Come create impact with us.

IDEO is a global design company committed to creating positive impact. As early leaders of human-centered design, we keep people at the center of our work. It's a key tenet of design thinking, and even as our methods evolve in response to new, complex challenges, we are always designing solutions for people first. We’re building to learn, and learning as we build, through inspiration, ideation, and implementation. See the big questions we are tackling now or explore some of our recent work.

The Head of Global Recruiting will be responsible for IDEO’s approach to hiring globally, implementing innovative strategies that result in hiring high performing, exceptional talent. The right candidate will have deep expertise recruiting for various functions, levels and employment types, and coordinating efforts across different markets (North America, Europe, China and Japan). You will leverage data to inform decisions, have an eye towards continuous improvement and have the ability to guide and influence stakeholders.

You will report to: the Chief People Officer

Who will report to you: members of the North America recruiting team (with co-reporting for Europe, Japan and China).

IDEO is a collaborative and creative work environment, where no two days are alike. Being a member of IDEO’s talent team means you’ll design human-centered recruiting experiences for all stakeholders.

Once here you will

• Lead and manage the Talent Acquisition team in North America directly, while ensuring process and reporting consistency within Europe and Asia.
• Provide a point-of-view on Talent Acquisition to influence process and decision-making at global leadership levels to develop a process that hires excellent candidates at a scale for a company that is growing at roughly 20% a year; to be able to hire at senior as well as junior levels, and to shift the composition of IDEO over time (tracking year-on-year progress).
• Consistently leverage analytics/data to uncover insights and trends, and then use them to guide decision-making through regularly available reporting.
• Continually bring best practices on hiring diverse candidates for all roles and levels and be able to publicly report on that progress.
• Partner with key stakeholders (Chief People Officer, Global Director of HR Operations, the Experience & Belonging team and regional HRBPs) to foster a tighter connection with Talent Acquisition ensuring a seamless onboarding experience and beyond for candidates.
• Build and collaborate in maintaining a world-class employment brand for IDEO, working alongside our marketing and internal communications teams.
• Create and maintain a staffing plan and budget for the Talent Acquisition team, including staffing appropriately for freelancers.
• Educate IDEO on best hiring practices, creating recruiting tool kits, and curriculum as needed.
• Partner with market leaders and Business Operations to ensure the timely hiring of all roles from the approvals process (assessing which roles will be hired, when and for how much), to ensuring IDEO has the right recruiting tools and employer branding budget.
• Keep cost-per-hire in line with budget and partner with the right outside recruiting resources as needed.
• Ensure we’re able to report regularly and accurately on progress
• Stay updated on current compensation/benefits trends to ensure we are competitive in the marketplace.
• Creatively problem solve and strategize on how to attract top candidates to IDEO
• Lead the process of developing, updating and standardizing (as appropriate) job descriptions for each respective role.
• Create and implement projects and process changes from inception to completion
• Perform efficiently within a high-pressure, fast-paced team environment.
• Provide guidance for searches for all types of roles within IDEO and oversee all postings, internal and external.
• Partner with hiring managers to understand position specifications
• Build the global hiring plan and collaborate with senior stakeholders to prioritize roles based on competing business needs.
• Develop recruitment strategy and appropriate recruitment materials (employee value proposition, benefit info, interview tips, criteria, offer letter/packages).
• Source, assess, select candidates and manage offer process for senior hires; manage all correspondence and conduct exploratory interviews (where required) with executive candidates.
• Constantly seek and deliver improvements to the talent acquisition process.
• Partner with HR Operations to manage sensitive situations, decision-making, and onboarding processes.
• Develop, manage, and inspire talent acquisition team members.
• Guide hiring managers and provide expert consultation with regard to the hiring process and the market for Talent (passive and active candidates). Ensure salary expectations are aligned internally and externally.
• Represent IDEO as a best-in-class “employer brand.”
• Take the lead on building proactive recruitment efforts to create a pipeline of talent for IDEO at all levels.
• Network – pursue and develop relationships with potential candidates and key industry executives.
• Conduct exploratory interviews on a regular basis and develop systems to ensure follow up.
• Ensure EVERY role has an accurate, well-written and complete role description.
• Oversee all advertisements.
• Lead regular Talent Acquisition team meetings.
• Recognize and realize opportunities to improve and evolve processes.

Relevant skills and mindsets that we value:

• Ability to provide an exceptional candidate experience and a seamless experience for hiring managers.
• Ability to develop and supervise team members, providing guidance/feedback on performance and career development.
• Advanced understanding of and ability to articulate IDEO’s employer brand strategy.
• Ability to maintain a professional manner and be a brand ambassador for IDEO.
• Superb understanding and usage of LinkedIn, Applicant Tracking System and other tools like Glassdoor and social media.
• Ability to diagnose problems using strategic thinking skills and identify and drive appropriate solutions.
• Recognize and appropriately handle highly sensitive and confidential material.
• Extensive experience working in rapid-growth companies or agencies; experience working in a dynamic and fluid environment where clear structure and process may not always be apparent.

Relevant experience that we value:

• Minimum 10 years full cycle executive recruitment experience, scaling fast-growing organizations.
• Experience working in innovation, design, or the professional services industry.
• Extensive knowledge of hiring laws, policies and procedures.
• Ability to work independently, manage priorities and be a self-starter.
• Confident and able to network, connect and develop relationships.
• Facile at working with all levels of management and lead.
• Expert negotiator.
• Globally-minded with cultural sensitivity.
• Ability to design and engage in discussions around equitable hiring practices.
• Extraordinary ability to inspire all.

Commitment to diversity

At IDEO, we are committed to the work of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within our organization and in the world. Our purpose of having disproportionate, world-changing impact through design is directly connected to our ability to bring many different perspectives to the table. This applies to our candidates, the people we hire, the clients and customers we serve, and the communities we learn from in our research.

As a human-centered organization, we are committed to working with and designing for people of every race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, physical ability or attribute, religion, national origin, or political belief. We recognize that this commitment requires ongoing work and sustained attention, as well as adaptation to new insights and best practices. We keep our diversity data public for the sake of accountability and transparency. These commitments will also be part of your journey at IDEO, so please feel free to read more about them here.

Application requirements and instructions

If you are interested in this role, please apply with a resume and cover letter. Due to the collaborative nature of this role, we prefer you to be based at a commutable distance one of our three physical locations in the United States (Cambridge MA, Chicago IL, or San Francisco CA), so that you can be onsite a few days per week. We will consider full-time remote applicants who are based in the United States.