How To Find C-Suite Senior Living Executives

Finding the right C-suite senior living executive starts with more than just posting a job and reviewing resumes. Organizations should define the role and its success measures, and benchmark compensation against current market conditions. They should then go on to engage a specialized retained search firm with senior living networks, evaluate both operational experience and cultural fit, and begin planning the executive’s onboarding before the offer is made.

A strong search creates the foundation for leadership success. The goal is not simply to fill a vacancy, but to find an executive who can deliver measurable results while leading effectively within the realities of senior living.

C-Suite and Executive Roles in Senior Living

Most senior living organizations staff a C-suite of five to nine executives. However, the exact lineup depends on portfolio size, the care levels offered, and whether the operator also owns its real estate.

MedBest not only excels in placing executives in these roles, but we also specialize in the senior living space, helping the following types of communities: assisted living, independent living, memory care, skilled nursing and long-term care, CCRCs and life plan communities, and home care and hospice.

How Long Does a Senior Living Executive Search Take?

While most job searches take an average of 39 days, executive roles can take an average of 45 days.

Given how tight that window already is, a 45-day search is almost exactly the gap an interim executive is built to cover. MedBest presents interim options within one or two business days, keeping a community from operating leaderless while the permanent search runs its course.

Steps To Find C-Suite Senior Living Executives

Whether you’re hiring a CNO or CEO, these five steps carry you from an open seat to a signed offer.

Define the Role and Your Goals

Start by outlining what you need from the role, not just from a resume. That means defining the position’s day-to-day, monthly, and long-term responsibilities, and identifying the qualities — skills, certifications, leadership traits — that will actually predict success in it. Be specific about compensation and benefits too; vague ranges slow down good candidates more than almost anything else.

• Define success metrics before you define the person. Decide what this executive needs to have accomplished by month twelve — census growth, margin improvement, better survey performance, a completed acquisition — before you write the job description. Search firms consistently find this is the step organizations skip, and it’s usually the one that costs the most time later.
• Align your decision-makers before the search launches. A search that stalls at the final round because the board and the CEO wanted different profiles is the most common reason a timeline blows up.
• Put compensation and goals in writing. Once the role, goals, and pay range are clear, that package is what you hand to a recruitment firm to inform and incentivize candidates on your behalf.

Use Retained Executive Search

A retained search is worth the upfront investment for a role this consequential. It means partnering with a firm and paying them to run a tailored, dedicated search — one that reaches candidates who aren’t actively job hunting, not just the ones who’ve posted a resume online.

That distinction matters because the senior living talent pool behaves like an iceberg: a small percentage of qualified candidates are visibly searching. The rest sit below the surface, not actively looking but open to the right conversation. Contingent search, paid only on placement, rarely reaches that group — a firm running several searches at once tends to prioritize whichever closes fastest, not necessarily yours. A retained search is built to go after the full pool instead, which is why it tends to serve senior living operators better for C-suite roles.

Screen and Interview Candidates

Resume review and interviews both need to test the same question: could this person actually excel in the role, not just describe it well? For applications, prioritize relevant leadership experience in healthcare or senior living, verify certifications and educational requirements, and read cover letters for a genuine understanding of the role rather than generic enthusiasm. For interviews, prepare pointed questions in advance, screen by phone or video before an in-person round, and debrief with your team right after each conversation while impressions are fresh.

Senior living roles call for questions that get at how a candidate has actually operated under this industry’s specific pressures:

• Walk me through a portfolio-level quality problem you inherited. What did the data look like when you arrived, and when you left?
• How do you set census targets, and what do you do when a community misses three months running?
• Tell me about a community you had to close, sell, or turn around.

For verification, check CMS Care Compare history for any facilities under a candidate’s oversight, confirm licenses where clinical credentials are involved, and reach out to former direct reports for references — not just former bosses, who tend to give a rosier picture.

Evaluate Cultural Fit and Leadership Style

You’ll often recognize the right cultural fit as much by instinct as by checklist, but it helps to know what you’re looking for. Candidates who share values like compassion, teamwork, and resident-centered care tend to build a healthier workplace culture around them. Leadership style matters just as much: an adaptable, empathetic approach serves this industry well, given how often staffing shortages and regulatory compliance test a leader’s patience.

Structured behavioral interviewing, panel interviews with department heads, and validated assessment tools make that judgment less subjective.

Transition and Onboard

A signed offer isn’t the finish line — the first ninety days determine whether the hire actually sticks. Outline expectations from day one, introduce the new executive to key team members, residents, and stakeholders, and put mentorship or executive coaching in place if it would help them ramp up faster.

For senior living specifically, that ramp-up should include visits across the portfolio, meetings with regional and community-level leadership, a review of recent survey results and plans for correction, and a defined 30/60/90-day check-in cadence tied to succession planning. Executives who get this kind of structured runway are far more likely to stay.

How To Choose a Senior Living Executive Search Firm

Choose a firm based on the depth of its senior living network and the terms of its guarantee — not on fee percentage alone.

• On process, ask how many senior living C-suite searches the firm has completed in the last 24 months, and who actually works your search: a dedicated researcher or one recruiter juggling several engagements.
• Ask to see a sample market map, how many candidates you’ll see, and on what timeline.
• On fees, industry standard runs 25% to 35% of total first-year compensation, with C-suite roles at the higher end — a range consistent with the sharp rise in executive hiring costs SHRM has tracked industry-wide in recent years. Retained fees are typically billed in three installments — at engagement, shortlist delivery, and placement — and many firms set a minimum fee floor between $60,000 and $150,000.
• On guarantees, ask what triggers a replacement search, whether it covers voluntary departure or termination, and whether that work is free or discontinued; common windows run 90 to 180 days.
• It’s also worth asking about an off-limits agreement, so the firm isn’t recruiting from your organization down the line.

Finally, ask whether the firm works exclusively in senior living or treats it as one vertical among several, and whether it handles both permanent and interim placements. Firms with little to no specialization are less likely to understand the demands and what to look for in a qualified C-suite executive.

Common Challenges in Hiring C-Suite Executives

The biggest challenges are usually a limited candidate pool, pressure to hire quickly, and the need for confidentiality.

Senior living C-suite candidates with a proven record across multiple communities are difficult to find. At the same time, delaying a leadership hire can put additional pressure on an already stretched organization. Confidentiality creates another challenge when replacing a sitting executive who does not yet know their position is at risk. A retained search firm can conduct discreet outreach without publicly advertising the role.

When the organization needs leadership immediately, an interim executive can maintain stability while the permanent search continues. Planning ahead also helps. Succession planning and an established relationship with a search partner can dramatically reduce disruptions when an unexpected departure occurs.

How MedBest Finds C-Suite Senior Living Executives

MedBest takes a specialized approach to senior living executive search. We have focused exclusively on senior living and long-term care since 2001, and our team members are former senior living executives who understand the roles we recruit for.

We assess cultural fit using DISC-based tools rather than gut feel, and MedBest places both permanent and interim executives, with follow-through after the placement is made.

The results provide additional context.

• MedBest reports that 98% of its clients would recommend the firm.
• 96% of clients are satisfied or very satisfied.
• The company has more than 200 five-star Google reviews.
• MedBest was recognized by Business Insider as a Top Recruiting Firm in 2026.

If you’re preparing to replace a senior living executive — or building your leadership team for the next stage of growth — MedBest can help you find the right C-suite talent. To discuss a permanent or interim search, contact MedBest at (727) 526-1294.

FAQs About Hiring C-Suite Senior Living Executives

How Long Does It Take To Hire a C-Suite Executive for a Senior Living Company?

SHRM benchmarks put median time-to-fill across all roles at roughly 45 days, and executive-level searches consistently run two to three times longer once a firm formally launches. CEO and board-level searches frequently extend to six months. The largest variables are the number of approval layers involved, whether relocation is required, and the notice period the selected candidate owes their current employer — 60 to 90 days is common at this level. Engaging an interim executive during the search protects operations without forcing a rushed decision.

How Much Does It Cost To Use an Executive Search Firm?

Retained executive search fees generally run 25% to 35% of the placed executive’s total first-year compensation — base salary plus expected bonus — with C-suite roles at the upper end and CEO searches often priced at one-third. On a $400,000 total compensation package, that is roughly $100,000 to $140,000. Fees are typically billed in three installments: at engagement, upon delivery of the shortlist, and upon placement. Many firms also place a minimum fee floor, commonly between $60,000 and $150,000, that applies when the calculation falls below it. Weigh this against the cost of a failed executive hire, which research consistently places at multiples of the search fee once severance, vacancy, and a restarted search are counted.

What Is the Difference Between Retained and Contingent Search?

In a retained search, you engage a firm exclusively and pay in installments across the engagement, which funds dedicated research and outreach to executives who are not job-seeking. In a contingent search, the firm is paid only if you hire someone they present. For C-suite roles, where the qualified pool is small, discretion matters, and a mishire is expensive, retained search is the standard approach.

What Should I Ask a Search Firm Before Signing?

Ask how many senior living C-suite searches the firm has completed in the last two years, who specifically will work your search, and how they build their candidate list. On terms, confirm whether the fee is calculated on base salary or total first-year compensation, how it is billed, whether a minimum fee floor applies, and what the replacement guarantee covers — including its length, whether it applies to both voluntary departure and termination, and whether the replacement search is free or discontinued. Also, ask whether an off-limits agreement prevents the firm from recruiting out of your organization after placement.

What C-Suite Roles Do Senior Living Organizations Typically Hire?

Most senior living organizations staff some combination of:

• Chief Executive Officer
• Chief Operating Officer
• Chief Financial Officer
• Chief Nursing Officer or Chief Clinical Officer
• Chief Human Resources Officer or Chief People Officer
• Chief Information Officer
• Chief Marketing Officer
• Chief Strategy Officer

Larger multi-state operators often add a Chief Compliance Officer and a Chief Development Officer, along with VP-level and regional leadership across operations, clinical services, sales and marketing, and finance. A single community may operate with three executives, while a large portfolio operator staffs the full slate plus regional layers.