Human Resources Business Partner

Retail & People Excellence Manager

People & Culture · New Delhi · Reports to: TBD

HR Business Partnership

Learning & Development

Store Operations

Step Into the World of Nicobar

Founded in 2016 by Simran Lal and Raul Rai, Nicobar is a modern, mindful, design-led lifestyle brand from India.

We wanted to create a new Indian sensibility that wasn't necessarily Westernised.

We're reimagining a contemporary Indian way of living, dressing, and looking at the world—rooted in culture, shaped by design, and guided by intention. At Nicobar, we believe in culture as much as commerce, and that how we build is just as important as what we build.

Our studio is tucked away in Tulsi Farms, Chhatarpur, Delhi—nestled among trees, a seasonal garden, a citrus grove, and our beloved dogs Nico & Dot. We call it the Treehouse. If you're drawn to thoughtful design, a youthful and nourishing team culture, and the chance to grow a brand with heart—we'd love to hear from you.

Your Role in the Story

We're looking for an HR Business Partner who can operate across three interconnected pillars: people partnership, learning & development, and store operations. This is not a compliance-first role—it's a role for someone who understands that frontline culture, team capability, and operational rigour are all the same thing expressed differently.

You will be the bridge between our people and the business—driving performance, strengthening employee experience, and ensuring that Nicobar's culture is felt as clearly on the shop floor as it is at the Treehouse.

PILLAR 1

HR Business Partnership

Talent, People Planning & Performance

Talent Acquisition

• Lead retail hiring across the store network and business expansion requirements
• Manage campus recruitment programmes and build early talent pipelines
• Partner with TA to ensure quality of hire, not just speed of hire

People Planning & Development

• Drive strategic workforce planning including manpower planning (AOP) and capability building
• Manage Performance Improvement Plans (PIP) and Individual Development Plans (IDP) end-to-end
• Support employee engagement for campus recruits and new joiners through structured career progression planning
• Partner closely with the Chief Retail Officer, Area Managers, and Store Managers on all people matters
• Conduct fortnightly check-ins with AMs/ROMs to review performance, team health, and people challenges

Performance & Retention

• Oversee attrition management—go beyond exit interviews to understand root causes at the store level
• Drive targeted retention interventions in discussion with retail leadership
• Monitor and control AOP vs Actuals for manpower and people-related metrics
• Manage employee grievances end-to-end with timely, fair, and well-documented resolution
• Anchor disciplinary processes including warnings, corrective actions, and PIPs
• Build a culture of continuous feedback—not just annual review cycles

PILLAR 2

Learning & Development

Store Excellence, Capability Building & Customer Experience

Store Excellence Training

• Conduct store hygiene training covering cleanliness standards, stockroom organisation, and product folding and presentation standards.
• Drive and optimise store compliance on the Amply app
• Ensure training outcomes are measurable and tied to store audit scores

Operational Capability Building

• Deliver Amplify Training Programmes focused on store floor walk standards and section/category management
• Build store manager capability in people leadership—feedback, performance conversations, and team health
• Design and cascade capability-building interventions across stores in partnership with business stakeholders

Customer Experience

• Drive customer service training programmes to improve service quality and in-store experience
• Embed Nicobar's brand values and design sensibility into every customer-facing training module
• Track and act on customer experience metrics that are influenced by people behaviour

PILLAR 3

Store Operations (People Lens)

Performance, Rewards & Inventory Integrity

Performance Management

• Drive and track store KPIs and operational performance in partnership with the Chief Retail Officer
• Use people data to identify performance outliers—stores and individuals—and design targeted interventions
• Drive monthly people reviews with Retail leadership with a bias toward action, not just updates
• Drive conversion as a key metric with Agrex
• Optimise store styling and merchandise planning, develop a robust mechanism to improve store feedback to HO

Rewards & Productivity

• Manage and execute incentive and uniform programmes to improve engagement and outcomes at the store level
• Ensure R&R frameworks are fair, visible, and aligned with Nicobar's culture—not just commercial metrics

Loss Prevention

• Lead shrinkage control initiatives and loss prevention measures
• Partner with Store Managers to build accountability frameworks that reduce shrinkage without undermining trust
• Identify and implement wastage reduction strategies across store operations

What You Bring Along

• 6–8 years of experience in frontline-heavy retail or consumer brand environments
• Proven experience in talent acquisition, performance management, PIPs, and employee relations
• Hands-on with L&D delivery—comfortable designing and facilitating training for frontline teams
• Familiarity with store operations metrics: KPIs, shrinkage, incentive structures
• Ability to read culture—not just follow process
• Strong stakeholder management; you can influence without authority
• Comfortable with data—Excel, HR metrics, and telling a story with numbers
• Hands-on and comfortable being on the ground across stores
• An appreciation for design, craft, and what makes a culture-led brand different

KPI - Top 5 Focus Areas in Year One

1. PEOPLE - Lead end-to-end people strategies aimed at reducing employee costs to below 7%, encompassing campus hiring, recruitment engagement, induction, and capability-building programs, along with a structured performance evaluation cycle fostering internal growth and elevating brand standards through cost optimisation.

2. CONVERSION - Drive Store Managers and Area Managers to prioritise conversion as a key performance metric in collaboration with the Agrex team, delivering actionable insights and data-driven inputs that enable qualitative, strategy-level decision-making.

3. OPERATIONS EXCELLENCE - Strengthen operational excellence with a focused emphasis on store hygiene, folding standards, and replenishment processes by driving consistent checklist adherence on the Amply app ensuring both the execution and the quality of execution are held to the highest standards.

4. LOSS PREVENTION - Implement proactive loss prevention strategies to reduce shrinkage at the company level, shifting the focus from reactive firefighting to anticipatory measures that address risks before they materialise.

5. CUSTOMER SERVICE - Spearhead the customer service program to uphold exceptional customer standards, driving measurable improvements in key KPIs and delivering an elevated in-store customer experience.

People & Culture · Nicobar · June 2026