Dilys Search Answers
"How long should this take?" is a different question than "how long does this usually take?" The first sets a standard. The second describes a range. For boards and operators managing an Executive Director vacancy, both answers matter — but the first one is the one that should drive your process.
Start an Executive Director Search or book a call first →Executive Director searches in retirement living, long-term care, and community services sit in a narrow candidate market where most credible people are already employed. That reality sets a floor on timeline. What happens above that floor is mostly a function of process discipline.
A well-run Executive Director search should deliver a qualified shortlist within two weeks and close within 35 to 60 days total. When searches run significantly longer, the cause is almost always identifiable — and usually preventable.
Dilys Search delivers shortlists within 10 to 14 days for most Executive Director mandates and has a track record of completing searches in the 35 to 60 day range. We set that expectation at the start of every engagement because it is the standard we hold ourselves to.
Boards, HR directors, operators, and ownership groups evaluating whether their current Executive Director search is on track or identifying what a realistic timeline looks like before they begin.
There is a meaningful difference between a search that takes time because the mandate is genuinely difficult and a search that takes time because the process is not disciplined. Most boards and operators who find themselves in a three- or four-month search experience the second, not the first.
Here is how a well-run Executive Director search should be structured and what each phase should take.
Before any outreach begins, the role needs to be defined with specificity. That means clarity on reporting structure, scope, compensation range, geographic expectations, non-negotiables, and what success looks like in the first 12 months.
This step gets skipped or compressed in searches that start fast and finish slow. When the mandate is not clear, candidate evaluation is subjective, shortlists drift, and interview processes stall.
This is where the search firm earns its retainer. In a narrow market like seniors living or LTC leadership, most credible Executive Director candidates are currently employed at a peer organization. They are not applying to job boards. They have to be identified and approached directly.
A firm that is posting the role and waiting for inbound response is not running a search. Posting can be part of the process, but direct outreach is what surfaces the strongest candidates — especially those who are not actively looking but would consider the right opportunity.
Dilys Search begins candidate outreach within days of mandate definition. The shortlist target is 10 to 14 days.
A shortlist for an Executive Director search typically contains two to four vetted candidates — people who have been contacted, assessed for fit, confirmed as interested, and reviewed against the role requirements.
A shortlist that arrives in week four or five signals that the outreach phase took too long, the assessment process was not efficient, or the mandate definition was not clear enough to evaluate candidates against.
Once a shortlist is delivered, the pace shifts to the employer’s internal process. This is where searches most commonly lose time they should not. Interview scheduling takes longer than expected, additional decision-makers are added to the process late, or a promising candidate accepts another offer while waiting for a decision.
Organizations that move through their own process deliberately — with pre-scheduled interview slots, aligned decision-makers, and a clear decision timeline — close their searches faster and make better hires.
This phase should not be long. A prepared offer that reflects what was discussed throughout the process should close quickly. If an offer goes to extended negotiation, it usually points to a compensation misalignment that should have surfaced earlier.
A search that takes six to eight weeks from signed retainer to accepted offer is a disciplined search. One that approaches 90 days usually has at least one identifiable problem — in the mandate, the process, the compensation, or the internal decision-making pace.
If your Executive Director search is running longer than it should, the cause is worth finding before you add more time to the process.
For a related perspective, see how long does an Executive Director search realistically take — which covers the market dynamics and external variables that affect timing.
A well-run search should produce a qualified shortlist within 10 to 14 days and complete — offer accepted — within 35 to 60 days. Searches that run significantly longer usually have identifiable process problems.
The most common causes are an unclear mandate, misaligned compensation, slow internal decision-making, and a firm that has not done the direct candidate outreach work early enough in the process.
It can happen, particularly for complex mandates or roles with very narrow geography. But in most cases, a 90-day search reflects a process problem rather than a market problem.
Dilys Search runs Executive Director searches with process discipline and clear timeline expectations. If your seat is open, we can tell you quickly what a realistic search looks like for your specific mandate.
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