Role Purpose

To lead the organization’s Learning & Development function and Skill Development Institute, creating an integrated capability-building ecosystem that develops employees, strengthens the leadership pipeline, builds job-ready talent, and supports the organization’s long-term business and talent requirements.

The role will be responsible for the complete learning lifecycle, from identifying capability gaps and designing learning interventions to measuring outcomes, while also building the Skill Development Institute as a strong platform for developing employable talent and creating a sustainable talent pipeline.

Key Responsibilities

1. Learning & Development Strategy

- Develop and execute the organization-wide L&D; and capability-building strategy aligned with business priorities.
- Partner with Business Heads and HRBPs to identify current and future skill requirements.

- Establish structured learning journeys across different roles, levels, and functions.
- Drive a culture of continuous learning, capability building, and self-development.
- Create an annual learning calendar based on business and employee development requirements.

2. Functional & Frontline Capability Building

- Design targeted learning programs for business, credit, collections, operations, customer service, risk, audit, and support functions.
- Strengthen induction and role-readiness programs for new employees.

- Develop structured programs for frontline and branch employees with focus on product knowledge, customer orientation, sales effectiveness, compliance, and productivity.
- Work with business teams to ensure learning interventions address actual performance and capability gaps.

3.

Leadership & Talent Development

- Build structured development interventions for first-time managers, middle management, senior leaders, and identified high-potential employees.
- Design leadership development journeys covering people management, business orientation, decision-making, collaboration, and strategic thinking.
- Support succession planning and internal talent development through focused development programs.
- Establish coaching, mentoring, and manager-development frameworks.

4. Skill Development Institute Leadership





- Provide overall leadership and strategic direction to the Skill Development Institute.
- Develop industry-relevant training programs that improve employability and job readiness.
- Build a structured curriculum covering financial services fundamentals, customer handling, sales, digital capabilities, workplace skills, communication, and professional behaviour.
- Establish appropriate training, assessment, certification, and quality standards.
- Build partnerships with colleges, universities, training institutions, and other relevant ecosystem partners.
- Position the Institute as a potential talent feeder for entry-level and frontline requirements, while maintaining appropriate selection standards.
- Track training completion, certification, placement, and progression outcomes.

5.

Digital

Learning & Learning Innovation

- Strengthen the digital learning ecosystem through LMS, virtual learning, micro-learning, blended learning, and self-paced programs.
- Explore AI-enabled and technology-based learning solutions where they add meaningful value.
- Develop scalable learning content that can reach employees across locations.
- Build internal knowledge repositories and promote peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.

6. Learning Effectiveness & Analytics

- Establish clear metrics to measure learning effectiveness and business impact.
- Move beyond training attendance and participant feedback to evaluate application of learning and improvement in capability.
- Develop dashboards covering learning participation, completion, assessment scores, skill improvement, certification, and other agreed business outcomes.
- Continuously review programs and improve them based on feedback and measurable outcomes.

7. Governance & Stakeholder Management

- Manage the L&D; and Skill Development Institute budgets effectively.
- Build and manage a solid network of internal faculty, external trainers, academic institutions,



and learning partners.
- Establish appropriate governance and quality standards across learning programs.
- Present capability-building priorities, progress, and outcomes to senior management.
- Ensure programs are aligned with organizational policies, regulatory requirements, and business priorities.

Key Deliverables / KPIs

- Learning strategy aligned with business priorities
- Employee learning coverage and program completion
- Improvement in functional and role-based capabilities
- New-joinee readiness and time-to-productivity

- Leadership development and internal talent pipeline
- Effectiveness of managerial capability-building programs
- Skill Development Institute enrolment, certification and placement outcomes

- Creation of job-ready talent pipelines for relevant roles
- Digital learning adoption
- Learning effectiveness and demonstrated application on the job
- Quality and cost effectiveness of learning interventions

- Internal faculty and knowledge-building capability

Desired Profile

Education

- MBA / PGDM in HR, Learning & Development, or a related discipline.
- Relevant certifications in L&D;, instructional design, coaching, leadership development, or talent management would be an advantage.

Experience

- Around 15+ years of overall experience, with significant experience in Learning & Development, Talent Development, Capability Building, or related areas.
- Experience leading an L&D; function or large-scale learning interventions.
- Exposure to BFSI/NBFC/Banking/Financial Services would be preferred.
- Experience in managing an academy, training centre, skill development initiative, or institutional learning model would be an added advantage.
- Strong experience partnering with senior business leaders and managing external learning/academic partners.

Key Competencies

- Strategic Learning & Capability Building
- Business Acumen
- Leadership Development
- Talent & Succession Development
- Curriculum and Learning Journey Design
- Skill Development & Employability
- Digital Learning
- Learning Analytics
- Stakeholder Management
- Coaching & Facilitation
- Institution Building
- Project & Budget Management
- Innovation and Continuous Improvement

📌 Human Resources ( L&D) & SSDI (Chennai)
🏢 Sundaram Finance
📍 Chennai