— SPECIALIST ROLE SEARCH
VP Sales Recruitment,
in Ireland.
Hiring a VP of Sales is one of the most consequential decisions a SaaS founder makes. We specialise in finding and placing VP Sales and Sales Directors for VC-backed companies across Ireland and EMEA, from Series A through Series C.
INSTRUCTURE
◆
CONDUKTOR
◆
HUMAANS
◆
NOLOCO
◆
SHOPBOX
◆
STORA
◆
JUST-EAT
◆
INSTRUCTURE ◆ CONDUKTOR ◆ HUMAANS ◆ NOLOCO ◆ SHOPBOX ◆ STORA ◆ JUST-EAT ◆
— WHAT MOST COMPANIES GET WRONG
Expectations
vs reality.
Most VP Sales searches don't fail because the right candidate doesn't exist. They fail because the brief isn't right before the search begins. We ask three questions before we start every search.
How do you define success in year one?
Not "build the team" or "hit the number" — specifically. What does the pipeline look like at month 3? What's the headcount plan at month 6? What revenue does the board expect by month 12? A VP Sales who joins without a clear, agreed definition of success is set up to fail — and the search that placed them will feel like a failure too.
Why would someone great want to work here?
The best VP Sales candidates are not looking for a job. They're already in a role, hitting their targets, and being paid well. The question isn't whether they're good enough for your company — it's whether your opportunity is compelling enough for them. Stage, equity, product-market fit, the quality of the team they'd inherit, the board they'd work with. All of it matters. If you can't answer this question convincingly, the search will be slow and the shortlist will be thin.
We work through these questions on the briefing call. By the time we go to market, the brief is tight, the success criteria are agreed, and the employer value proposition is something we can genuinely pitch to a passive candidate.
Is the expectation appropriate for the stage?
A Series A VP Sales and a Series C VP Sales are fundamentally different profiles. One needs to be a player-coach who can still carry a bag. The other needs to be a builder of systems and teams. Hiring the wrong profile for the wrong stage is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes in SaaS.
— THE PROFILE
What makes a
great VP Sales hire.
The VP Sales profiles that work in VC-backed SaaS companies share a few consistent characteristics, regardless of stage:
01
Proven in a comparable environment.
Not just "SaaS experience" — experience at a company of similar size, stage, and go-to-market motion. A VP Sales who built a 50-person enterprise sales team at a late-stage company is unlikely to thrive as the first sales hire at Series A.
02
Can operate at multiple altitudes.
At Series A and B, the best VP Sales candidates can still close deals themselves while building the team and process around them. The moment they need a full supporting cast to be effective is the moment they're too senior for the stage.
03
A builder, not just a manager.
Process, playbook, hiring bar, comp structure, CRM hygiene — the best early-stage VP Sales hires build these from scratch and leave them standing when they eventually move on.
04
Culturally aligned with how the founder operates.
This one is underestimated. A VP Sales who operates in a way that conflicts with the founder's style will create friction that no amount of pipeline covers up. We spend time understanding this before we source a single candidate.
— THE MARKET RIGHT NOW
VP Sales talent
in Ireland and EMEA.
The market for senior GTM talent in Ireland is competitive. The pool of VP Sales candidates with genuine SaaS experience at the right stage is smaller than most founders expect — and the best ones are rarely actively looking.
10–15
Working days to shortlist
6–10
Weeks to offer
80%+
Passive candidates
94%
Offer acceptance
— Compensation range
VP Sales packages in Irish SaaS companies typically range from €120,000 to €200,000 OTE depending on stage, company size, and scope. Equity is increasingly a factor at Series A and B.
— HOW WE RUN VP SALES SEARCH
From brief to
signed offer.
A structured process built around speed and quality. Not a CV pile — a considered shortlist of people who will actually make an impact.
01
Discovery briefing
We spend time understanding your GTM motion, your current team, what success looks like in year one, and why a great candidate would want to join. The brief is built around outcomes, not job titles.
02
Market mapping
We map the relevant VP Sales talent pool across Ireland and EMEA — active candidates and, more importantly, the passive ones already succeeding elsewhere.
03
Outreach and assessment
Every candidate is approached directly and assessed against your specific criteria. We qualify for stage-appropriateness, cultural fit, and genuine interest in the opportunity.
04
Shortlist delivery
3–5 fully assessed, interview-ready candidates. A brief on each person — not just a CV — covering why we think they're right for your specific situation.
05
Offer management
We manage the process end to end — scheduling, prep, debrief, compensation benchmarking, and counteroffer handling through to signed offer.
— RELATED ROLES
Also placing
these roles.
We recruit across the full GTM function for SaaS companies across Ireland and EMEA.
SDR
SDR Recruitment
First-line pipeline talent for SaaS companies from Seed through Series B.
Marketing
Head of Marketing
Demand generation, content, and growth leaders for high-growth SaaS.
RevOps
RevOps Recruitment
Revenue and sales operations specialists across Ireland and EMEA.
— FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
VP Sales hiring
questions answered.
Everything you need to know before starting a VP Sales search.
-
Most SaaS companies make their first VP Sales hire between Series A and Series B — once there's enough revenue and product-market fit to justify building a team around a senior leader. Pre-Series A, a strong AE or Head of Sales is often more appropriate.
-
It depends on whether your internal candidate has managed and built a team before. Promoting a strong AE into a VP Sales role without management experience is a high-risk move that often costs the company both the revenue the AE was generating and the VP Sales hire they eventually make anyway. We'll give you an honest view on this on the discovery call.
-
A well-briefed search delivers a shortlist in 10–15 working days. The full process from brief to signed offer typically runs 6–10 weeks. Notice periods of 1–3 months are common at this level.
-
Our fee structure depends on the engagement model — retained search, contingent, or RaaS. We'll give you a clear breakdown on the discovery call. No surprises.
-
Yes. We place VP Sales candidates across Ireland, the UK, Nordics, DACH, and wider EMEA. We also support Irish SaaS companies expanding into new markets and needing a VP Sales based in those territories.
-
Yes. The Recruiter operates under Employment Agency Licence EA 4551, issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in Ireland. We are registered as TechR Ltd (Company No. 675330).
— START YOUR SEARCH
Ready to hire your
VP Sales?
Book a 30-minute discovery call. We'll tell you what the market looks like for your stage, what a realistic brief looks like, and whether we're the right fit to run the search.