JOB DESCRIPTION
HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Leading Biopharma & Biologics Company | Bangalore, India
THE OPPORTUNITY
We seek an exceptional HR leader to architect and execute our people strategy during a transformational growth phase. As Head of HR, you will be a strategic business partner to the CEO and leadership team, building organizational capability to support our ambitious pipeline, attract world-class scientific talent, and establish our company as the employer of choice in India's competitive biopharma landscape.
This is a rare opportunity to shape culture, drive talent excellence, and create sustainable competitive advantage through people in one of India's fastest-growing sectors.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Leadership
- Partner with CEO and Executive Committee to translate business strategy into integrated talent strategy
- Build organizational architecture to support pipeline expansion, therapeutic area diversification, and commercial scale-up
- Lead workforce planning for critical capabilities: AI-driven drug discovery, computational biology, advanced biologics manufacturing, regulatory excellence
- Drive culture transformation balancing scientific rigor, innovation, speed, and collaboration
- Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion with measurable impact on representation and belonging
Talent Acquisition & Management
- Architect talent acquisition strategy to compete with global biopharma, tech giants, and Western opportunities for India's best scientific minds
- Build employer brand positioning our mission, scientific impact, and career opportunities
- Design career frameworks enabling dual tracks: technical expertise (Principal Scientist) and people leadership
- Establish internal mobility programs reducing reliance on external hiring and accelerating capability development
- Create succession planning and high-potential programs ensuring leadership pipeline strength
Performance & Development
- Redesign performance management from administrative process to continuous development engine
- Implement competency frameworks reflecting evolving skill needs: domain expertise + data science + cross-functional collaboration
- Build learning ecosystem combining scientific excellence, leadership development, and emerging capabilities (AI/ML, regulatory data science)
- Partner with IISc, NCBS, and global institutions for specialized talent development programs
- Drive manager effectiveness through training, coaching, and accountability for people outcomes
Employee Experience & Engagement
- Create employee voice mechanisms ensuring all levels—from lab scientists to senior leaders—feel heard and valued
- Design retention strategies addressing segment-specific needs: early career mentorship, mid-career growth, senior impact opportunities
- Build total rewards philosophy balancing market competitiveness with mission-driven culture
- Address unique challenges of two-tier workforce (lab-based vs. computational/regulatory roles) ensuring equitable experience
- Establish wellness programs supporting mental health in high-pressure R&D environment
Organizational Effectiveness
- Lead organizational design initiatives supporting agility, cross-functional collaboration, and speed to market
- Drive HR analytics and metrics-based decision making: predictive attrition, skills gap analysis, performance-outcome correlation
- Implement HR technology stack enabling seamless employee experience and strategic insights
- Ensure compliance with Indian labor law, GMP requirements, and global regulatory standards
- Build HR team capability and establish centers of excellence in critical domains
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential
- 15+ years progressive HR leadership experience, including 8+ years in senior leadership roles
- Proven track record (preferably) in biopharma, biotech, pharmaceutical, or life sciences industries
- Deep understanding of scientific talent markets, R&D culture, and GMP-regulated environments
- Strategic business partnership experience with C-suite and Board-level stakeholders
- Demonstrated success in high-growth environments: scaling teams 2-3x, entering new markets, managing M&A integration
- Expertise in talent acquisition for hard-to-fill scientific roles: computational biology, biologics manufacturing, regulatory affairs
- Strong analytical capability: workforce analytics, predictive modelling, metrics-driven decision making
- Master's degree in HR, Business, Psychology, or related field; MBA preferred
- Familiarity with Indian biotech ecosystem: academic partnerships, government initiatives, regulatory landscape
- Execution Excellence
What we offer
As Head of HR, you'll have meaningful autonomy to build our people strategy with direct access to senior leadership. Work alongside exceptional scientists and business leaders who are deeply committed to our mission of developing life-saving therapies. This is an opportunity to make a real impact during an exciting phase of growth, supported by competitive compensation, performance incentives and comprehensive benefits.
