Head Talent Acquisition

This role is for one of Weekday’s clients
Salary range: Rs 2000000 - Rs 3000000 (ie INR 20 - 30 LPA)

Min Experience: 4+ years
Location: Mumbai
JobType: full-time

We are looking for a results-driven Head of Talent Acquisition to lead and execute corporate hiring initiatives, including leadership, niche, and business-critical recruitment mandates. The ideal candidate will combine strong hands-on recruitment expertise with business acumen, stakeholder management capabilities, and a proven ability to attract, engage, and close high-quality talent.

This role requires a strong understanding of structured corporate recruitment practices, hiring governance, compensation benchmarking, internal parity, and offer approval processes. The successful candidate will independently manage complex hiring requirements, partner closely with senior business leaders, and drive recruitment excellence through measurable outcomes, efficient processes, and a positive candidate experience.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

1. End-to-End Talent Acquisition

• Independently manage the complete recruitment lifecycle, from understanding business requirements and developing sourcing strategies to candidate evaluation, offer management, and successful closure.
• Develop effective hiring strategies aligned with business priorities, workforce plans, and talent requirements.
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of qualified candidates through direct sourcing, professional networks, referrals, and other recruitment channels.
• Ensure quality-of-hire and timely delivery across multiple recruitment mandates.

2. Leadership and Critical Hiring

• Lead recruitment for senior leadership, niche, specialist, and business-critical positions.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to understand role requirements, leadership expectations, and critical success factors.
• Develop targeted talent-mapping strategies to identify and engage high-calibre professionals.
• Manage complex hiring situations, candidate negotiations, and offer closures while maintaining confidentiality and professionalism.
• Ensure critical positions are filled within agreed timelines without compromising candidate quality.

3. Stakeholder Management and Business Partnership

• Work closely with business leaders and hiring managers to understand workforce requirements, business priorities, and talent gaps.
• Translate business needs into effective recruitment strategies and candidate profiles.
• Provide market intelligence, talent availability insights, and hiring recommendations to support informed decision-making.
• Establish strong working relationships with stakeholders across business functions.
• Manage expectations around hiring timelines, candidate quality, compensation, and recruitment priorities.

4. Candidate Engagement and Offer Closure

• Build strong relationships with candidates throughout the recruitment process.
• Effectively communicate the organisation's value proposition, role opportunities, and career prospects.
• Apply strong candidate-selling, negotiation, and influencing skills to improve offer acceptance and joining rates.
• Manage compensation discussions and offer negotiations in coordination with relevant stakeholders.
• Maintain consistent communication with candidates to ensure a smooth and positive recruitment experience.

5. Recruitment Governance and Compensation Management

• Ensure compliance with structured recruitment processes, internal policies, and approval workflows.
• Manage position approvals, Delegation of Authority (DOA), compensation benchmarking, internal parity checks, and offer approvals.
• Partner with relevant teams to ensure compensation proposals align with market benchmarks and internal compensation structures.
• Maintain accurate recruitment documentation and ensure adherence to hiring governance standards.
• Identify process gaps and implement improvements to strengthen recruitment controls and operational efficiency.

6. Recruitment Metrics and Performance Management

• Track and analyse recruitment KPIs, including time-to-hire, hiring turnaround time, offer-to-joining ratio, mandate closure rates, and quality of hire.
• Monitor recruitment performance against agreed targets and identify areas requiring improvement.
• Provide regular hiring updates, recruitment reports, and actionable insights to business stakeholders.
• Use data and market intelligence to improve sourcing effectiveness, hiring predictability, and recruitment outcomes.
• Drive continuous improvement in recruitment productivity and overall hiring efficiency.

7. Process Excellence and Talent Strategy

• Establish consistent recruitment practices and ensure adherence to internal hiring standards.
• Strengthen sourcing strategies, talent pipelines, candidate engagement, and recruitment workflows.
• Identify opportunities to improve hiring quality, reduce turnaround times, and enhance stakeholder satisfaction.
• Support workforce planning and talent-market analysis to anticipate future hiring needs.
• Promote a structured, accountable, and candidate-centric approach to Talent Acquisition.

Must-Have Skills

• Corporate Talent Acquisition
• Leadership Hiring
• Consumer Internet
• End-to-End Recruitment
• Stakeholder Management
• Candidate Engagement and Offer Negotiation
• Compensation Benchmarking
• Recruitment Governance and DOA Processes
• Talent Mapping and Sourcing Strategy
• Recruitment Metrics and Reporting

Candidate Requirements

• 5–8 years of relevant experience in Corporate Talent Acquisition, with flexibility to consider strong candidates with 4–5 years of experience.
• Experience working in large, structured corporate organisations, preferably in FMCG, consumer goods, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, or allied industries.
• Strong hands-on experience managing end-to-end corporate recruitment, including leadership and critical hiring mandates.
• Proven ability to independently manage multiple hiring requirements and deliver quality talent within agreed timelines.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to understand organisational priorities beyond the stated job description.
• Excellent candidate engagement, selling, negotiation, and offer-closure skills.
• Working knowledge of structured hiring governance, including position approvals, DOA, compensation benchmarking, internal parity, and offer approvals.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with senior business leaders and hiring managers.
• A metrics-driven approach, supported by examples of recruitment achievements, hiring outcomes, and process improvements.

Preferred Candidate Profile

• Professionals from established FMCG, consumer goods, consumer internet, pharmaceutical, healthcare, or similar large organisations.
• Candidates with a strong foundation in core Corporate Talent Acquisition and proven experience independently managing end-to-end hiring.
• Individuals who have successfully delivered leadership, niche, and business-critical hiring mandates.
• Professionals who can demonstrate strong stakeholder relationships, effective offer closures, and measurable recruitment outcomes.
• Candidates who combine strategic talent acquisition thinking with a willingness to remain hands-on in day-to-day hiring.