HR Leader

Job Title: HR Leader, India
Location: Pune, India
Reports To: Global HR Director
Direct Reports: None initially
Scope: India HR leadership supporting Enovation and Sun Hydraulics, with a focus on cross-business alignment and collaboration.
Position Summary
The HR Leader, India will serve as the senior HR partner supporting the company growing operations in India. This position will work closely with local leadership and global HR partners to establish and strengthen the people practices, organizational capabilities, and HR infrastructure required to support current operations and future growth.
The role will provide HR leadership across multiple locations and legal entities and support businesses operating within technical, engineering, and manufacturing environments. A key priority will be creating greater consistency across HR practices while appropriately addressing local business requirements, employment regulations, and cultural considerations.
This is a highly hands-on role requiring someone who can operate strategically while also taking ownership of day-to-day HR execution. The successful candidate will build trusted relationships with employees and leaders, strengthen HR governance and compliance, support organizational growth and workforce planning, and help create a consistent employee experience across India.
Key Responsibilities
HR Business Partnership & Organizational Leadership

• Serve as the primary HR partner to India leadership and collaborate closely with global HR and functional leadership.
• Develop a strong understanding of business strategies, operations, organizational structure, workforce requirements, and talent needs.
• Translate business priorities into practical HR and workforce actions.
• Advise leaders on organizational effectiveness, workforce planning, talent decisions, employee relations, and change management.
• Provide HR leadership as the India organization evolves and grows.
• Build strong relationships across locations and functions while helping create a collaborative, aligned operating culture.

HR Operations & Employee Lifecycle

• Provide leadership and oversight across the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, development, compensation and benefits administration, employee relations, and separations.
• Establish consistent, effective HR processes across India operations.
• Serve as a trusted resource for managers and employees on HR policies, practices, and workplace matters.
• Maintain appropriate HR documentation, employee records, and HR processes.
• Partner with global HR resources while ensuring effective local implementation.

Workforce Planning & Talent Acquisition

• Partner with business leaders to anticipate workforce requirements as India operations expand.
• Support recruitment of technical, engineering, manufacturing, commercial, and professional talent as required by the business.
• Develop practical approaches for attracting and retaining talent in competitive labor markets.
• Support workforce planning associated with manufacturing growth, localization, new capabilities, and organizational changes.
• Strengthen onboarding and integration practices to support employee retention and effectiveness.

Employee Relations, Culture & Engagement

• Build credibility and trust with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Provide consistent and professional employee-relations support, including grievance management, workplace concerns, investigations, corrective action, and conflict resolution.
• Coach managers on effective people leadership and appropriate management practices.
• Promote a respectful, inclusive, accountable, and collaborative workplace.
• Support employee engagement, communication, retention, and cultural integration initiatives.
• Help ensure management practices reinforce company values and expected standards of conduct.

I HR Harmonization & Organizational Integration

• Lead efforts to identify and appropriately harmonize HR policies, processes, benefits, practices, and employee programs across India entities and locations.
• Identify inconsistencies and recommend practical solutions that improve compliance, efficiency, employee experience, and organizational alignment.
• Balance global HR frameworks with local statutory requirements and business realities.
• Support organizational integration and change initiatives as the India operating model evolves.
• Establish scalable HR practices that can support future organizational growth.

Compliance, Labor Relations & Governance

• Maintain strong working knowledge of applicable Indian employment and labor requirements.
• Ensure HR practices and employment documentation comply with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with appropriate internal and external resources on labor, statutory, regulatory, and employment matters.
• Support HR-related audits, inspections, and governance activities.
• Identify employment and workforce risks and proactively recommend appropriate actions.
• Support effective labor-management practices as manufacturing activities grow.

Compensation, Benefits & HR Administration

• Support administration and ongoing review of compensation and employee benefit programs.
• Partner with global HR to promote appropriate internal consistency while maintaining local market relevance.
• Review HR processes and administrative practices for opportunities to standardize, simplify, and improve.
• Ensure appropriate controls and documentation are maintained.

HR Data, Systems & Analytics

• Develop accurate and timely workforce reporting for India and global leadership.
• Use HR data to identify workforce trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Monitor relevant workforce indicators involving staffing, retention, turnover, employee relations, recruitment, and other people priorities.
• Use data and insights to recommend actions rather than relying solely on transactional reporting.
• Support effective adoption and use of company HR systems and processes.

Qualifications & Experience
Required

• Bachelors degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Industrial Relations, or a related discipline.
• Significant progressive HR experience, preferably within manufacturing, engineering, industrial, or similarly technical environments.
• Demonstrated experience managing broad HR responsibilities in India.
• Strong knowledge of Indian employment and labor requirements.
• Experience supporting employee relations, performance management, recruitment, compensation, HR operations, and organizational change.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with senior leaders while remaining approachable and credible with employees.
• Strong analytical capability and comfort working with HR metrics and workforce data.
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills.

Preferred

• Experience supporting multiple sites and/or legal entities.
• Experience working within a multinational organization and partnering with global teams.
• Manufacturing workforce experience, including exposure to technical and shop-floor employee populations.
• Experience harmonizing HR practices following organizational growth, integration, or structural change.
• Experience implementing or improving HR systems, processes, reporting, or digital HR tools.

Key Leadership Competencies

• Business Acumen: Understands operations and connects workforce decisions to business priorities.
• HR Leadership: Comfortable moving between strategic issues and hands-on execution.
• Judgment & Integrity: Handles sensitive employee and organizational matters with discretion and sound judgment.
• Relationship Building: Establishes trust across employees, managers, senior leaders, and global partners.
• Influence Without Authority: Able to drive consistency and change across a matrixed organization without relying on formal reporting relationships.
• Change Leadership: Helps leaders and employees successfully navigate organizational change.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Uses facts and workforce insights to identify issues and recommend solutions.
• Execution & Accountability: Takes ownership, follows through, and establishes sustainable processes rather than temporary fixes.
• Global Mindset / Local Expertise: Understands how to apply global expectations effectively within the Indian employment and cultural environment.

What Success Looks Like
The HR Leader will be successful when the India organization has:

• Trusted, accessible HR leadership for employees and managers.
• Consistent and compliant HR practices across operations.
• Stronger workforce planning and recruiting capability to support growth.
• Effective employee-relations and manager-support processes.
• Greater alignment of policies, benefits, and HR practices where appropriate.
• Reliable workforce data and insights supporting management decisions.
• An HR infrastructure capable of scaling with future India growth.