Director – HR Operations
Location: Mumbai / Bengaluru
Industry: Management Consulting / Professional Services
Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent
Work Mode: In-Office
Function: Human Resources / HR Operations
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced HR Operations leader to oversee workforce governance, payroll operations, compliance, and people operations for large-scale client-facing delivery teams. This role will be responsible for driving operational excellence, strengthening people governance frameworks, and ensuring efficient HR service delivery across a growing consulting organization.
The ideal candidate will have extensive experience managing HR operations within consulting, professional services, outsourcing, or other large-scale service delivery environments, with a strong focus on payroll governance, labor compliance, workforce planning, and stakeholder management.
Key Responsibilities
HR Operations Leadership
- Lead end-to-end HR operations, employee lifecycle management, and payroll delivery for large client-facing delivery teams.
- Establish scalable HR operational frameworks, governance processes, and service delivery standards.
- Drive operational excellence across HR administration, employee records management, attendance, benefits administration, and HR compliance.
- Ensure consistent delivery of HR services while maintaining accuracy, efficiency, and employee experience standards.
Payroll & Compliance Management
- Oversee payroll processing, payroll governance, and statutory compliance across the organization.
- Ensure compliance with labor laws, employment regulations, statutory requirements, and internal policies.
- Develop and strengthen risk management frameworks related to workforce operations and HR governance.
- Partner with internal audit and compliance teams to ensure regulatory adherence and operational transparency.
Workforce Planning & Productivity Governance
- Lead workforce planning, capacity management, and productivity governance for large delivery teams supporting client engagements.
- Develop utilization tracking, workforce forecasting, and performance monitoring mechanisms.
- Establish reporting frameworks and dashboards to monitor workforce metrics, productivity, attrition, and operational performance.
- Partner with business leaders to align workforce strategies with client delivery and growth objectives.
Operational Governance & Service Delivery
- Build robust operational leadership structures and governance mechanisms to effectively manage large teams at scale.
- Drive performance discipline, accountability frameworks, and service delivery excellence across operational teams.
- Manage escalations and ensure timely resolution of workforce and operational issues.
- Support business continuity planning and operational risk management initiatives.
Stakeholder Management & Business Partnership
- Act as a strategic HR and operations partner to business leadership, delivery heads, and client stakeholders.
- Collaborate with senior leadership to support organizational growth, workforce effectiveness, and operational efficiency.
- Provide insights and recommendations on workforce trends, people risks, and operational improvements.
- Lead governance reviews and stakeholder discussions related to workforce and HR operations.
Team Leadership & Capability Building
- Lead, mentor, and develop HR operations and support teams.
- Build a culture of accountability, operational excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Drive leadership development and capability-building initiatives across operational functions.
- Ensure strong succession planning and talent development within the HR operations organization.
Required Qualifications & Experience
- 14–17 years of experience in HR Operations, Payroll Management, Workforce Governance, or HR Shared Services roles.
- Experience within Management Consulting, Professional Services, Outsourcing, GCC, BPO, or large-scale service delivery organizations.
- Strong expertise in payroll operations, payroll governance, labor compliance, HR administration, and workforce management.
- Proven experience managing large teams (100+ employees) within structured, client-facing environments.
- Strong understanding of labor laws, statutory compliance, and HR governance frameworks.
- Experience working closely with business leaders and senior client stakeholders.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
Preferred Skills -
- HR Operations Leadership
- Payroll Governance & Compliance
- Workforce Planning & Productivity Management
- Labor Law Compliance & Risk Management
- Employee Lifecycle Management
- HR Shared Services
- Service Delivery Governance
- Performance Management
- Stakeholder & Client Management
- Operational Excellence & Process Improvement
- Team Leadership & Capability Development
- Business Partnering & Change Management
Ideal Candidate Profile -
- 15+ years of HR experience with significant exposure to consulting or professional services organizations.
- Demonstrated success in leading large-scale HR operations and workforce governance functions.
- Commercially aware leader with strong operational discipline and execution capabilities.
- Confident in managing senior leadership and client relationships in high-performance environments.
- Proven ability to drive people processes, governance, compliance, and workforce effectiveness at scale.
