Austria · Managing Directors · Country Managers · Heads of Sales
JN Recruitment runs executive search in Austria for machinery, industrial technology and recycling companies — in native German, at leadership level, with the discretion the Austrian market expects. We find the Geschäftsführer, Country Managers and Vertriebsleiter who run Austria — and, from Vienna, often the whole CEE region — through confidential retained direct search.
to your first shortlist of referenced Austrian executives
from briefing to signed contract — start dates then follow Austrian notice periods and quarter dates
industrial leadership and sales — no generalist recruiting
two hours from the Austrian border — native German-speaking consultants
Headhunter Austria
Austria hires its leaders differently than Germany — more quietly. Titles, discretion and personal recommendation carry real weight, the industrial community around Linz, Graz and Vienna is close-knit, and the Geschäftsführer or Vertriebsleiter you want is locked into a contract with quarter-end notice dates and approached with care, not adverts. A generalist headhunter for Austria covering finance, IT and marketing starts your search from zero — and a clumsy approach in this market is remembered.
We run executive search for Austria exclusively in industrial B2B, in native German, from our Mannheim headquarters two hours from the border. We know which export champions in Upper Austria and Styria face succession, which international groups steer CEE from Vienna, and what a Geschäftsführer in your niche actually earns — quoted in 14 payments, benchmarked against Kollektivvertrag and All-in reality. Every shortlist comes with P&L track records referenced inside the industry, and the strongest Austrian leaders bring a second asset: proven CEE experience.
Typical Austrian mandates: the first Country Manager or Geschäftsführer for an international manufacturer opening Austria — often with a CEE mandate attached — the confidential succession of a long-serving Vertriebsleiter in Linz or Graz, or a General Manager for an Austrian plant or business unit. And for the sales team beneath the leader, the same house runs our sales recruitment for Austria — one partner for the whole commercial organisation.
Positions we fill
From the Geschäftsführer of an Austrian GmbH to the Vertriebsleiter steering distributors across Eastern Europe — these are the executive roles our search practice fills in Austria, each referenced at leadership level.
Runs the Austrian GmbH end to end — P&L, team, key customers and the parent-company relationship, registered in the Firmenbuch. The most confidential search an Austrian subsidiary commissions, and often the anchor for a CEE region.
The market-entry hire for international manufacturers: wins the first Austrian reference customers, builds the local organisation — and frequently carries Czechia, Hungary and Poland from Vienna as the role scales.
Jobs, salaries & recruitmentThe classic second-level executive mandate: succession for a retiring Vertriebsleiter, generational change in an Austrian niche champion’s sales team, key-account structure and pricing power.
Multi-country commercial leadership run from Austria — aligns the DACH or Eastern European sales organisation, subsidiaries and distributor networks into one accountable number, steered from Vienna or Linz.
Owns a product line across engineering, production interface and commercial results — a search that demands genuine niche knowledge of Austria’s machinery, steel-technology and green-tech clusters, not a database.
Leads the installed-base business — service contracts, spare parts, retrofits: the margin engine of Austria’s export-driven machinery builders, and one of its scarcest leadership profiles.
Market knowledge
German-speaking does not mean German rules — Austrian executive employment follows its own logic, from the Angestelltengesetz to quarter-end notice dates. The essentials we brief every client on before an Austrian leadership search starts:
Employer-side notice under the Angestelltengesetz grows to five months with tenure, traditionally effective at quarter-end — and executive contracts often extend notice on both sides. In practice, senior Austrian candidates become available on quarter dates, three to six months out. We plan every Austrian search backwards from the day you actually need the leader on board.
Austrian executives are Angestellte under the Angestelltengesetz, with tenure-based notice and statutory protections — while a GmbH Geschäftsführer is registered in the Firmenbuch and, depending on shareholding and contract, can sit partly outside that regime. Candidates know exactly what they are giving up when they move; your offer and its safeguards must reflect it.
Austrian executive packages are quoted in 14 annual instalments — taxed favourably — and management contracts are commonly All-in, folding overtime into the annual salary. Packages run fixed-heavy with a bonus tied to company and personal targets, plus a company car; the correct Kollektivvertrag classification still has to be on the contract, and candidates will check.
Austria’s industrial community is small and discretion is currency: many mandates replace an incumbent Geschäftsführer or Vertriebsleiter who has not been told, or prepare the succession of a family-owned niche champion. We approach candidates without naming your company, reference discreetly inside the industry, and reveal your identity only at shortlist stage.
Salary benchmarks
What does industrial leadership cost in Austria? Annual gross compensation in EUR for executive roles in machinery, industrial technology and recycling — 14 payments consolidated, fixed bonus components included, company car not included:
| Position | Base salary | Total cash (on-target) |
|---|---|---|
| Managing Director / Geschäftsführer | €130,000 – 170,000 | €165,000 – 225,000 |
| Country Manager Austria | €95,000 – 125,000 | €125,000 – 165,000 |
| Sales Director Austria & CEE | €95,000 – 125,000 | €125,000 – 165,000 |
| Business Unit Director | €100,000 – 130,000 | €130,000 – 170,000 |
| Head of Sales / Vertriebsleiter | €85,000 – 110,000 | €110,000 – 150,000 |
| Head of Service & After-Sales | €80,000 – 100,000 | €95,000 – 125,000 |
Source: JN Recruitment placement and interview data, industrial B2B, Austria. Vienna-based roles with CEE scope price 10–15% above the national range; listed-group subsidiaries typically pay at the top of it.
We run retained executive search for industrial leadership roles in Austria: systematic mapping of every relevant company and executive in your niche, confidential direct approach in native German, structured interviews and industry references at leadership level, salary benchmarking against Austrian Kollektivvertrag and All-in practice, and support through offer, contract negotiation, resignation and notice period until your executive actually starts. Every mandate is handled end-to-end by the consultant who took your briefing.
No. Executive search covers the first and second leadership level: alongside Managing Directors and Geschäftsführer, the classic Austrian mandates are Vertriebsleiter (Heads of Sales), Sales Directors, Country Managers and Business Unit Directors — every position with P&L or revenue responsibility that cannot be filled through job adverts. A Vertriebsleiter search for an Austrian niche champion is executive search in every respect: confidential, direct, referenced at leadership level.
Exclusively industrial B2B: machinery and plant engineering — including the dense cluster around Linz and Upper Austria — automotive and green technology in Styria, automation and industrial technology, industrial components, and recycling and environmental technology. This focus means we know the executives, their employers and their compensation in your Austrian niche before your briefing call ends.
The large global search firms are strong at ATX board level in Vienna — but your Geschäftsführer for a recycling-technology subsidiary or your Vertriebsleiter for plant engineering in Upper Austria is not where their networks run deep. A boutique with total industry focus starts inside your niche: we know the candidates and their reputations, you work directly with the consultant who owns your mandate, and our fees sit well below big-firm level. In Austria’s discreet, recommendation-driven market, niche depth beats brand breadth.
Yes — and in Austria discretion is not optional: the industrial community is small, and a careless approach travels from Linz to Vienna in days. Whether you are replacing an incumbent Geschäftsführer or Vertriebsleiter who has not yet been informed, preparing a family-business succession, or entering the Austrian market before competitors should know, we approach candidates without naming your company, take references discreetly inside the industry, and reveal your identity only to shortlisted, seriously interested executives at the agreed stage.
You typically receive a first shortlist within 2–4 weeks, and most Austrian leadership mandates are signed within 8–12 weeks. The honest caveat is the start date: employer-side notice runs up to five months with tenure, quarter-end termination dates are still common in Austrian contracts, and executive agreements often extend notice further — so senior candidates usually start on quarter dates, three to six months after signing. We factor this into every Austrian search plan and keep signed executives committed until day one.
A Geschäftsführer of an Austrian industrial subsidiary typically earns €130,000–170,000 base and €165,000–225,000 total cash; a Vertriebsleiter €85,000–110,000 base and €110,000–150,000 on-target. Austrian packages are quoted in 14 annual instalments, run fixed-heavy, are commonly structured All-in at management level, and include a company car as standard. Vienna-based roles with CEE scope price 10–15% above the national range — we benchmark every mandate before the search starts.
Austrian executive employment runs on the Angestelltengesetz: tenure-based notice up to five months, traditionally at quarter-end, and statutory protections German employers often underestimate. A GmbH Geschäftsführer adds another layer — registered in the Firmenbuch, and depending on shareholding and contract partly outside the Angestelltengesetz, with liability and D&O questions to settle. Serious candidates scrutinise these terms before leaving a protected position — we structure the offer and manage that negotiation so it does not fail at the contract stage.
Yes — that is the point of one specialised house. Executive search covers the Geschäftsführer, Country Manager and Vertriebsleiter level; our sales recruitment practice fills the Sales Managers, Area Sales Managers and Technical Sales Engineers who report to them. Many Austrian clients combine both: first the leader through executive search, then the team beneath through sales recruitment — one briefing, one partner, one quality bar.
Our offices are in Germany, Poland and Cyprus — with headquarters in Mannheim, two hours from the Austrian border. Austrian executive searches are run by native German-speaking consultants who work the market daily: direct approach and interviews in German, references checked with Austrian industry contacts, and candidate meetings in person, by video or at the sector’s trade fairs. You get native-language depth at leadership level without paying local-agency generalism.
Across Europe
The same retained leadership search opens every market on the continent — pick the country you are hiring in.
Building the sales team below the leader?
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Our mission is simple: placements that open new markets.
30-minute intro call
We come to the call prepared — with a clear view of your target markets and how we would approach your search.
Your contact person Jonas Strambach Director & Senior Recruiter, JN Recruitment +49 1525 2077583 [email protected] Thank you — we’ll get back to you within one business day to schedule your intro call.
An honest read on your vacancy & market — in your first call.
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Before you go
Every month a key sales seat stays empty pushes your expansion plans back — and leaves serious revenue on the table. We fill technical sales positions within weeks, so you hit your expansion targets on schedule.
Jonas Strambach Director & Senior Recruiter, JN Recruitment Free vacancy check · reply within 24 hours
