Role Purpose:

The Principal Consultant will be responsible for driving client engagement, delivery excellence and team performance , while building long-term relationships with clients and developing a high-performing search team.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Client Engagement

- Build and manage strong, trusted relationships with key clients and senior stakeholders.
- Understand client business, organisation and talent requirements deeply.
- Lead client discussions, mandate briefings, progress reviews and candidate presentations.
- Provide informed market, talent and compensation insights to clients.
- Identify opportunities to deepen existing relationships and generate additional business.

2. Delivery Excellence

- Own the quality and timely execution of executive search assignments.
- Define search strategy, target companies, candidate profiles and assessment criteria.
- Review and challenge candidate mapping, shortlists and recommendations to ensure high standards.
- Personally engage with critical candidates and key mandates where required.
- Ensure a consistently high-quality candidate and client experience.

3. Team Building & Management

- Build, mentor and develop a high-performing team of consultants and researchers.
- Allocate mandates effectively and establish clear ownership and accountability.
- Coach team members on search methodology, candidate assessment, client management and professional communication.




- Conduct regular performance reviews and provide constructive feedback.
- Identify and develop high-potential team members for future leadership roles.

4. Business & Practice Development

- Contribute to growth of the assigned industry/functional practice.
- Develop market intelligence, sector expertise and a strong professional network.
- Support business development through client insights, referrals and identification of recent opportunities.
- Represent Catenon professionally at industry events and with senior stakeholders.

Success Measures:

- Client satisfaction, retention and repeat business
- Quality and timeliness of search delivery
- Successful completion of mandates
- Candidate and client experience
- Team productivity, development and retention
- Growth of the assigned practice / portfolio

Ideal Profile:

- 8–15 years of experience in executive search, recruitment consulting or a related professional services environment.
- Strong client-facing and stakeholder management skills.
- Demonstrated ability to lead search assignments and manage teams.
- Strong business acumen and understanding of senior talent markets.
- Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong ownership orientation.
- Ability to balance client leadership, delivery quality and people management .

📌 Principal Consultant – Executive Search (Pune)
🏢 Catenon India
📍 Pune