ROLE DESCRIPTION:
Fresh Bus is one of India's fastest-growing intercity EV bus operators, redefining travel standards through a rapidly expanding fleet and tech-enabled operations. As part of its ambitious growth journey, the company is investing heavily in people capability, with Training & Learning at the core of this transformation. We are looking for an AVP – Training & Learning, who will architect this function from the ground up, shaping the strategy, building the team, and establishing systems that empower hundreds of employees across regions to consistently perform at their best. This is a hands-on builder's role, requiring the expertise of a seasoned L&D leader with proven success in creating or restructuring training functions. The ideal candidate will have at least 10+ years of experience, including at least 3 years leading multi-region teams in frontline-heavy, consumer-facing industries such as transport, logistics, hospitality, aviation, retail, or QSR
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Learning Strategy & Function Building:
- Design and own the end-to-end Training & Learning strategy for Fresh Bus; covering frontline operations, customer-facing roles, and mid-management tiers
- Build and lead a pan-India team of Regional Training Leads; establish operating rhythms, capability standards, and delivery accountability across geographies
- Develop the annual learning calendar, training budgets, and resource plans in alignment with organizational growth targets
- Establish Fresh Bus as a learning organization; embedding a culture of continuous development from Day 1 onboarding through to tenure-based progression
Curriculum Design & Content Development:
- Architect role-specific learning journeys for all employee categories: bus crew, ground operations, supervisors, and regional managers
- Build a blended learning model in-person, on-the-job, and digital calibrated to a multilingual, mobile-first, high-turnover workforce
- Develop standardized SOPs, service delivery playbooks, and operational skill modules that are practically executable in the field
- Own content refresh cycles; ensure all training material stays current with operational changes, product updates, and regulatory requirements
Onboarding & New Hire Readiness:
- Design and continuously improve structured induction programs that cut time-to-productivity for all new hires
- Build role-readiness certification standards before frontline staff are deployed; ensure consistency across all regional hiring cohorts
- Partner with HR and Operations to align onboarding timelines with business hiring pace, especially during rapid expansion phases
Measurement, Effectiveness & Reporting:
- Build the training effectiveness framework using Kirkpatrick or equivalent, measuring reaction, learning, behaviour change, and business results
- Own training KPIs: completion rates, assessment scores, time-to-proficiency, post-training error rates, and attrition within probation periods
- Report training outcomes to senior leadership and the SVP on a regular cadence; present ROI evidence for L&D investment
- Use operational performance data, audit findings, and grievance trends to identify skill gaps and design targeted remediation programs
Stakeholder Collaboration & Governance:
- Work closely with Operations, HR, and other Functional Heads to ensure training programs are operationally grounded and contextually relevant
- Establish Training Governance, including sign-off frameworks, delivery standards, trainer certification, and regional audit mechanisms
- Identify and manage external training vendors, certification bodies, and learning technology platforms where required
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS:
- 10+ years in Training, Learning & Development with a minimum of 3 years leading multi-region L&D teams
- Proven track record of building or significantly restructuring a training function, not just running an inherited one
- Deep expertise in instructional design, adult learning principles (70-20-10), and competency-based learning frameworks
- Strong program management skills with ability to run multiple learning initiatives concurrently without losing quality or timelines
- Data orientation, comfortable designing assessments, interpreting training analytics, and translating data into program decisions
- Exceptional facilitation and communication skills; equally effective training a crew team in the field and presenting to the leadership team
- Mandatory background in frontline-heavy, consumer-facing industries: transport, logistics, hospitality, aviation, retail, or QSR
- Experience managing large-scale training delivery for 500+ employees simultaneously across geographies
- Familiarity with LMS platforms, digital learning tools, and content authoring systems (e.g. Moodle, TalentLMS, Articulate, iSpring)
- High ownership and execution drive - design, deliver and own
