Strategic Hire – Logistics & Procurement Senior Director, North America

The Background

A high-growth global manufacturer.
Our client required a Procurement Logistics Senior Director to operate remotely across North America, ideally based on the East Coast, to align with their main stakeholder communities.

The client had previously advertised with no success finding suitable candidates within budget and, twice, had reached the offer stage only to have to restart the process, once following losing the candidate to a competitor and the second time to a counter-offer.

The role demanded:

• Collaboration with global, decentralised stakeholders.

• Ability to thrive in a non-mandated, consultancy-style procurement function.

• Cultural adaptability within a multi-national team whilst retaining a US-centric focus.

• Expertise in freight, ocean, rail, road, and air logistics, plus an understanding of Asian logistics operations and customs requirements.

Needed an agency partner to:

• Deep-dive into East Coast talent.

• Deliver a diverse and inclusive shortlist via a transparent hiring process.

• Ensure a positive synergy between the candidate and the client's culture and non-hierarchical structure

• Manage clear communication throughout the interview process to minimise the risk of any ‘surprises’ at offer stage

Challenges:

• Highly technical and senior role spanning multiple autonomous operating companies at both the C-suite and grassroots levels

• Required niche logistics expertise, strong cost-saving track record, and significant travel commitment.

• The role was not mandated—the client needed a leader who could influence without authority.

 Our Approach

• Assigned a dedicated single point of contact headhunter with deep logistics sector expertise in the North American / US market.

• Collaborated with the client to:

• Co-create an employer brand proposition.

• Define a competency-based interview framework.

• Chaired weekly check-ins to:

• Review progress and showcase live candidate data.

• Align consistently with internal recruitment processes.

• Managed all assignment data through access to the client’s talent portal for seamless integration.

• Delivered:

• Full-cycle communication and feedback for an exceptional candidate experience.

• A diverse, East Coast-focused shortlist aligned with both budget and cultural fit.

 The Outcome

• Successfully appointed an absolute best-in-class candidate within 5 weeks who:

• Met all technical and interpersonal criteria.

• Was aligned with compensation expectations.

• Brought a strong background in global logistics and exceptional stakeholder engagement.

• Client feedback highlighted:

• 1st Executive’s deep market knowledge, rigorous process, and seamless collaboration with their internal team ensured not only a rapid time to hire but an exceptional recruitment experience for both candidates and client.

Subsequently, 1st Executive were onboarded as a key exclusive recruitment supplier globally and continue, to successfully partner with the organisation to source top talent across numerous locations.