Leads strategic HR and talent acquisition, building technical talent pipelines, employer branding, and AI-enabled recruiting processes. Owns workforce planning, career architecture, compensation strategy, HR technology, analytics, policy governance, culture, engagement, and DEI across Pune and London. Manages and coaches an HR Recruitment Associate, partners with leadership on hiring and organizational planning, and coordinates multi-country HR practices. The role is positioned as a pathway toward HR Director responsibilities.
The Senior HR Manager is accountable for solving SKO
Systems' talent-acquisition capacity challenge at a strategic level: building
durable sourcing relationships and talent-pool partnerships that bring the
company's ~4-month time-to-fill down to a sustainable level, setting AI-enabled
recruiting strategy and tooling, and owning compensation, workforce planning,
HR technology, and policy governance. This role is intentionally scoped to
handle these responsibilities — strategic HR leadership, career architecture,
culture ownership, and multi-geography coordination across Pune and London. It
directly manages the HR Recruitment Associate and works as a close peer partner
to the HR Manager, with both roles reporting to the COO.
Essential Functions / Deliverables
Talent Pipeline & Sourcing Partnerships
• Build and maintain direct relationships with recruitment agencies, technical communities, coding bootcamps, engineering colleges, and passive-talent networks specific to SKO's scarce skills (Android, Angular, .NET, SQL/Oracle, DevOps, technical BA/PM).
• Reduce dependency on reactive job-board posting by developing a proactive, always-on talent pipeline.
• Own employer-branding efforts that materially shorten time-to-fill from the current ~4-month average.
Recruitment Strategy, AI Tooling & Oversight
• Set end-to-end recruiting strategy and process design for the HR function.
• Select, implement, and continuously improve AI-assisted sourcing, screening, and interview-automation tools.
• Directly manage, coach, and review the HR Recruitment Associate's execution and pipeline metrics.
• Personally lead sourcing and closing conversations for senior or business-critical hires.
Strategic HR Leadership, Workforce Planning & Career Architecture
• Partner with leadership on headcount and workforce planning aligned to the 3-year product roadmap.
• Design a dual-track (individual contributor / management) career-ladder framework to support technical talent retention.
• Coordinate HR practices and basic employment considerations across both the Pune and London offices, escalating multi-country complexity to external counsel or the COO as needed.
Compensation & Benefits Strategy
• Design competitive, market-aligned pay bands for scarce technical skills.
• Lead annual compensation benchmarking and review cycles for leadership approval.
HR Technology, Analytics & Digital Transformation
• Own the HRMS roadmap, including evaluation of the current platform against alternatives.
• Build recruiting and workforce analytics dashboards for leadership.
• Drive automation across HR processes, prioritizing AI-enabled recruiting workflows.
Policy Governance, Compliance, Culture & Engagement
• Set HR policy direction and partner with the HR Manager on POSH and statutory compliance execution, ensuring governance standards are met.
• Own company-level culture, engagement, and DEI strategy and direction (day-to-day administration remains with the HR Manager).
Team Leadership, Mentorship
• Manage, coach, and develop the HR Recruitment Associate.
• Partner collaboratively with the HR Manager on shared HR initiatives, mentoring one another in areas of respective strength.
• Build demonstrated capability across compensation strategy, HRMS transformation, and multi-geography coordination.
Essential Functions / Deliverables
Talent Pipeline & Sourcing Partnerships
• Build and maintain direct relationships with recruitment agencies, technical communities, coding bootcamps, engineering colleges, and passive-talent networks specific to SKO's scarce skills (Android, Angular, .NET, SQL/Oracle, DevOps, technical BA/PM).
• Reduce dependency on reactive job-board posting by developing a proactive, always-on talent pipeline.
• Own employer-branding efforts that materially shorten time-to-fill from the current ~4-month average.
Recruitment Strategy, AI Tooling & Oversight
• Set end-to-end recruiting strategy and process design for the HR function.
• Select, implement, and continuously improve AI-assisted sourcing, screening, and interview-automation tools.
• Directly manage, coach, and review the HR Recruitment Associate's execution and pipeline metrics.
• Personally lead sourcing and closing conversations for senior or business-critical hires.
Strategic HR Leadership, Workforce Planning & Career Architecture
• Partner with leadership on headcount and workforce planning aligned to the 3-year product roadmap.
• Design a dual-track (individual contributor / management) career-ladder framework to support technical talent retention.
• Coordinate HR practices and basic employment considerations across both the Pune and London offices, escalating multi-country complexity to external counsel or the COO as needed.
Compensation & Benefits Strategy
• Design competitive, market-aligned pay bands for scarce technical skills.
• Lead annual compensation benchmarking and review cycles for leadership approval.
HR Technology, Analytics & Digital Transformation
• Own the HRMS roadmap, including evaluation of the current platform against alternatives.
• Build recruiting and workforce analytics dashboards for leadership.
• Drive automation across HR processes, prioritizing AI-enabled recruiting workflows.
Policy Governance, Compliance, Culture & Engagement
• Set HR policy direction and partner with the HR Manager on POSH and statutory compliance execution, ensuring governance standards are met.
• Own company-level culture, engagement, and DEI strategy and direction (day-to-day administration remains with the HR Manager).
Team Leadership, Mentorship
• Manage, coach, and develop the HR Recruitment Associate.
• Partner collaboratively with the HR Manager on shared HR initiatives, mentoring one another in areas of respective strength.
• Build demonstrated capability across compensation strategy, HRMS transformation, and multi-geography coordination.
Requirements
Minimum Education : Bachelor's
degree required; MBA/PGDM in Human Resources preferred
Discipline/Major : Human Resources Management, Business Administration, or related field
Required Certifications : SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, HRCI, CIPD, or NHRD (India) — valued, not mandatory
Required Years & Area of Experience : 8–14 years of progressive HR experience, including recruitment/talent acquisition leadership within a software, SaaS, or technology product company; demonstrated experience building sourcing partnerships/talent pipelines and deploying AI-enabled recruiting tools
Critical Technical/Computer Skills : HRIS/ATS platforms (Zoho People/Recruit or similar); AI-assisted sourcing and screening tools (e.g., resume scoring, automated first-round interview platforms); people-analytics/dash boarding tools; compensation benchmarking tools
Other Requirements (Key Competencies) : Relationship-building and networking; negotiation; data-driven decision making; coaching and team leadership; business acumen; adaptability; ethical judgment
Preferred Education MBA/PGDM in Human Resources
Preferred Experience : Experience in a technology/software product company with distributed or global operations; hands-on experience deploying AI tools in recruitment, such as automating first-round screening interviews; prior exposure to multi-country HR operations (e.g., UK or other international employment basics) is a plus given SKO's Pune and London footprint
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: Strong relationship-building and networking ability; data fluency; comfort partnering with engineering/technical leadership; AI-tool fluency for recruiting automation
Growth Path : This role is deliberately structured as a stepping stone to HR Director. Demonstrated success in compensation strategy, HRMS transformation, workforce/career architecture, and multi-geography coordination will form the basis for evaluating elevation to HR Director; this is a development opportunity, not a guaranteed timeline.
Ethics & Compliance : This position requires full commitment to fostering the highest standards, while promoting an ethical and compliant culture. This includes integrity, honesty, and respectful treatment of others, as well as a willingness to speak up when misconduct or concerning behaviors are evident or perceived.
Discipline/Major : Human Resources Management, Business Administration, or related field
Required Certifications : SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, HRCI, CIPD, or NHRD (India) — valued, not mandatory
Required Years & Area of Experience : 8–14 years of progressive HR experience, including recruitment/talent acquisition leadership within a software, SaaS, or technology product company; demonstrated experience building sourcing partnerships/talent pipelines and deploying AI-enabled recruiting tools
Critical Technical/Computer Skills : HRIS/ATS platforms (Zoho People/Recruit or similar); AI-assisted sourcing and screening tools (e.g., resume scoring, automated first-round interview platforms); people-analytics/dash boarding tools; compensation benchmarking tools
Other Requirements (Key Competencies) : Relationship-building and networking; negotiation; data-driven decision making; coaching and team leadership; business acumen; adaptability; ethical judgment
Preferred Education MBA/PGDM in Human Resources
Preferred Experience : Experience in a technology/software product company with distributed or global operations; hands-on experience deploying AI tools in recruitment, such as automating first-round screening interviews; prior exposure to multi-country HR operations (e.g., UK or other international employment basics) is a plus given SKO's Pune and London footprint
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: Strong relationship-building and networking ability; data fluency; comfort partnering with engineering/technical leadership; AI-tool fluency for recruiting automation
Growth Path : This role is deliberately structured as a stepping stone to HR Director. Demonstrated success in compensation strategy, HRMS transformation, workforce/career architecture, and multi-geography coordination will form the basis for evaluating elevation to HR Director; this is a development opportunity, not a guaranteed timeline.
Ethics & Compliance : This position requires full commitment to fostering the highest standards, while promoting an ethical and compliant culture. This includes integrity, honesty, and respectful treatment of others, as well as a willingness to speak up when misconduct or concerning behaviors are evident or perceived.
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What you need to know about the Pune Tech Scene
Once a far-out concept, AI is now a tangible force reshaping industries and economies worldwide. While its adoption will automate some roles, AI has created more jobs than it has displaced, with an expected 97 million new roles to be created in the coming years. This is especially true in cities like Pune, which is emerging as a hub for companies eager to leverage this technology to develop solutions that simplify and improve lives in sectors such as education, healthcare, finance, e-commerce and more.
