Job Description
About Modern Executive Solutions Modern Executive Solutions is a fully integrated talent management consultancy with a specific focus on developing diverse, modern leadership teams. We provide services that include talent and organization strategy, culture and change management, leadership assessment and development and executive search. Everything we do is forward-looking and focused on creating modern organizations, leadership team and leaders. We are headquartered out of Atlanta, Georgia but work on a remote-first basis with employees across the United States and a team also in the United Kingdom. As a part of our embedded purpose to change lives for the better we donate 10% of our annual profits to charities that support youth and education in order to develop the diverse talent of tomorrow. The Opportunity Modern Executive Solutions is seeking a high-impact Managing Director to lead the execution of retained executive search engagements with rigor, judgment, and credibility. This role is central to the success of each search, owning the day-to-day execution of the engagement and helping clients navigate to the right leadership decision through a thoughtful, consultative approach. Working under the guidance of a Senior Partner, the Managing Director is accountable for running a successful search process from kickoff through close. This person will shape the search strategy, lead and motivate the research team, build trust with the client’s hiring stakeholders, and ensure the engagement remains on track even when conditions become complex or challenging. The right person brings strong executive search execution skills, commercial judgment, and the emotional intelligence to know when to support, when to challenge, and when to elevate issues in a client’s process that may be limiting the outcome. Key Responsibilities Own the end-to-end execution of executive search engagements under the supervision of a Senior Partner. Translate client needs into a clear, practical, and differentiated search strategy. Lead the research team to develop target company lists, market maps, candidate pipelines, and search hypotheses. Drive momentum throughout the engagement, keeping workstreams moving with pace, discipline, and accountability. Build trusted relationships with the client hiring team through consistent communication, sound judgment, and credible counsel. Act as a consultative advisor to clients, helping them refine role specifications, assess talent, and navigate key decision points. Identify weaknesses, gaps, or inefficiencies in the client’s hiring process and challenge constructively when those issues may compromise the search outcome. Motivate and direct the research team through difficult stretches of a search, especially when progress is slow or market feedback is challenging. Synthesize market intelligence and candidate feedback into actionable insights for clients and internal stakeholders. Ensure a high-quality candidate experience and a professional, well-managed process from first outreach through completion. Partner closely with the Senior Partner, escalating client management challenges when appropriate while maintaining primary ownership of search execution. Maintain high standards of quality, professionalism, discretion, and follow-through across every stage of the engagement. What Success Looks Like Deliver search engagements with consistency, quality, and strong outcomes. Earn the confidence of clients by combining responsiveness with honest, well-grounded counsel. Build effective search strategies that are informed by market realities and aligned to the client’s business context. Lead research teams with resilience, focus, and urgency, particularly when searches become difficult. Recognize when client assumptions or process issues need to be challenged and do so with tact and credibility. Create alignment among internal and external stakeholders to keep the search moving toward the right hire. Ideal Profile Significant experience in retained executive search or a closely related advisory environment. Proven ability to run complex executive search engagements with substantial client exposure and ownership. Strong search strategy skills, including role shaping, target identification, market mapping, and candidate assessment. High emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal judgment. Confidence to challenge clients constructively when needed, without damaging trust or momentum. Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and direct research teams through ambiguity and adversity. Excellent communi