Director - People & Organization Practice

Director - People & Organization Practice:

About the job:

Title/ Role: Director - People & Organization Practice

Mumbai (lower Parel)

Work from office, 5 day week

Company Description:

Cedar is a Forbes ranked global management consulting firm whose heritage includes being part of the firm founded by the creators of the Balanced Scorecard. Since 1985, Cedar's teams have been assisting clients in areas of strategy, process, strategic human capital, and technology, with a strong focus on the financial services sector www.cedar-consulting.com will tell you more.

Cedar's group unit, IBS Intelligence (www.ibsintelligence.com), based in the UK has been the definitive source for research, news-analysis and advisory specialized in Financial Technology markets, for over 30 years. Cedar Hill Capital is an independent $20mn FinTech venture capital fund with a sharp lens on B2B FinTech and Financial Services-infrastructure companies. The Cedar FinTech Innovation Lab in Dubai and Mumbai brings banks & technology companies together with an opportunity to access the relevant Middle East and India market opportunity.

Job Summary:

This is a dual-mandate role combining business development and project delivery. You will be expected to build and maintain client relationships, identify and convert opportunities, and lead the end-to-end delivery of HR transformation engagements. You will operate as a senior thought leader within Cedar and represent the firm at the highest levels of client organizations.

Key responsibilities/ deliverables:

1. Client Development:

- Originate and qualify new mandates across target accounts

- Build trusted-advisor relationships with CHROs, CPOs, and CEOs

- Lead proposal development, pitches, and scope negotiation

- Represent Cedar at industry forums and networks

- Contribute to firm thought leadership and market positioning

2. Project Delivery:

- Lead engagements on org design, spans & layers, and operating model work

- Design and implement performance management frameworks

- Advise on HR strategy, talent architecture, and workforce planning

- Manage project teams, quality, timelines, and client satisfaction

- Develop firm methodologies, tools, and reusable assets

3. Practice Focus areas:

i. Core Areas:

- Organizational structure & design

- Spans, layers & role clarity

- Performance management systems

- HR operating model & function design

ii. Extended Areas:

- Leadership & succession frameworks

- Talent strategy & workforce planning

- Culture & change management

- HR due diligence for M&A

Candidate profile: Experience & Background:

- 15+ years of experience, with at least 10 in a consulting or advisory capacity

- Prior experience at a top-tier or specialist HR/people consulting firm strongly preferred

- Demonstrated track record of originating and closing client engagements

- Deep expertise in at least two of the practice focus areas listed above

- Experience managing multi-stakeholder projects at senior organisational levels

Skills & Attributes:

- Exceptional executive presence and communication skills

- Strong commercial instinct - able to spot and shape client opportunities

- Analytical rigour combined with practical implementation judgment

- Collaborative, low-ego, builder mindset suited to a boutique environment

- Comfort with ambiguity and ability to navigate complex stakeholder dynamics