Job Description

HR Director, India

Let’s be unstoppable together!

Circana is a leading provider of technology, AI, and data solutions for consumer packaged goods companies, manufacturers, and retailers. Our predictive analytics and Liquid Data® platform help clients measure market share, uncover consumer behavior, and drive growth—powered by six decades of expertise and an expansive, high-quality data set.

At Circana, we are fueled by our passion for continuous learning and growth, we seek and share feedback freely, and we celebrate victories both big and small in an environment that is flexible and accommodating to our work and personal lives.  We’re a global company dedicated to fostering inclusivity and belonging. We value and celebrate the unique experiences, cultures, and viewpoints that each individual brings. By embracing a wide range of backgrounds, skills, expertise, and beyond, we create a stronger, more innovative environment for our employees, clients, and communities. With us, you can always bring your full self to work.  Join our inclusive, committed team to be a challenger, own outcomes, and stay curious together. Circana is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work®. This prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Circana. Learn more at www.circana.com.

Role Overview

We're looking for an experienced HR Director to lead our India people agenda and serve as a trusted advisor to senior business leaders.

This is a highly visible leadership role responsible for partnering with leaders across the business to drive organisational performance, workforce planning, leadership capability, employee engagement, and business transformation. You will play a key role in shaping people strategies that support growth, organisational effectiveness, and long-term business success.

Reporting to the Global HR leadership team and working across a complex matrix organisation, you will lead the delivery of the India HR strategy, partnering with local and global stakeholders across talent, employee relations, culture, change management, and organisational development. You will also lead the India HRBP team and play a key role in building a high-performing, engaged workforce.

Job Responsibilities

Your main responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Business Partnership

• Partner with senior leaders to align people strategies with business priorities and growth objectives.
• Provide guidance on organisational design, workforce planning, succession planning, and leadership capability.
• Use workforce insights and analytics to inform business decisions and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Act as a trusted advisor on complex people and organisational matters.
• Influence business outcomes through strategic thinking, coaching, and leadership partnership.

Talent and Performance Management

• Drive talent management and succession planning activities across the business.
• Partner with leaders to identify capability gaps and build future talent pipelines.
• Work closely with Talent Acquisition to attract, develop, and retain top talent.
• Support leadership development initiatives that strengthen organisational capability and effectiveness.

Organisational Effectiveness and Change

• Lead organisational redesign, transformation, and change initiatives.
• Support business growth, restructuring, acquisitions, integrations, and workforce transitions where required.
• Guide leaders through periods of change, ensuring strong communication, engagement, and adoption.
• Identify opportunities to improve effectiveness, productivity, and ways of working across the organisation.

Employee Experience and Culture

• Champion an inclusive, high-performing, and engaging culture.
• Partner with leaders to strengthen employee engagement, wellbeing, and retention.
• Drive initiatives that enhance leadership effectiveness, accountability, and collaboration.
• Help shape a positive employee experience throughout the employee lifecycle.

Employee Relations and Compliance

• Provide expert guidance on employee relations, employment legislation, and workplace practices.
• Manage complex employee matters, investigations, and risk management activities.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, employment regulations, ethical standards, and the new Indian Labour Codes.
• Act as the escalation point for complex people issues and business-critical matters.

HR Leadership and Team Management

• Lead, coach, and develop the India HRBP team.
• Foster a collaborative, customer-focused, and high-performing HR culture.
• Establish clear priorities, accountability, and development opportunities for team members.
• Partner closely with Centres of Excellence to deliver talent, reward, learning, organisational effectiveness, and employee experience programs.
• Setting clear priorities, performance expectations and accountability measures.
• Championing consistency, collaboration and HR best practices across the organisation.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Psychology, or a related field. Advanced qualifications are highly regarded.
• Minimum 10 years+ HR leadership experience within complex, multinational, matrixed organisations.
• Strong experience partnering with senior executives and leadership teams on strategic people initiatives.
• Proven success leading organisational change, transformation, and business growth initiatives.
• Deep understanding of Indian employment legislation, employee relations, and the new Indian Labour Codes.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to connect people strategies to business outcomes.
• Experience using workforce data, analytics, and insights to support decision-making.
• Demonstrated success building high-performing teams and developing future leaders.
• Outstanding stakeholder management, influencing, communication, and coaching skills.
• Experience working across multiple business units, functions, or geographies within a global organisation.

This is an opportunity to play a strategic role in shaping the future of our India business while partnering with global leaders across a highly collaborative and fast-paced environment.

You'll have the opportunity to influence business outcomes, lead meaningful change, develop leadership capability, and build a high-performing culture that enables our people and business to thrive.

Circana Behaviours

Beyond technical skills, experience, and role-specific attributes, these shared behaviors are fundamental to our culture and success. We seek individuals who consistently demonstrate and champion these behaviors in their daily work:

• Stay Curious: Being hungry to learn and grow, always asking the big questions.
• Seek Clarity: Embracing complexity to create clarity and inspire action.
• Own the Outcome: Being accountable for decisions and taking ownership of our choices.
• Center on the Client: Relentlessly adding value for our customers.
• Be a Challenger: Never complacent, always striving for continuous improvement.
• Champion Inclusivity: Fostering trust in relationships engaging with empathy, respect, and integrity.
• Commit to each other: Contributing to making Circana a great place to work for everyone.

Location: This role can be based in Bangalore (preferred) or Pune. The successful candidate will be expected to work onsite 1-2 days per week.