Head of People & Talent (Director Level)

Job Summary

We’re looking for a strategic, hands-on People leader to build and scale our People function from the ground up. As Head of People & Talent (Director level), you’ll own everything from headcount planning and compensation strategy to performance management and hiring operations—across India and the US. You’ll report directly to the founders and work across teams to set the foundation for our next stage of growth. This is a high-impact role for someone who thrives in fast-paced, high-accountability environments and loves building systems that scale.

Job Roles & Responsibilities

• Workforce Planning & Budgeting
• Own headcount planning and tracking across teams and geographies.
• Align team structures and growth with strategic business needs.
• Partner with Finance to build and manage people-related budgets.
• Compensation & Benefits
• Design and implement compensation architecture, including levels, geo-based salary bands, bonuses, and offer guardrails.
• Conduct regular market benchmarking and manage comp reviews.
• Model compensation scenarios for current and future state planning.
• Performance & Development
• Define and launch performance management cycles including rubrics, calibration processes, and feedback mechanisms.
• Enable managers through communication tools, coaching, and training.
• Lead promotions process with clarity and fairness.
• Talent Acquisition & Employer Brand
• Define hiring strategy with scorecards, structured interviews, and success profiles.
• Oversee recruiter setup—agency/in-house—based on growth phases.
• Partner with hiring managers to ensure a high-quality, efficient process.
• Culture, Engagement & Policy
• Lead cultural programs that align with company values and promote inclusion, feedback, and growth.
• Design pragmatic, people-first policies and employee experiences.
• Own space planning and hybrid/remote work strategies.

Cultural Expectations

• 10–15 years in HR/People roles, ideally in high-growth tech or SaaS environments.
• Proven experience designing and implementing leveling frameworks, compensation bands, and performance review cycles.
• Strong compensation analytics and modeling skills, with exposure to both India and US markets.
• High ownership mindset: comfortable drafting from scratch and iterating with stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; strong EQ and executive presence.
• Nice-to-haves: startup scale-up (50→200+) experience; ATS/HRIS rollout.
• Early outcomes (90–180 days):
• * v1 leveling & role charters; geo pay bands + offer guardrails
• * Redesigned performance cycle (calibration plan/tooling) executed once
• * Quarterly headcount plan running; hiring scorecards in use
• Disqualifiers: policy-only admins; leaders who haven’t personally built comp/leveling; need large teams to execute.

Hiring Process

• Founder's interview
• Functional Deep Dive - 1
• Functional Deep Dive - 2