Principal (m/f/d)

i-potentials is the leading executive search boutique for transformation across the DACH region. For more than 17 years, we have been appointing first-level leaders for companies in pivotal phases of change.

We combine state-of-the-art, AI-enabled research and analysis methods with what no algorithm can replace: deep market and assessment expertise, strategic advisory, genuine relationships, and stakeholder management with real tact.

We are convinced that a future worth living starts with responsible leaders in the roles that matter most. Contributing to that is our ambition as an executive search boutique—and it shapes our work every day. Our track record has been recognised for years with top ratings, including in the renowned WirtschaftsWoche ranking of executive search firms, and awards such as the German Excellence Award, “Headhunter of the Year,” and the “HR Excellence” Award. This is only possible with people who make that standard their own.

The role

As a Principal, you carry direct revenue responsibility and lead executive search mandates with full end-to-end quality ownership—from briefing preparation through to successful closure. You are the central contact for clients at decision-maker level and advise them on one of the most demanding entrepreneurial tasks: appointing the right leader to a top role in a decisive phase of the business.

You steer your project team, lead pitch and negotiation meetings, and guide clients through complex appointment processes—always with the ambition to deliver every mandate to an excellent, highly professional standard. Our Partners support your work through supervision.

Responsibilities in detail

• Lead executive search mandates for top-executive and board appointments from briefing preparation and candidate selection through to closure
• Conduct pitch and negotiation meetings, provide strategic counsel to clients, and guide them through complex search processes
• Lead interviews, support candidates through the selection process, and ensure a high-quality experience through to final appointment
• Steer the project team of (Senior) Consultants and Research Consultants and create the conditions to consistently deliver the highest quality for our clients
• Strategically build and maintain a decision-maker-level client network based on excellent project delivery
• Apply leadership advisory models as a foundation for advisory services that go beyond the individual appointment
• Contribute to internal initiatives, e.g. on AI adoption, quality assurance, or business development

Profile

You bring at least eight years of professional experience, including at least five years of independently managing clients and leading project teams in executive search, strategic premium recruitment consulting, or a comparably demanding environment.

What we are also looking for:

• The ability to acquire and deliver leadership-level mandates independently—and a clear understanding of what it means to advise at board level, professionally and personally
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking, paired with execution strength and the ambition to close every mandate at the highest level
• Revenue responsibility as a logical consequence of your own standards, not an external requirement
• Clarity in leading project teams—and the desire to make others better
• A robust decision-maker network in the mid-market, family-owned businesses, scale-ups, or corporates
• Confident, authentic communication as an equal across all levels
• A completed Master’s degree; business-fluent German and English

What i-potentials offers

Work: You enable appointments that genuinely shape the future of companies. This has been at the core of our work for more than 17 years.

Entrepreneurial approach: Real revenue and shaping responsibility in an organisation where performance is directly visible—and where independent thinking and acting is not only welcomed, but expected.

Development: The Principal role is the direct track into Partnership. Those who achieve their revenue targets while securing and further developing the organisation’s quality standards have a clear and realistic path for progression.

Boutique character: At i-potentials, you work closely with the firm’s leadership, with a high degree of ownership and room to shape. Our size makes this possible in every role—but it also requires it. It also means that, as an adaptable project organisation, we can adopt new tools, technology, and ways of working quickly. Mutual support is not a buzzword here—and neither is mutual challenge. Our mantra: If you show up, we show up.

Benefits: 30 + 2 vacation days (with 24 December and 31 December as additional days off), flexible working hours, home office options, BahnCard Business 50, lunch subsidy, a personal training budget, a monthly Team Day, as well as structured development processes and team trainings. Compensation consists of a fixed salary that is above average for the boutique market, plus a revenue-related, uncapped bonus component, in addition to the benefits listed.

Application process

Once we have received your documents, our colleagues will take care of the process. We of course treat your information confidentially and in line with our data protection policy.

If you have any questions, please contact the dedicated point of contact for this position at .