People & Culture Lead

People & Culture Lead

Hyderabad, India · Reports to Strategy · India operations with US entity coordination

Own the People function as a true Global HRBP for a 500+ person India operation supporting a US-headquartered entity. This is a strategic business-partnering role first, and an operational ownership role second: you'll sit close to Founders and Function Leads as their HR counterpart across two geographies, shaping org design, talent strategy and workforce decisions in real time — while also owning the full employee lifecycle end to end. Prior experience operating as an HRBP across multiple countries (ideally India + US) is required — this is not a single-market generalist role.

Responsibilities

Global HR Business Partnering (core of the role)

Act as the primary HR partner to Founders and Function Leads across both the India and US contexts — understanding each business unit's goals and translating them into people strategy, org design, and workforce decisions. Advise on organisational design, role architecture, reporting structure and the levelling framework across two regulatory regimes and two talent markets. Bring a comparative lens: know how HR practices, employment norms and talent expectations differ between India and the US, and design policies/programmes that work coherently across both without defaulting to a single-market template. Be the escalation point Founders and leaders turn to for judgment calls on people issues, not just process execution.

Function ownership

Own the P&C agenda, roadmap and operating model globally. Own the organisational knowledge architecture - SOPs, handbooks, lifecycle documentation and the knowledge directory - and keep the documented record current and continuity-proof across both entities.

Talent acquisition

Own hiring across technical and non-technical roles in India, partnering with US-side stakeholders on cross-border hiring needs: requisition governance, pipeline health, interview frameworks and hiring manager enablement. Lead offer construction and closure for senior hires, with awareness of US compensation norms where relevant. Manage recruiting capacity including agency relationships.

Compensation and equity

Run the compensation cycle end to end - benchmarking, band construction, moderation, approval and communication - with fluency in both India and US market benchmarks. Administer the ESOP programme: grant recommendations, board cadence, documentation and employee communication.

Benefits and people operations

Design and roll out benefits including retirement schemes and insurance for the India population, while coordinating with US-side HR/legal on benefits parity and obligations where applicable. Own payroll governance and vendor performance across employee and contractor populations, onboarding, leave and holiday framework, and HRIS data integrity and access governance.

Performance and development

Own the performance and goal-setting cycle and its alignment to company objectives and board reporting, across both geographies. Design and facilitate manager and leadership development. Run recognition programmes tied to company values.

Compliance and employee relations

Hold accountability for statutory compliance across the India entity, including the Labour Codes and POSH, while coordinating closely with legal counsel and US HR/legal on US-side employment obligations. Own worker classification policy and risk assessment across engagement models in both countries. Manage grievances and investigations, and operate separation processes for voluntary and business-reason exits across both entities.

Data and reporting

Maintain headcount tracking, org charts and workforce data as the single source of truth across India and US populations. Prepare people data for board, investor and diligence requirements, and the analysis behind global headcount planning.

Corporate transactions

Support mergers, acquisitions and structural changes: people-side due diligence, workforce mapping, retention planning, harmonisation of terms across jurisdictions, and post-transaction integration. Prior M&A experience is preferred.

Qualifications

• Required: Demonstrated HRBP experience, with direct exposure to managing HR across at least two countries — India and US experience specifically preferred.
• Strong grasp of comparative employment law/practice basics between India and the US (this role owns statutory compliance in India and coordinates US obligations, not the reverse).
• Comfort operating as a strategic partner to founders/leadership, not just a process owner.
• Prior M&A / corporate transaction exposure preferred.