HR Lead

This role is for one of our clients

• Industry: Retail
• Seniority level: Mid-Senior level
• Experience: 8+ yrs
• Location: Bengaluru
• Job Type: Full-time

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

We are looking for an experienced and strategic HR Lead to own and strengthen the end-to-end people function in a fast-growing, operations-driven organization. This role is ideal for a hands-on HR professional who has experience building HR systems, processes, and frameworks from the ground up.

The HR Lead will act as a strategic bridge between leadership and the HR team, driving organizational effectiveness, employee engagement, learning and development, policy development, compliance, and overall employee experience. The role requires strong leadership capabilities, sound business judgment, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

Key Responsibilities

HR Strategy & Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop the HR team, ensuring clarity, accountability, and continuous capability building
• Build scalable HR processes and operating frameworks aligned with organizational growth
• Partner closely with founders and business leaders on people strategy and organizational priorities
• Drive HR initiatives that strengthen culture, employee experience, and organizational effectiveness

Onboarding & Employee Experience

• Design and manage a structured induction and onboarding framework for new employees
• Develop effective 30-60-90 day plans, manager readiness processes, and knowledge transfer mechanisms
• Continuously improve the employee lifecycle and ensure a positive employee experience from joining through career progression

Employee Engagement & Relations

• Drive meaningful employee engagement initiatives through pulse surveys, structured employee connects, and regular feedback mechanisms
• Build strong relationships across employees, managers, and senior leadership
• Proactively identify employee concerns and work with stakeholders to improve engagement, retention, and workplace culture
• Ensure engagement initiatives go beyond events and contribute to meaningful organizational outcomes

Policies, Compliance & HR Operations

• Develop, review, update, and implement practical and scalable HR policies
• Ensure policies remain compliant with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements
• Oversee HR compliance, audits, documentation, and statutory processes
• Establish strong HR governance and operational controls as the organization grows

Organizational Design & Workforce Planning

• Partner with business leaders to support organizational design, team structures, reporting relationships, and role clarity
• Help leaders plan team expansion and workforce requirements
• Provide guidance on people-related decisions and organizational challenges

Learning & Development

• Identify capability and skill gaps across teams and employee groups
• Develop practical learning and development initiatives aligned with business requirements
• Build a strong internal training culture and support managers in developing their teams

Employer Branding & Talent Experience

• Strengthen the employer brand and ensure consistent communication across talent-facing channels
• Oversee the career page, professional social media presence, and candidate experience
• Partner with the talent acquisition team to attract and engage high-quality talent
• Build an authentic employer brand aligned with the organizations culture and growth journey

Payroll Governance

• Oversee payroll governance to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and appropriate controls
• Coordinate with relevant internal and external stakeholders to address payroll-related issues
• Establish checks and processes to ensure smooth payroll operations

• 10–12 years of progressive HR generalist experience
• Experience working in retail, FMCG, consumer internet, startups, or other operations-intensive industries is highly preferred
• Demonstrated experience building or scaling HR functions, processes, and systems from the ground up
• Strong exposure across employee engagement, HR policies, compliance, learning and development, talent acquisition, and HR operations
• Experience working with both corporate and frontline or non-white-collar employees
• Strong understanding of employee relations and the ability to build trust across multiple organizational levels
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and high-growth environment

Key Skills & Competencies

• HR Business Partnering
• HR Strategy & Operations
• Team Leadership
• Employee Engagement
• Organizational Design
• Learning & Development
• HR Policy Development
• Statutory Compliance
• Payroll Governance
• Employer Branding
• Stakeholder Management
• Employee Relations

Must-Have Skills

• HRBP
• Retail / Operations HR Experience
• Startup Environment Experience
• HR Operations
• Employee Engagement
• HR Compliance

Good-to-Have Skills

• Corporate HR
• Learning & Development
• Organizational Development
• Employer Branding
• Talent Management