Principal Executive Recruiter - Remote
Remote, Full-time (6-12 months contract or permanent unlimited)
Location: Europe, Office can be visited in Amsterdam, Barcelona or London
About pplwise
pplwise provides Sr. Recruiters to ambitious tech companies in Europe and the US.
We collaborate with publicly listed companies like Uber, Scout 24 and JustEatTakeaway, unicorns like E-Gym, Get Your Guide, and Taxfix, as well as numerous startups and scale-ups funded by top venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital, HV Capital, and Cherry Ventures.
Founded in 2021, pplwise operates in over 20 countries across Europe and the US with a team of more than 35 talented Talent Partners.
The client opportunity
We look for a Sr. Executive Recruiter that has a track record in sourcing, screening and managing high caliber candidates with salaries above EUR 300k per year.
Either full-time or for a 6-12 fixed term contract.
You support a +1.000 headcount high growth unicorn expanding with Director+ hiring.
Working on 3-5 roles in parallel, we have +20 Executive roles to fill over the next 6-12 months.
Principal Executive Recruiter (m/f/d)
As a Senior Recruiter at pplwise, you'll partner with our clients to tackle high-impact hiring challenges—often across senior business and G&A roles (e.g., Finance, Marketing, People, Strategy, Partnerships) where executive-level sourcing and outreach quality make the difference. Depending on the client setup, you'll either drive roles end-to-end or focus on sourcing and first-stage screening to build a strong, credible pipeline and hand over shortlisted candidates to internal stakeholders.
The Challenge
Support startups, scale-ups, and publicly listed growth companies autonomously and responsibly in achieving their recruitment goals—especially for senior business roles (Director to C-level).
Proactively and excellently manage stakeholders to fulfill our role as strategic partners, identifying constraints (e.g., unclear requirements, slow decision-making, pipeline quality) and solving them through communication and critical thinking.
Build and execute role-specific sourcing strategies and delivery forecasts, balancing quality and speed while planning backwards from hiring priorities.
Drive proactive executive search and outreach, crafting compelling narratives to engage high-caliber, typically passive candidates.
Own the candidate journey end-to-end (or in a sourcing + first-screen setup, depending on client needs), ensuring strong candidate experience and consistently high-quality shortlists.
Use recruiting systems and funnel metrics to generate insights (e.g., conversion rates, pipeline health) and recommend adjustments to strategy, messaging, or process.
Collaborate with the pplwise team by providing or receiving support for sourcing or delivery bottlenecks across multiple roles and functions.
Your Profile
You have proven experience as a Senior Executive Recruiter in fast-paced startups/scale-ups, ideally with exposure to senior business roles (e.g., Director/VP) across functions such as Finance, People, Marketing, Strategy, Partnerships, and other G&A areas.
You're confident in executive-style sourcing and headhunting—able to identify, engage, and attract hard-to-reach talent through targeted outreach and sharp storytelling.
You can run a high-quality front end of the process autonomously: role intake, sourcing strategy, first screens, shortlisting, and crisp handover to hiring managers with clear recommendations.
You make decisions based on data and facts, using funnel metrics and insights to improve pipeline quality and prioritization.
Stakeholder satisfaction is your #1 priority; you communicate clearly, set expectations early, and keep processes moving with a strong service mindset.
You are ambitious and collaborative, traits that are core to our culture. You demonstrate ambition by setting and pursuing challenging goals, and you show collaboration by actively participating in team problem-solving and supporting colleagues.
Excellent English skills for internal communication and international clients.
Fluent German skills.
What to Expect
A dynamic, challenging role supporting high-growth tech companies with senior hiring needs (often Director level up to C-level), across multiple functions beyond engineering.
Excellent development opportunities as a Senior Recruiter through high standards, strong ownership, and close collaboration with senior stakeholders in our client organizations.
Flexibility and autonomy, as we are a fully remote company.
A talented, ambitious, and collaborative team that proactively sets ambitious targets and works together to overcome challenges.
Intensive training sessions to help you sharpen your approach to pipeline building, sourcing strategy, and data-informed recruiting.
pplwise actively fosters a diverse and inclusive environment that supports the individuality of every candidate. We take affirmative action to ensure equal opportunities in your application process, regardless of nationality, ethnic or national origin, skin color, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Even if you don't meet all the requirements, we encourage you to apply 🚀
We look forward to your application!