Manufacturing & Production
6 Oct
Head HR
GROUP HEAD HR – CORPORATE HR
Kolkata – Corporate Office
Function: Human Resources
Reporting To: CHRO / CEO / Senior Leadership
Experience: 12–15+ Years
About the Role
The Group Head HR – Corporate HR will be responsible for managing and strengthening the centralised HR function from the Kolkata Corporate Office.
This is a Corporate HR leadership role and not a purely Plant HR / Industrial Relations position. The incumbent will work closely with the CHRO and senior leadership and will provide HR leadership across the organisation, including its multiple manufacturing locations.
The role will establish consistent HR processes, policies and governance across locations while ensuring business and people priorities are aligned.
The ideal candidate should have strong Steel / Metals industry experience, preferably in a Corporate HR setup, with exposure to managing HR for a workforce of 1000+ employees across multiple locations / plants. The person should combine strong HR fundamentals with technology orientation, business understanding, stakeholder management and senior-level negotiation skills.
1. Corporate HR Governance & HR Operations
· Lead the centralised Corporate HR function and ensure consistent implementation of HR policies and processes across locations.
· Establish and strengthen standardised HR practices across the organisation.
· Ensure HR governance, process discipline and compliance across corporate and plant locations.
· Partner with plant HR teams and business leaders to align Corporate HR policies with execution.
· Monitor manpower, workforce structure and HR effectiveness.
· Review HR processes and identify opportunities for standardisation and improvement.
· Ensure timely and accurate HR MIS, dashboards and management reporting.
2. Manpower Planning & Workforce Management
· Drive organisation-wide manpower planning with business and functional heads.
· Review sanctioned vs. actual manpower across corporate and plant locations.
· Ensure availability of manpower for critical functions and positions.
· Analyse workforce productivity and opportunities for manpower optimisation.
· Monitor regular employees as well as contract / outsourced workforce.
· Support business leadership in determining manpower structures for growth and expansion.
The candidate should have experience managing HR responsibilities for a workforce of approximately 1000+ employees, preferably across multiple locations / plants.
3. Talent Management & Succession Planning
· Develop organisation-wide talent management practices.
· Identify high-potential and critical talent.
· Drive talent reviews and succession planning for key positions.
· Build leadership pipelines for critical roles.
· Develop retention strategies for key and high-performing employees.
· Partner with senior leadership on talent and organisational capability decisions.
4. Performance Management System
· Own and drive the organisation-wide Performance Management System.
· Establish and monitor KRAs / KPIs and performance objectives.
· Coordinate goal setting, periodic performance reviews and annual appraisal cycles.
· Drive performance calibration and consistency across functions and locations.
· Support leadership in performance evaluation and compensation decisions.
· Analyse performance trends and capability or performance gaps.
The PMS, reviews and corporate-level people processes as important components of the role.
5. Organisation Development & Capability Building
· Drive Organisation Development initiatives aligned with business strategy.
· Identify organisation-wide capability gaps.
· Develop training and development frameworks.
· Recommend training programmes for different employee groups.
· Develop leadership and managerial capability-building initiatives.
· Build competency frameworks and skill matrices for critical roles.
· Measure training effectiveness and business impact.
The role is expected to determine what types of training programmes should be designed for different employee groups, making OD and capability building a core Corporate HR responsibility.
6. Compensation, Rewards & Performance Reviews
· Drive the annual compensation review process.
· Benchmark compensation structures and recommend salary revisions.
· Manage annual increment and promotion processes.
· Develop and review compensation and reward policies.
· Partner with senior leadership on compensation decisions for critical and senior positions.
· Ensure consistency and internal equity across functions and locations.
The role is expected to determine responsibility around salary, wages, revisions, performance reviews and annual increments.
7. Senior-Level Negotiation & Stakeholder Management
· Handle HR discussions and negotiations with senior employees and leadership-level hires.
· Participate in compensation and offer negotiations for senior positions.
· Manage sensitive employee and leadership-level discussions with maturity and confidentiality.
· Partner with VPs, Senior GMs, Plant Heads and other senior stakeholders.
· Balance organisational policies with business and employee expectations.
Strong negotiation capability is important at this level, particularly for senior management hiring, compensation and employee discussions. The CEO distinguished negotiation skills from routine approval processes and expects the HR Head to independently manage such discussions.
8. HR Technology, HRMS & Digital HR
· Drive effective utilisation of HR technology and HRMS platforms.
· Use HR systems for employee data, HR operations, performance management, reporting and analytics.
· Leverage technology to improve HR processes, data accuracy and decision-making.
· Support implementation, adoption and optimisation of ERP-based HR systems.
· Generate HR dashboards and analytics for management.
· Improve digital HR processes and system adoption.
The candidate should be comfortable with HR technology and HR applications and should have hands-on exposure to using HRMS / ERP-based systems as part of day-to-day HR operations.
9. Employee Relations, Compliance & HR Governance
· Ensure organisation-wide compliance with applicable labour and employment laws.
· Establish HR governance mechanisms across locations.
· Partner with plant HR teams on employee relations and statutory matters.
· Monitor contractor workforce compliance.
· Ensure appropriate documentation, audits and HR controls.
· Handle escalated employee grievances and sensitive employee matters.
· Ensure HR policies are implemented consistently across locations.
This position will have oversight of statutory and compliance matters, but the role should not be positioned as a pure IR / Labour Relations specialist. The CEO specifically clarified that the requirement is for someone who has handled broader, serious HR functions rather than someone whose career has been predominantly focused on IR.
10. Employee Engagement & Organisation Culture
· Drive organisation-wide employee engagement initiatives.
· Strengthen employee communication and leadership connect.
· Develop recognition and employee experience initiatives.
· Analyse employee feedback and implement improvement actions.
· Promote a performance-driven and collaborative culture across locations.
11. HR MIS, Analytics & Management Reporting
· Prepare and present monthly HR dashboards to CHRO / senior leadership.
· Track headcount, manpower productivity, attrition, recruitment, performance, compensation, training and engagement metrics.
· Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to management.
· Ensure accuracy and timely submission of HR reports.
· Use HR analytics to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
Key Role Emphasis
· Workforce exposure: experience managing HR for approximately 1000+ employees, preferably across multiple plants / locations.
· PMS: strong ownership of PMS, reviews and corporate-level people processes.
· OD: ability to determine training requirements for different employee groups.
· Compensation: experience with salary / wage revisions, promotions, performance reviews and annual increments.
· Negotiation: strong capability in senior management hiring, compensation and employee discussions.
· Technology: hands-on comfort with HR applications, HRMS and ERP-based HR systems.
· IR positioning: this is not a pure IR / Labour Relations specialist role; broader HR leadership experience is required.
Key Performance Scorecard
KRA / KPI
Weight
Target
Workforce Governance, Compliance, IR & HR Operations
55%
Manpower Planning & Critical Position Availability
10%
≥98% manpower plan fulfilment
Recruitment & Onboarding Effectiveness
8%
≥95% positions closed within defined TAT
Attendance, Absenteeism, Payroll & HRIS Accuracy
7%
≥99.5% accuracy
Statutory / Labour Law / Contractor Compliance
10%
100% compliance within due dates
Industrial Relations & Grievance Management
8%
≥95% grievances closed within 7 days; zero major IR disruption
Workforce Safety, Health & Welfare Compliance
6%
100% completion of mandatory requirements
Attrition & Retention of Critical / Key Talent
6%
Annual voluntary attrition ≤5% for Manager & Above / critical talent
Talent, Performance, Capability, Engagement & HR Cost
45%
Performance Management & Goal Alignment
10%
≥95% completion within approved calendar
Training, Competency & Skill Development
10%
≥7 training days/employee/year; 100% mandatory technical/HSE coverage
Succession Planning & Critical Talent Coverage
8%
≥90% critical positions with at least one successor
Employee Engagement & Organisation Culture
5%
≥85% favourable score; ≥90% survey participation
HR Cost Control & Manpower Productivity
8%
Within approved budget; productivity tracked
HR MIS, Analytics & Management Reporting
4%
≥99% data accuracy; 100% on-time monthly MIS
Overall KRA Weightage: KRA 1 – Workforce Governance, Compliance, Industrial Relations & HR Operations: 55% | KRA 2 – Talent, Performance, Capability, Engagement & HR Cost: 45% | Total: 100%
Candidate Profile
Essential
· 12–15+ years of progressive HR experience.
· MBA / PGDM in Human Resources or equivalent qualification.
· Strong Steel / Metals industry experience is preferred and will be a major selection criterion.
· Strong Corporate HR experience, preferably across multiple plants / locations.
· Experience managing HR for a workforce of 1000+ employees.
· Strong end-to-end HR experience rather than only Industrial Relations.
· Strong experience in PMS, talent management, OD, training, compensation and HR governance.
· Hands-on exposure to HRMS / ERP / digital HR tools.
· Strong knowledge of HR compliance and labour laws.
· Experience dealing with senior leadership, Plant Heads, VPs, Senior GMs and business leaders.
· Strong compensation and senior-level negotiation skills.
· Strong analytical ability and HR dashboard / MIS experience.
LinkedIn & Professional Network
The candidate should maintain an active and credible LinkedIn presence with a meaningful professional network.
LinkedIn activity and network strength will be considered as indicators of professional exposure, industry connectivity and networking capability.
Technology Orientation
· HRMS / HRIS
· ERP-based HR systems
· Frappe HR / Prape ERM / Similar Tool
· Employee databases
· PMS / performance platforms
· HR dashboards and analytics
· MS Excel / reporting tools
· Digital HR processes
Preferred Industry Background
Priority: Steel | Iron & Steel | Metals | Metal Manufacturing
What We Are Looking For
The ideal candidate should operate at the intersection of Corporate HR + Business HR + HR Technology + Talent Management + OD + PMS + Compensation + Compliance + Senior Stakeholder Management.
This is not a pure IR role and not a purely administrative HR position. The person should be capable of taking ownership of organisation-wide HR initiatives, working independently with senior leadership and translating business requirements into practical HR policies and processes.
Location, Relocation & Hiring Timeline
Location: Kolkata – Corporate Office.
Relocation assistance will not be provided.
Role Objective
To lead the centralised Corporate HR function by building strong HR governance, developing talent and leadership pipelines, strengthening performance and capability systems, enabling data-driven HR decisions, driving effective HR technology adoption and ensuring HR strategy remains closely aligned with organisational growth and business objectives.
The successful candidate will be expected to bring depth of Steel / Metals HR experience, corporate HR maturity, technology orientation, leadership capability and strong business-facing HR skills.