Director, Executive Recruitment, Talent Intelligence & Advisory

AXIS Capital; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plans

Health and wellness programs

Retirement plans

Tuition reimbursement

Paid vacation

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

AXIS Capital in New York seeks a Senior Director, Executive Recruitment, Talent Intelligence & Advisory to lead global executive searches and advise on leadership strategy with the CEO and EXCO.

You will design search strategies, build external pipelines, map markets, assess leadership capabilities, and partner with Total Rewards and Legal on offers, while upholding governance and data privacy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
• 10+ years progressive experience in executive search, executive recruitment, talent intelligence, or related disciplines.
• 7+ years leading executive or senior leadership searches with strategy, market mapping, assessment, engagement and offers.
• Experience partnering with C-suite executives or senior leaders.
• Experience in executive market mapping and succession-related research initiatives.
• Experience developing executive candidate assessments and leadership profiles.
• Experience identifying passive executive talent.
• Experience managing retained executive search firms and external partners.
• Experience leading multiple concurrent executive searches and confidential initiatives.
• Experience advising senior leaders on talent decisions.
• Knowledge of ATS, CRM, LinkedIn Recruiter, and research tools.
• Willingness to travel globally.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end executive and senior leadership searches globally across all functions.
• Partner with CEO, EXCO, and senior leaders to define leadership requirements and search strategies.
• Design and execute market mapping, target identification, engagement, assessment, and offers.
• Identify and recruit senior executive talent, including passive candidates.
• Develop executive candidate slates with market intelligence and assessment insights.
• Facilitate interviews, calibrations, and finalist evaluations.
• Collaborate on offer development, negotiation, and closing strategies.
• Deliver a differentiated candidate experience reflecting AXIS’s leadership brand.
• Maintain executive talent maps and external succession pipelines.
• Advise on strategy, market intelligence, and succession planning.

Skills

Executive recruitment leadership

Market mapping

Stakeholder management

Candidate engagement

Leadership assessment

C-suite communication

Talent intelligence

AI-enabled recruiting

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Advanced degree or certification (preferred)

Tools

LinkedIn Recruiter

ATS / CRM systems

Executive research tools

Job description

Senior Director, Executive Recruitment, Talent Intelligence & Advisory

Job Family Grouping: Human Resources

Job Family: Talent Acquisition / Executive Recruitment

How does this role contribute to our collective success?

The Senior Director, Executive Recruitment, Talent Intelligence & Advisory serves as AXIS’ lead advisor on executive talent acquisition, external succession intelligence, and strategic leadership hiring. Reporting to the Global Head of Talent Acquisition, this individual partners directly with the CEO, Executive Committee (EXCO), senior business leaders, and Human Resources leadership to identify, assess, attract, and advise on executive talent decisions that support the organization’s long‑term business strategy and leadership objectives. This role combines the disciplines of executive search, talent intelligence, market mapping, competitive talent research, leadership assessment, and executive advisory. The successful candidate will lead highly visible executive and mission‑critical searches while building and maintaining external succession pipelines for critical leadership positions across the enterprise. The Senior Director will provide an external market perspective to senior leadership, helping inform executive hiring decisions, succession planning discussions, organizational design considerations, and future leadership capability needs. The role requires exceptional judgment, executive presence, intellectual curiosity, discretion, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders through data, insight, and market intelligence.

What will you do in this role?

• Lead end-to-end executive and senior leadership searches globally across all business functions.
• Partner with the CEO, EXCO, Board-facing executives, and senior Group/P&L leaders to define leadership requirements and develop search strategies.
• Design and execute search plans including market mapping, target company identification, candidate engagement, assessment methodology, stakeholder alignment, and offer strategy.
• Personally identify, engage, assess, and recruit senior executive talent, including highly passive candidates.
• Develop and present executive candidate slates supported by market intelligence and candidate assessment insights.
• Facilitate executive interview processes, stakeholder calibration discussions, and finalist evaluations.
• Partner with Total Rewards, Legal, HR, and business leaders on executive offer development, negotiation, and closing strategies.
• Deliver a differentiated executive candidate experience reflective of AXIS’s leadership brand and culture.
• Develop and maintain executive talent maps and external succession pipelines for enterprise‑critical leadership roles.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership regarding executive talent strategy, market intelligence, organizational capability, and succession planning.
• Manage executive assessment processes, external search firms, and strategic talent intelligence partnerships.
• Drive operational excellence, governance, compliance, reporting, and continuous improvement across executive recruitment activities.

You may also be required to take on additional duties, responsibilities, and activities appropriate to the nature of this role.

About You

We encourage you to bring your own experience and expertise to the table, so while there are some qualifications and experiences we need you to have, we are open to discussing how your individual knowledge might lend itself to fulfilling this role and helping us achieve our goals.

What you need to have:

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
• Minimum of 10+ years of progressive experience in executive search, executive recruitment, talent intelligence, talent advisory, or related talent acquisition disciplines.
• Minimum of 7 years leading executive or senior leadership searches with direct responsibility for search strategy, market mapping, executive assessment, candidate engagement, stakeholder management, and offer completion.
• Demonstrated experience partnering directly with C‑suite executives, Executive Committee members, or equivalent senior business leaders.
• Demonstrated experience conducting executive market mapping, talent intelligence, competitive talent analysis, or succession‑related research initiatives.
• Experience developing executive candidate assessments, market intelligence reports, leadership profiles, and executive presentations.
• Experience identifying and recruiting passive executive talent.
• Experience managing retained executive search firms and external talent partners.
• Demonstrated experience leading multiple concurrent executive searches and confidential talent initiatives.
• Experience advising senior business leaders on executive talent decisions.
• Working knowledge of executive recruiting technologies, applicant tracking systems, talent intelligence platforms, CRM systems, LinkedIn Recruiter, and executive research tools.
• Ability to travel globally as business needs require.

What we prefer you to have:

• Experience working within insurance, reinsurance, financial services, professional services, consulting, or similarly complex global organizations.
• Experience supporting CEO, Board, Executive Committee, or enterprise‑critical recruitment initiatives.
• Experience conducting external succession planning and executive talent benchmarking projects.
• Experience advising senior executives regarding organizational design, leadership capability, and executive talent strategy.
• Experience recruiting leaders with significant P&L responsibility and enterprise‑wide accountability.
• Experience conducting executive recruiting and talent intelligence activities across multiple geographies and international markets.
• Experience managing highly confidential leadership, succession, or organizational‑change initiatives.
• Experience utilizing AI‑enabled recruiting, talent intelligence, or market research tools.
• Advanced degree or professional certification related to executive search, leadership assessment, human resources, talent acquisition, or organizational effectiveness.

Role Factors

• Travel globally as business needs require.
• Work with highly confidential executive, succession, and organizational information.
• Engage regularly with senior executives, external leadership candidates, and search partners.
• Utilize talent intelligence, market research, and executive recruitment technologies.
• Participate in a hybrid work environment consistent with organizational requirements.

What We Offer

• For this position, we currently expect to offer a base salary in the range of $200,000 - $250,000 (NY).
• Your salary offer will be based on an assessment of a variety of factors including your specific experience and work location.
• In addition, you will be offered competitive target incentive compensation, with awards based on overall corporate and individual performance.
• On top of this, you will be eligible for a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes medical plans for you and your family, health and wellness programs, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation, and much more.

Where this role is based in the United States of America, this role is Exempt for FLSA purposes.

This posting is for an existing vacancy. Rewarding. Challenging. Meaningful.

Rewarding. Challenging. Meaningful. We are shaping the direction of Insurance and Reinsurance during a critical and exciting time for the industry. Whether you are a student approaching graduation or a seasoned professional looking for a new environment, AXIS has the right challenges and career opportunities for you. At AXIS, we value each individual and recognize that attracting and retaining the right people is essential to the success of our company.

We offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes medical plans for employees and their families, health and wellness programs, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation, and much more.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic, including age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any basis prohibited by the laws that govern its operations.