Executive Search Consultant

Summary

Sikich is a provider of professional services across consulting, technology, and compliance. The Executive Search Consultant owns the full revenue cycle, including business development, client acquisition, talent sourcing, candidate assessment, search execution, offer negotiation, and placement closing. The role also provides talent advisory, manages an active recruiting desk, and contributes to team and firm objectives.

Responsibilities

• Generate new client business through consistent, disciplined outbound activity – cold and warm calling, targeted email and LinkedIn outreach, referrals and market mapping of hiring companies in your territory or vertical
• Identify hiring authorities (CFOs, CHROs, Controllers, VPs of Finance, Audit Directors, business owners) and secure meetings that lead to search assignments
• Conduct client intake and scoping meetings that go beyond the job description – uncover the real hiring drivers, team dynamics, compensation reality, decision-making process, and timeline
• Present and defend the Sikich search methodology, negotiate fee percentages and engagement terms, and secure signed fee agreements on retained, engaged, and contingent bases
• Expand existing accounts by earning repeat and multi-role assignments and building relationships beyond the original hiring manager
• Maintain an active, documented prospect pipeline and forecast new business with accuracy
• Build and execute a written search strategy for each assignment, including target company lists, title mapping, sourcing channels, and a realistic timeline communicated to the client
• Source passive talent directly through name generation, referral development, competitor mapping, professional associations, alumni networks, and LinkedIn Recruiter, rather than relying on inbound applicants or job board response
• Conduct structured, competency-based screening and assessment interviews that surface both qualifications and genuine gaps, motivations, compensation expectations, and risk of falling out of process
• Prepare written candidate presentations and executive summaries that give the client an honest picture of fit, including where a candidate does not meet the specification
• Manage the full interview process: scheduling, preparation of both parties, debriefs after every stage, and proactive follow-up so that momentum never stalls
• Conduct or coordinate reference checks, verify credentials, and prepare candidates and clients for a clean offer
• Negotiate offers, manage counteroffer risk, and close placements – then stay engaged through the start date and beyond to protect the placement and the relationship
• Deliver a shortlist within the timeframe committed to the client and communicate honestly and early when a search is not tracking to plan
• Serve as a credible talent advisor – counsel clients on realistic compensation, market availability, competing offers, interview process design, and where a specification needs to flex to be fillable
• Maintain current, specific knowledge of compensation ranges, hiring trends, and competitor activity within your vertical, and be able to support that view with data rather than anecdote
• Build and sustain a long-term candidate network, staying connected to strong professionals well before they are actively looking
• Represent Sikich professionally in the market with the discretion and confidentiality that executive-level search requires
• Own your desk as a business – plan your week, protect your outbound activity blocks, and manage competing priorities across active searches and business development without letting either slip
• Document all client, prospect, candidate, and search activity in the applicant tracking system accurately and in real time, so that the data supports forecasting and continuity
• Track and report on your own metrics: outbound activity, client meetings, new agreements signed, submittals, interviews, placements, average fee, and revenue against goal
• Participate in pipeline reviews and forecast meetings with a clear, defensible view of what will close and when
• Adhere to all firm policies, employment law requirements, client contract terms, and data privacy standards governing candidate information
• Collaborate with other team members on split placements and shared searches where it serves the client, without protecting information at the expense of the outcome
• Share market intelligence, sourcing techniques, and client feedback that strengthens the broader practice
• Support team members with their open requisitions
• Be a self-starter – able to drive productive business activity with minimal management involvement
• Support the Firm’s core Finance & Accounting business line through new order prospecting and candidate recruitment
• Achieve or exceed an annual revenue/gross profit target given
• Maintain consistent weekly business development activity at or above the practice standard
• Convert prospect meetings into signed fee agreements at a sustainable rate and maintain a live pipeline of active searches
• Deliver qualified shortlists within agreed upon business days of search kickoff
• Sustain a submittal-to-interview and interview-to-placement ratio in line with practice benchmarks
• Minimize and prevent fall-off and guarantee-period losses
• Keep ATS records complete and current, with accurate monthly and quarterly forecasting
• Actively participate in Team & Firm activities: virtual or onsite meetings, ordinary internal tasks, etc
• Maintain general availability during normal business hours unless otherwise agreed to by Management

Skills

• Full-desk experience. Minimum of 3 years running a full desk in executive search, direct hire, or professional/agency recruiting within accounting and finance – personally responsible for both business development and delivery
• Documented, repeatable production. A verifiable track record of year-over-year success, with the ability to speak specifically to annual billings or gross profit, placement volume, average fee, and growth trajectory across a minimum of three consecutive years. Candidates should be prepared to substantiate production during the interview process
• Self-generated business. Demonstrated history of building a client base from scratch, not inheriting one. Evidence of self-sourced clients, negotiated fee agreements, and repeat assignments earned through performance
• Direct sourcing capability. Proven ability to identify and engage passive candidates who are not on the market, using name generation, mapping, referrals, and professional networks rather than job board response
• Fee negotiation and closing. Comfort discussing fee structures, defending a rate, negotiating offers, and managing counteroffers to a signed acceptance
• Professional-level markets. Experience recruiting professional, management, or executive-level roles – ideally in finance, accounting, audit, tax, technology, HR, or business operations
• Communication and executive presence. Ability to hold a credible, consultative conversation with a CFO or C-suite hiring executive, and to write clear, professional client-facing documents
• Systems discipline. Working proficiency with an applicant tracking system or CRM, LinkedIn Recruiter, and standard Microsoft Office tools, with genuine discipline about documentation, not just familiarity
• Resilience and self-direction. Demonstrated ability to sustain high-volume outbound activity, absorb rejection, and manage your own schedule and priorities without daily direction
• Education. Bachelor's degree, or equivalent professional experience and demonstrated results
• Search experience within finance and accounting, internal audit, tax, or technology functions
• Experience with retained or engaged search methodology, including written search strategies, structured candidate presentations, and formal client reporting
• Background recruiting into public companies, private equity portfolio companies, or highly regulated industries
• Established professional network in the target market, subject to any applicable restrictive covenants
• Industry certification such as CPC, CERS, or equivalent

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Full-desk experience. Minimum of 3 years running a full desk in executive search, direct hire, or professional/agency recruiting within accounting and finance – personally responsible for both business development and delivery
• Documented, repeatable production. A verifiable track record of year-over-year success, with the ability to speak specifically to annual billings or gross profit, placement volume, average fee, and growth trajectory across a minimum of three consecutive years. Candidates should be prepared to substantiate production during the interview process
• Self-generated business. Demonstrated history of building a client base from scratch, not inheriting one. Evidence of self-sourced clients, negotiated fee agreements, and repeat assignments earned through performance
• Direct sourcing capability. Proven ability to identify and engage passive candidates who are not on the market, using name generation, mapping, referrals, and professional networks rather than job board response
• Fee negotiation and closing. Comfort discussing fee structures, defending a rate, negotiating offers, and managing counteroffers to a signed acceptance
• Professional-level markets. Experience recruiting professional, management, or executive-level roles – ideally in finance, accounting, audit, tax, technology, HR, or business operations
• Communication and executive presence. Ability to hold a credible, consultative conversation with a CFO or C-suite hiring executive, and to write clear, professional client-facing documents
• Systems discipline. Working proficiency with an applicant tracking system or CRM, LinkedIn Recruiter, and standard Microsoft Office tools, with genuine discipline about documentation, not just familiarity
• Resilience and self-direction. Demonstrated ability to sustain high-volume outbound activity, absorb rejection, and manage your own schedule and priorities without daily direction
• Education. Bachelor's degree, or equivalent professional experience and demonstrated results

Nice to Haves

• Search experience within finance and accounting, internal audit, tax, or technology functions
• Experience with retained or engaged search methodology, including written search strategies, structured candidate presentations, and formal client reporting
• Background recruiting into public companies, private equity portfolio companies, or highly regulated industries
• Established professional network in the target market, subject to any applicable restrictive covenants
• Industry certification such as CPC, CERS, or equivalent

Benefits

• Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy for every full-time employee, including paid personal time, mental/physical health care, vacation, and sick leave; activated on the first day with the organization.
• Paid holidays during the year and potential time off during the last week of the calendar year when client and project work permits.
• Comprehensive wellness program, with eligibility to obtain gift cards and other rewards through tracked activities.
• Flexible work arrangements.
• Health, dental, vision, life, and accident/death/disability insurance options.
• HSA employer contribution.
• Nine (9) paid holidays annually.
• Paid Parental Bonding Leave covering birth, adoption, and foster children.
• 401(k) with employer contributions.
• CPA bonus with four (4) paid exam days and four (4) paid study days.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Generous employee referral bonus program.
• Client referral bonus program.
• Pet insurance.
• FORCE – Sikich community volunteer program enabling each team member to use up to four hours of paid time annually to volunteer in their local communities.