Head of Permanent Solutions

Horizontal Talent; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 360,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

Horizontal Malaysia, part of Horizontal Talent, seeks an entrepreneurial Head of Permanent Solutions to lead and grow our Permanent Recruitment and Executive Search business. The role focuses on driving growth, strengthening client partnerships, building high-performing teams, and delivering technology, digital, business transformation, and engineering talent solutions.

The successful candidate will blend strategic leadership with hands-on execution, partnering with clients to solve critical

Qualifications

• 12+ years of recruitment and executive search experience.
• 5+ years in a people leadership role, managing recruiters or teams.
• Experience in Technology, Digital, or Engineering sectors preferred.

Responsibilities

• Drive annual revenue, gross profit, and profitability targets for Permanent Solutions.
• Lead client discussions, capability presentations, and talent advisory engagements.
• Build long-term relationships with strategic clients and develop account plans for retention and growth.
• Coach and develop a high-performing recruitment team; set KPIs and development plans.
• Oversee permanent recruitment and executive search delivery with quality standards.

Skills

Recruitment & Exec Search

People Leadership

Business Growth & Strategy

Client Relationship Management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business/HR/Tech/Engineering

Job description

Horizontal Malaysia is seeking an entrepreneurial and commercially driven Head of Permanent Solutions to lead and grow our Permanent Recruitment and Executive Search business. This role will be responsible for driving business growth, strengthening client partnerships, building high-performing teams, and delivering best-in-class talent solutions across Technology, Digital, Business Transformation, and Engineering sectors.

The successful candidate will act as both a strategic business leader and hands-on practitioner, partnering with clients to solve critical talent challenges while contributing to Horizontal's broader Talent, Team, and Project Solutions offerings.

Key Responsibilities

1. Business Growth & Commercial Ownership

• Own and deliver annual revenue, gross profit, and profitability targets for the Permanent Solutions business.
• Develop and execute growth strategies to expand market presence across target industries and service lines.
• Drive new client acquisition, increase wallet share within existing accounts, and secure executive search and strategic hiring mandates.
• Maintain a healthy sales pipeline, monitor forecasts, and ensure achievement of business objectives.
• Identify emerging market trends, talent demands, and competitive opportunities to support business expansion.

2. Sales Enablement & Opportunity Development

• Actively develop and nurture relationships with key decision-makers, including C-suite executives, business leaders, and HR stakeholders.
• Lead client discussions, capability presentations, talent advisory engagements, and solutioning sessions.
• Partner with internal teams to identify and convert opportunities across Permanent, Team, and Project Solutions.
• Support the preparation of proposals, commercial negotiations, and client agreements.
• Position Horizontal as a trusted talent partner through consultative and value-based selling approaches.

3. Account Management & Client Success

• Build and maintain long-term relationships with strategic clients.
• Develop account plans aimed at client retention, expansion, and increased service penetration.
• Conduct regular business reviews and provide market intelligence, hiring insights, and workforce recommendations.
• Ensure high levels of client satisfaction and proactively manage delivery challenges and escalations.

4. Team Leadership & Performance Management

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of recruitment professionals.
• Establish clear performance expectations, KPIs, and development plans aligned with business goals.
• Conduct regular reviews on pipeline activity, delivery performance, productivity, and revenue attainment.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and excellence.
• Support succession planning and talent development initiatives within the team.

5. Delivery Excellence & Operational Management

• Oversee the successful execution of permanent recruitment and executive search assignments.
• Ensure adherence to recruitment best practices, search methodologies, and quality standards.
• Monitor key delivery metrics, including fill rates, time-to-fill, offer acceptance rates, and candidate experience.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational efficiency and service quality.
• Drive the adoption of technology, automation, and data-driven insights to optimize recruitment outcomes.

6. Reporting & Business Governance

• Provide timely and accurate reporting on revenue performance, pipeline status, team productivity, and business forecasts.
• Prepare and present monthly and quarterly business reviews to leadership.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, operational processes, and reporting requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Human Resources, Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 12 years of recruitment and executive search experience, preferably within Technology, Digital, or Engineering sectors.
• Minimum 5 years in a people leadership role, managing recruiters, consultants, or practice teams.
• Demonstrated success in achieving revenue targets, driving business growth, and managing strategic client relationships.
• Experience within specialist recruitment, executive search, talent solutions, or professional services organizations is highly preferred.
• Exposure to regional markets and multi-service talent solutions models would be advantageous.
• Manage revenue targets and expand business opportunities through strong negotiation and consultative selling.

Leadership Capability

• Build and lead high-performing teams with coaching and accountability.

Client Partnership

• Engage senior stakeholders and deliver long-term value as a trusted advisor.

Operational Excellence

• Use data-driven insights to improve performance, planning, and processes.

Industry Expertise

• Deep expertise in Technology, Digital, and Executive Search recruitment with strong talent mapping knowledge.