Head of Executive Search, Business Recruiting

About the role

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.

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

Qualifications

• 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

Benefits and Growth

• 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

About Datadog

Datadog is the leading observability and security platform for the AI era, providing businesses with unified visibility across the technology stack to manage complexity at scale. It brings applications, infrastructure, data, models, and security into one place, using AI to detect and resolve issues before they impact customers. Trusted globally by Fortune 500 companies and high-growth AI leaders, Datadog enables businesses to move faster with clarity and confidence.

Equal Opportunity at Datadog

Datadog is proud to offer equal employment opportunity to everyone regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, and other characteristics protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.