Job Description

Head of People, Leadership & Culture

(with ownership of People Systems & Governance)

Location: Delhi NCR
Reporting to: CEO
Experience: 12–15 years

About Arthan

Arthan is building the human capital backbone of Indias impact economy

We partner with high-growth nonprofits and social enterprises to help them attract exceptional leaders, build resilient institutions, and scale with purpose and precision. Internally, we are committed to building an organisation where people grow, leaders are developed, and culture is intentional, not accidental

As Arthan enters its next phase of growth, we are investing deeply in leadership quality, people capability, and organisational culture, supported by strong systems and governance.

Why This Role Exists

Arthan is seeking a senior People, L&D, and Culture leader to shape how leadership is developed, how teams grow, and how culture is lived across the organisation.

This role exists because we believe that strategy only succeeds when leadership and culture are strong You will be responsible for building leadership depth, strengthening managers, and creating a culture of clarity, accountability, learning, and care. At the same time, you will ensure that the people systems, policies, and governance needed to sustain this culture are robust and scalable.

This is a role for someone who sees people development and systems discipline as complementary not competing forces

What You Will Lead

1. Leadership Development & L&D (Core of the Role)

• Own the organisations leadership and management development agenda
• Design and implement L&D frameworks for:

1. First-time managers
2. Senior leaders
3. Cross-functional leadership roles

• Build a culture of regular feedback, coaching, reflection, and growth
• Partner closely with the CEO and leadership team to strengthen leadership quality and bench strength.
• Support succession planning and leadership readiness as the organisation scales.
  

2. Culture Building & Employee Experience

• Act as the custodian of organisational culture, how values are lived, decisions are made, and people are treated.
• Strengthen practices around performance, feedback, accountability, and recognition.
• Build systems that balance high standards with empathy and fairness
• Shape employee experience across the lifecycle: onboarding, growth, transitions, and exits.
• Address people's challenges proactively and with maturity.

3. People Operations & Systems

• Own the end-to-end people lifecycle: workforce planning, hiring, onboarding, performance management, compensation coordination, and exits
• Design and maintain HR policies, SOPs, and people systems that are clear, fair, and trusted.
• Ensure statutory compliance with labour and employment laws.
• Build predictable, well-documented people processes that scale with growth.

4. Governance, Risk & Organisational Discipline

• Ensure people and organisational practices meet high standards of governance, compliance, and risk management
• Work with finance and operations to ensure people's decisions are financially and legally sound.
• Support audit readiness and governance documentation related to people and organisational practices.
• Act as a steady, trusted partner to leadership on sensitive people and governance matters.

5. Systems Thinking & Decision Support

• Build dashboards and metrics related to people, leadership health, and organisational effectiveness.
• Use data and insight to inform leadership decisions, not just report activity.
• Help the organisation anticipate people and culture risks before they become problems.

What Success Looks Like (12–15 Months)

• Leaders and managers across Arthan are stronger, more confident, and more effective
• Teams experience clarity, fairness, and consistency in how people's decisions are made.
• Culture is felt not just described, through behaviour, feedback, and accountability.
• People systems are predictable, compliant, and scalable.
• Arthan is prepared to grow 2–3x without cultural or leadership dilution
  

Who You Are

• 12–15 years of experience in HR, People & Culture, L&D, or organisational leadership roles.
• A proven track record of building leaders and strengthening culture in growing organisations.
• Strong grounding in HR operations, compliance, and people systems.
• Comfortable operating at both strategic and hands-on levels
• High integrity, discretion, emotional intelligence, and judgment.
• Experience in mission-driven, nonprofit, or social impact organisations is a strong advantage.

Why This Role Matters

This is not a traditional HR role. It is an opportunity to shape leadership quality, culture, and people systems in an organisation that influences the wider impact ecosystem. If you believe that institutions succeed or fail based on how leaders grow and how culture is lived, this role gives you the mandate and responsibility, to make that real.