Talent Partnerships Lead
(Athena Network Athena Education)
About Athena Network:
Athena Network is a curated professional network and placement pathway for globally educated Indians returning to India. Built on over a decade of Athena Education's work with top global universities, the Network connects high-caliber returnees with India's most ambitious startups, scale-ups, and global companies. We're building a high-trust, outcomes-driven hiring ecosystem, not a mass recruitment platform.
Role Overview:
We're hiring a Talent Partnerships Lead to drive hiring outcomes across Athena Network's curated talent pool.
This role sits at the intersection of employer partnerships, candidate matching, and hiring execution. You'll work closely with hiring managers across partner companies to understand hiring needs and connect them with globally trained talent from the Athena Network. You'll also reach out to prospective employers and convince them to sign up for Athena Network services.
In essence, you'll act as a trusted hiring advisor, focused on outcomes rather than forwarding resumes. This role is ideal for someone with 4 - 7 years of experience in executive search, recruitment, talent advisory, or startup hiring environments. You'll own hiring outcomes end-to-end, from initial role calibration through candidate placement.
Key Responsibilities:
Employer Partnerships & Business Development
- Build and manage relationships with startups, scale-ups, and innovation-led companies hiring for early- to mid-career roles across business, product, and technology teams
- Understand hiring needs across functions, including strategy, product, tech, operations, marketing, and analytics
- Advise founders and hiring managers on role scoping, candidate fit, and hiring strategy
Candidate Matching & Hiring Execution
- Curate and match Athena Network candidates to relevant roles based on skill, experience, and intent
- Facilitate structured hiring conversations, interviews, and follow-ups
- Manage end-to-end hiring coordination from shortlist to offer
Event-Led Hiring Support
- Partner with the Athena Network team to:
- Prepare companies for hiring events
- Align role requirements pre-event
- Capture shortlists and post-event outcomes
- Ensure high conversion from conversations to interviews and offers
Network & Pipeline Building
- Continuously expand the employer pipeline, particularly:
- Startups and scale-ups
- Companies open to globally educated returnees (especially American MNCs)
- Maintain a high-quality talent pipeline and hiring tracker.
Required Skills & Experience:
Experience
- 4-7 years of experience in:
- Executive search / recruitment
- Talent advisory
- Startup hiring or in-house recruitment
- Experience working with founders, hiring managers, or business leaders is strongly preferred
- Prior experience at executive or retained search firms such as Michael Page, Korn Ferry, Egon Zehnder, Spencer Stuart, Heidrick & Struggles, or similar is a strong plus
Skills
- Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to translate role requirements into strong candidate matches
- Comfort working in fast-paced, ambiguous environments
- High attention to detail and follow-through
- Strong written and verbal communication
What We're Looking For
- Someone who enjoys curated, high-quality hiring, not volume recruitment
- Comfortable engaging with founders, hiring managers, and senior candidates
- Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to build systems and processes from scratch
- Passion for working with global talent and early-career professionals
Why Join Athena Network
- Opportunity to help build a new hiring institution in India
- Exposure to globally trained talent and high-growth companies
- Ability to shape hiring formats, processes, and long-term strategy
- High ownership and visibility within a fast-growing initiative
Location: Gurgaon / Delhi NCR
