The Senior HR Manager is accountable for solving SKO

Systems' talent-acquisition capacity challenge at a strategic level: building durable sourcing relationships and talent-pool partnerships that bring the company's ~4-month time-to-fill down to a sustainable level, setting AI-enabled recruiting strategy and tooling, and owning compensation, workforce planning,

HR technology, and policy governance. This role is intentionally scoped to handle these responsibilities — strategic HR leadership, career architecture,

culture ownership, and multi-geography coordination across Pune and London. It directly manages the HR Recruitment Associate and works as a close peer partner to the HR Manager, with both roles reporting to the COO.

Essential Functions / Deliverables

Talent Pipeline & Sourcing Partnerships

• Build and maintain direct relationships with recruitment agencies, technical communities,

coding bootcamps, engineering colleges, and passive-talent networks specific to SKO's scarce skills (Android, Angular, .NET, SQL/Oracle, DevOps, technical

BA/PM).

- Reduce dependency on reactive job-board posting by developing a proactive, always-on talent pipeline.
- Own employer-branding efforts that materially shorten time-to-fill from the current

~4-month average.

Recruitment Strategy, AI Tooling & Oversight

• Set end-to-end recruiting strategy and process design for the HR function.

- Select,

implement, and continuously improve AI-assisted sourcing, screening, and interview-automation tools.

- Directly manage, coach, and review the HR Recruitment Associate's execution and pipeline metrics.
- Personally lead sourcing and closing conversations for senior or business-critical hires.

Strategic HR Leadership, Workforce Planning & Career

Architecture

• Partner with leadership on headcount and workforce planning aligned to the 3-year product roadmap.

- Design a dual-track (individual contributor / management) career-ladder framework to support technical talent retention.
- Coordinate





HR practices and basic employment considerations across both the Pune and

London offices, escalating multi-country complexity to external counsel or the COO as needed.

Compensation &

Benefits Strategy

• Design competitive, market-aligned pay bands for scarce technical skills.

- Lead annual compensation benchmarking and review cycles for leadership approval.

HR Technology, Analytics & Digital Transformation

• Own the

HRMS roadmap, including evaluation of the current platform against alternatives.

- Build recruiting and workforce analytics dashboards for leadership.
- Drive automation across HR processes, prioritizing AI-enabled recruiting workflows.

Policy Governance, Compliance, Culture & Engagement

• Set HR policy direction and partner with the HR Manager on POSH and statutory compliance execution, ensuring governance standards are met.

- Own company-level culture, engagement, and DEI strategy and direction (day-to-day administration remains with the HR Manager).

Team Leadership, Mentorship

• Manage,

coach, and develop the HR Recruitment Associate.

- Partner collaboratively with the HR Manager on shared HR initiatives, mentoring one another in areas of respective strength.
- Build demonstrated capability across compensation strategy, HRMS transformation, and multi-geography coordination.

Requirements

Minimum Education : Bachelor's degree required; MBA/PGDM in Human Resources preferred

Discipline/Major : Human

Resources Management, Business Administration, or related field

Required Certifications : SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP,

HRCI, CIPD, or NHRD (India) — valued, not mandatory

Required Years & Area of Experience : 8–14 years of progressive HR experience,



including recruitment/talent acquisition leadership within a software, SaaS, or technology product company; demonstrated experience building sourcing partnerships/talent pipelines and deploying AI-enabled recruiting tools

Critical Technical/Computer Skills : HRIS/ATS platforms (Zoho People/Recruit or similar); AI-assisted sourcing and screening tools (e.g., resume scoring, automated first-round interview platforms); people-analytics/dash boarding tools; compensation benchmarking tools

Other Requirements (Key Competencies) : Relationship-building and networking; negotiation; data-driven decision making; coaching and team leadership; business acumen; adaptability;

ethical judgment

Preferred Education MBA/PGDM in Human Resources

Preferred Experience : Experience in a technology/software product company with distributed or global operations;

hands-on experience deploying AI tools in recruitment, such as automating first-round screening interviews; prior exposure to multi-country HR operations

(e.g., UK or other international employment basics) is a plus given SKO's Pune and London footprint

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: Strong relationship-building and networking ability; data fluency;

comfort partnering with engineering/technical leadership; AI-tool fluency for recruiting automation

Growth Path : This role is deliberately structured as a stepping stone to HR Director. Demonstrated success in compensation strategy, HRMS transformation, workforce/career architecture, and multi-geography coordination will form the basis for evaluating elevation to HR Director; this is a development chance, not a guaranteed timeline.

Ethics & Compliance : This position requires full commitment to fostering the highest standards, while promoting an ethical and compliant culture. This includes integrity, honesty,

and respectful treatment of others, as well as a willingness to speak up when misconduct or concerning behaviors are evident or perceived.

📌 Senior HR Manager (Pune)
🏢 SKO Systems India
📍 Pune