Principal Recruiter - Leadership Hiring

Organizations everywhere struggle under the crushing costs and complexities of 'solutions' that promise to simplify their lives. To create a better experience for their customers and employees. To help them grow. Software is a choice that can make or break a business. Create better or worse experiences. Propel or throttle growth. Business software has become a blocker instead of ways to get work done.

There's another option. Freshworks. With a fresh vision for how the world works.

At Freshworks, we build uncomplicated service software that delivers exceptional customer and employee experiences. Our enterprise-grade solutions are powerful, yet easy to use, and quick to deliver results. Our people-first approach to AI eliminates friction, making employees more effective and organizations more productive. Over 72,000 companies, including Bridgestone, New Balance, Nucor, S&P Global, and Sony Music, trust Freshworks' customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) software to fuel customer loyalty and service efficiency. And, over 4,500 Freshworks employees make this possible, all around the world.

Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.

Job Description

Role Overview

We are seeking a Principal Recruiter to drive our senior leadership hiring across the RoW region that includes key markets predominantly India, but may also include Australia, Singapore etc.. This role will be pivotal in attracting, engaging, and hiring Director level and above leaders across Go-to-Market (Sales, Marketing, Customer Success), Product & Engineering, and G&A functions (HR, Legal, Sales / Revenue operations, Finance)

You will work closely with Freshworks Talent Acquisition leadership team (TALT), Senior business leaders and key stakeholders in HRLT to shape and execute our leadership hiring strategy. What makes this role unique is the opportunity to shape the leadership team with high visibility with the C-suite. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role that requires a strong balance of executive search expertise, business partnership, and candidate advocacy.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership Hiring Strategy

Define and execute the leadership hiring strategy for RoW across GTM, Product, Engineering, and G&A functions. Deep expertise in GTM / Sales leadership hiring is critical, with demonstrated success to support other functions as well.

Benchmark leadership talent in the SaaS ecosystem and provide market intelligence to influence talent decisions.

Partner with business and HR leaders to anticipate leadership talent needs and build proactive talent pipelines.

Curate strategic hiring initiatives at leadership levels to position / strengthen Freshworks as the preferred employer for senior talent.

Strategic Business Partnership :

Partner with VP / Sr. Directors across job families to design effective search strategies.

Act as a trusted advisor to leaders, influencing hiring decisions with data-driven insights and co-create solutions

Build strong credibility with stakeholders by ensuring transparency, rigor, and quality of hire

Serve as a consultative partner to business leaders, applying business acumen and talent insights to guide hiring strategy. Lead highlights / issues / actions (H / I / A) conversations and influence priority-setting to ensure focus on high-impact roles.

Candidate Engagement

Lead the end-to-end search process : talent mapping, gathering market intel, sourcing, engaging, assessing, and closing senior leadership hires.

Demonstrated track record of leveraging a pre-existing professional network to hire senior GTM talent in the SaaS industry.

Build long-term relationships with senior talent in the market; act as the ambassador of Freshworks' leadership brand, and build a passive pipeline for critical roles

Deliver a world-class candidate experience, reflecting Freshworks' culture, values, and vision.

Process & Excellence

Build / drive a structured, competency-based assessment framework for leadership hires

Lead role intake, define success profiles, manage structured interview processes, and ensure alignment with selection criteria. Facilitate decision-making and debrief sessions to drive efficient, quality hiring outcomes

Successfully manage a portfolio of 6-8 critical leadership searches concurrently

Track and report hiring progress and key metrics to leadership with high accuracy and consistency.

Constantly improve the executive hiring process for speed, quality, and experience.

Bring in best practices from the industry from time to time, especially around emerging tools and practices

Offer Strategy & Negotiation : Shape compelling offers aligned with compensation philosophy and company standards. Partner with HR and finance to ensure offers are competitive, approved, and positioned as part of a total value proposition.

Operational Excellence & Data Integrity : Ensure complete and accurate documentation of requisitions, candidate records, and process outcomes in the ATS. Drive process improvements and participate in function-wide initiatives to enhance TA operations

Stakeholder Coaching & Enablement : Educate and guide new leaders and hiring managers on leadership assessment / best practices, process ownership, and inclusive hiring. Provide coaching throughout the hiring cycle to influence decision quality and elevate candidate experience.

Qualifications

15+ years of full-cycle talent acquisition experience, including 8+ years in leadership and GTM / Sales hiring.

Proven track record of hiring for Director & above levels in high-growth SaaS / tech organizations. Strong understanding of GTM / Sales motions and lifecycle is a must. Demonstrated success in supporting Corp, Product & Engineering functions as well.

Ability to engage, influence, and advise senior business leaders and external executives.

Deep experience in direct sourcing, market mapping, and competitor intelligence.

Excellent communication, storytelling, and relationship-building skills.

Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth, and global matrix environment.

Passion for candidate experience, data integrity, and continuous improvement

Commitment to inclusive hiring practices and building diverse leadership pipelines

Additional Information

At Freshworks, we have fostered an environment that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion, welcoming colleagues of all backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and ethnicities. We are committed to providing equal opportunity and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer environment that boosts the goals of our employees, communities, and business. Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.

Skills Required

Leadership Hiring, direct sourcing, Competitor Intelligence, Process Improvements, market mapping