Recruiting software for pharma headhunters.
Executive search in pharma and life sciences demands deep networks, confidential processes, and precise matching. Yena is built for that workflow.
Why pharma recruitment needs specialised tools.
The European pharma sector employs over 840,000 people directly, according to EFPIA. At the executive level, the talent pool is small, the stakes are high, and confidentiality is non-negotiable. A Chief Medical Officer search for a mid-cap biotech isn't the same as filling a marketing manager role.
Pharma headhunters operate differently from volume recruiters. Searches take 8–16 weeks. Candidate relationships span years. A single misplaced piece of information about who's considering a move can damage careers and client relationships. Your software needs to understand this reality.
Generic ATS platforms treat every hire the same way — post a job, collect applications, screen, interview, offer. That's not how retained pharma search works. You need mandate management, long-term candidate cultivation, and the kind of access controls that keep confidential searches confidential.
How Yena supports pharma recruitment.
The features that matter when you're placing C-suite leaders into regulated industries.
AI Candidate Matching
Describe the role — "regulatory affairs director with EMA submission experience" — and the AI searches your database semantically. It understands pharma career paths, not just keywords.
Confidential Search Controls
Pharma executive searches require discretion. Blind profiles, restricted-access mandates, and NDA tracking are built into the workflow.
Multi-Mandate Pipelines
Run searches for a CMO in Basel, a VP Clinical in Munich, and a Head of Market Access in London — each with its own pipeline, timeline, and shortlist.
GDPR & GxP Awareness
European data protection compliance from day one. Consent management, automated retention, and audit trails that satisfy regulated industry expectations.
Relationship History
Pharma networks are small. Track every interaction with candidates across years of relationship building. Know exactly when you last spoke and what was discussed.
Placement Analytics
Time-to-shortlist, offer acceptance rates, and placement retention by therapeutic area. The metrics that matter for pharma recruitment performance.
Common questions
Direct answers for pharma recruitment professionals.
Yena is built for executive search and specialised recruitment agencies, including those focused on pharma and life sciences. It doesn't have pharma-specific compliance modules (like GxP document management), but the search, matching, and relationship management features are well-suited to how pharma headhunters work.
You can add custom fields to candidate profiles for qualifications, certifications, and regulatory experience. The AI matching considers these fields when surfacing candidates for new mandates.
Pharma recruitment often spans multiple countries. Yena supports multi-language candidate profiles, currency handling for compensation data, and GDPR compliance across EU jurisdictions.
Pricing starts at €69 per user per month (Pro) up to €99 per user per month (Team). No setup fees. Most pharma recruitment firms are operational within 24 hours.