience & Background:

- 8-15 years of experience in Executive Search, Leadership Hiring, or Senior Talent Advisory, with a strong business development or client ownership focus.

- Proven track record of originating and closing executive search mandates.

- Experience selling retained or exclusive searches is strongly preferred.

- Strong network among founders, CEOs, board members, and senior HR leaders.

Skills & Mindset:

- High commercial judgement and credibility in senior rooms.

- Comfortable engaging with ambiguity, sensitive conversations, and high-stakes decisions.

- Long-term relationship builder with patience for longer sales cycles.

- Structured thinker who can bring discipline without forcing volume-led behaviour