Executive Search Associate

Heidrick & Struggles; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Heidrick & Struggles in Helsinki seeks an Associate in Executive Search to support research, candidate development, and client relationship activities across international assignments. You will learn hands-on and work with our Search Partners to advance searches from strategy to placement.

The role emphasizes strong English communication, ongoing professional development, and exposure to diverse industries within a global firm.

Qualifications

• Fluent in English with excellent communication skills.
• 2-4 years’ professional experience or equivalent recruiting experience.
• BA/BS degree required.
• Strong writing, articulation, and confidence in delivering information.

Responsibilities

• Conduct industry and client research to map leadership talent.
• Support Consultants in developing position specifications and search strategies.
• Assist in preparing candidate assessments and client materials.

Skills

Fluent English

2-4 years recruiting experience

Strong written & verbal communication

Collaborative with clients and teams

Professional communications

Education

BA/BS degree

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Who We Are

Heidrick & Struggles is a premier provider of executive search, leadership assessment and development, organization and team effectiveness, and culture shaping services globally. In our more than 60 year history, we have conducted some of the most high-profile C‑suite and board‑level searches in the world.

Today, we are working with our clients across 29 countries to help them accelerate their performance and respond with agility to new opportunities and challenges in every industry. We continue to raise the bar in serving our clients as trusted leadership advisors, and we are also providing an expanded range of data‑driven, tech‑enabled tools and platforms across our executive search and consulting businesses.

Managing top talent isn’t just our business. It’s our passion, and we are committed to investing in and developing the careers of our own people.

We look for people with experience from a variety of industries and diverse educational backgrounds who are passionate about partnering with innovative and influential organizations and share our commitment to our purpose – to help our clients change the world, one leadership team at a time.

Additional information on the firm can be found at www.heidrick.com.

What We Do

Executive Search Associates play a critical role in the execution of all facets of the executive recruiting lifecycle, from candidate identification to placement. Working closely with our expert Search Partners & Principals (Consultants) and connecting with team members across all levels of the Search team, Associates learn through hands‑on experience, and receive world‑class training and mentorship in an apprenticeship‑like model. Our Associates assist Consultants in all aspects of the recruitment process from developing the search strategy to managing its execution and also support business development activities. The search process includes working with clients to develop position specifications; interviewing, assessing and building a pipeline of qualified candidates for active searches meeting the client’s requirements; developing the candidate relationship; candidate referencing; and assisting with client relationship management.

While learning the Search industry, Associates invest significant time researching and learning about various industries, executive roles and functions, and do so in collaboration with colleagues across the globe. The Associate role is highly visible with significant responsibility and an excellent, clearly defined career track.

Role Responsibilities

Research & Writing

• Conducting industry specific and client company research, mapping the executive talent landscape to bring market insights to the table.
• Supporting Consultants in the development of position specification(s) and a focused search strategy.
• Assisting Consultants in preparing business development and candidate assessment documents to present to both prospective and current clients.

Internal and External Communication

• Contacting prospective candidates to elicit interest in client opportunities, obtaining referrals, and/or collecting market intelligence and feedback.
• Assisting Consultants in conducting in‑depth interviews to assess candidate qualifications against position specifications.
• Managing candidate relationships throughout the entire life cycle of the search and keeping the Consultant abreast of candidate updates.

Living Our Values

• Partnering well across a multitude of stakeholders with the aim of developing productive and trusting relationships with colleagues across the firm.
• Fostering an environment of collaboration; viewed as a team player.
• Acting as a culture carrier; contributes to firm, practice and/or office initiatives.
• Demonstrating self‑awareness, humility, empathy, and open‑mindedness in the workplace.

Ethics & Quality

• Maintaining the accuracy, quality, and integrity of all Search information in our various internal and external research tools.
• Maintaining status reports and client ready reports for both internal and external presentation(s) to Consultant and Client.
• Managing multiple concurrent projects and completing high quality deliverables on time.
• Acting with the highest regard to professionalism, confidentiality, and ethics.
• Succeeding and persisting through challenges, motivated to do the right thing.

Basic Role Qualifications

• Fluent in English, with excellent written and verbal communication skills in an international business environment.
• 3-4 years’ professional experience or a minimum of 2 years transferable recruiting experience.
• An undergraduate BA/BS degree is required.
• Exhibits skill and developing mastery of professional communications, displaying adeptness in writing, articulating, and delivering information with confidence and impact.
• Developing the ability to collaborate effectively with external clients and candidates, and beginning to understand techniques to influence and build positive relationships.

Preferred Role Qualifications

• Fluent in Finnish, with the ability to communicate professionally and build strong relationships with clients, candidates, and colleagues.
• Prior experience in full life cycle recruiting in Executive Search, Contingent Search or In‑House Talent Acquisition, management consulting or other industry requiring applied sales and research skills strongly preferred.
• Experience targeting potential candidates, developing pitch materials and conducting market research.
• Proven success simultaneously managing multiple projects and working across teams.
• Experience identifying market trends and researching information effectively through various channels.
• Ability to analyze, organize and synthesize large volumes of information into insights.
• Experience working with Salesforce or other CRM.
• Demonstrated skill in building and maintaining relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders.