ROLE AT A GLANCE

We are hiring a senior talent acquisition leader to own the quality, speed and discretion of every hire across HK Group, from the factory floor to the leadership team.

- Title: Senior Manager – Talent Acquisition
- Company: H. K. Designs (India) Pvt. Ltd. and Dholakia Lab Grown Diamond, part of HK Group (Hari Krishna Exports)
- Location: Mumbai
- Reports to: Chief People Officer
- Team: 3–5 recruiters and coordinators (current team plus planned hires)

ABOUT HK GROUP

HK Group is one of India's largest diamond and jewellery manufacturers and exporters, founded in 1992 and headquartered in Surat and Mumbai. We were recognised as India's largest diamond jewellery manufacturer and exporter at GJEPC's 52nd India Gems & Jewellery Awards in 2026.

Our operations span natural and lab-grown diamond manufacturing, CVD diamond growing, jewellery manufacturing and retail, with commercial offices in New Jersey, Hong Kong, Dubai and Europe. We employ more than 11,000 people and supply many of the world's leading jewellery retailers and brands. This role serves the group's businesses, including H. K. Designs and Dholakia Lab Grown Diamond.

We are in the middle of an AI-first transformation and are building new capabilities in brand manufacturing, lab-grown diamonds and advanced diamond technology. That means hiring profiles we have never hired before.

WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS

This role exists to make hiring at HK Group a disciplined, measurable and confidential process rather than a reactive one. This person will own three outcomes:

- Quality of hire – every hire performs and stays.
- Reach – we attract the specialist and senior people we need in technology, brand, operations excellence and global commercial roles.
- Discretion – candidate and compensation information is handled with the strictest confidentiality, without exception.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Hiring strategy and workforce planning

- Build an annual hiring plan with business heads, linked to budget, growth plans and attrition data.
- Separate hiring into clear tracks: leadership, specialist and technical, corporate functions, and high-volume manufacturing.
- Decide build-versus-buy for each critical capability: hire externally, develop internally, or use specialist search partners.

Role definition and hiring-manager discipline

- Run a structured intake meeting for every role before it is opened: outcomes for the first 12 months, must-have versus nice-to-have skills, and the agreed salary band.
- Refuse to open a role without an approved scorecard and budget.
- Coach hiring managers on interviewing, decision-making and candidate experience.

Sourcing and employer brand

- Build active talent pipelines for hard-to-fill roles,



rather than relying only on job-board applications.
- Develop an employer value proposition that explains why strong candidates should choose HK Group over larger or better-known employers.
- Manage LinkedIn Recruiter, job portals, campus relationships, employee referrals and search firms; hold each channel accountable for cost and quality.

Structured selection

- Introduce structured interviews, work-sample tests and case exercises for every level, with a common scoring rubric.
- Run reference and background checks for all hires and deep references for senior hires.
- Use assessment tools (psychometric and skills tests) where they add predictive value.

Offers and onboarding handover

- Prepare offers within the approved band, using compensation guidance provided by the Compensation & Benefits lead or HR Head.
- Close candidates professionally and reduce offer-decline and no-show rates.
- Hand new hires over to onboarding with a clear 90-day plan agreed with the hiring manager.

Data, systems and AI

- Implement and own an applicant tracking system with role-based access controls.
- Use AI-assisted screening and analytics responsibly, with human review of every hiring decision.
- Publish a monthly hiring dashboard to the HR Head and CEO.

Team leadership

- Lead, train and assess the recruitment team; set individual targets on quality and speed, not volume alone.
- Manage search-firm and agency contracts, fees and performance.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTEGRITY – NON-NEGOTIABLE

This role handles some of the most sensitive information in the company, and discretion is a condition of employment, not a soft skill. The successful candidate will:

- Treat all candidate details, offer terms, interview feedback and hiring plans as strictly confidential, shared only on a need-to-know basis.
- Never disclose or discuss any employee's or candidate's compensation with anyone outside the approved list.
- Access compensation data only for open roles they are hiring for; they will not hold the payroll or full compensation master.
- Sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement as part of the offer.
- Model and enforce the same standard across the recruitment team and with external agencies.

The company treats a breach of confidentiality as responsible misconduct under company policy.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THE FIRST 12 MONTHS





Success is measured on quality and retention first, speed second. Targets are starting points, to be confirmed once the first 90 days establish a baseline.

- Quality of hire: 80% of new hires rated "meets" or above by their manager at 6 months
- First-year retention: 85% or more of hires still in role after 12 months (corporate roles)
- Time to fill: 45 days for mid-level roles, 90 days for senior roles, from approved requisition to accepted offer
- Offer acceptance: 85% or more of offers accepted
- Critical roles filled: 90% or more of priority roles filled against the annual plan
- Process compliance: 100% of hires with a scorecard, structured interview and reference check
- Confidentiality: zero substantiated breaches by the TA team
- Cost per hire: agency spend reduced year on year

WHO YOU ARE

Must have

- 10+ years in talent acquisition, with at least 4 years leading an in-house team in a company of 2,000+ employees.
- A track record of hiring senior and specialist talent, not only volume roles, with examples you can describe in detail.
- Hands-on experience running structured interviews, scorecards and assessment centres.
- Experience setting up or running an applicant tracking system and reporting hiring metrics.
- A demonstrable record of handling confidential information, for example executive search, leadership hiring or compensation work.
- MBA or postgraduate degree in Human Resources, or equivalent experience.

Good to have

- Experience in manufacturing, export, luxury, retail or consumer goods.
- Experience hiring for technology, engineering or R&D; roles.
- Familiarity with international hiring (US, UK, UAE, Hong Kong).
- Working knowledge of Gujarati and Hindi, given our Surat operations.

How you work

- Discreet – you know the difference between being friendly and being indiscreet, and colleagues trust you with sensitive matters.
- Firm with stakeholders – you push back on vague briefs and poor hiring decisions, including with senior leaders.
- Data-led – you judge your own work by the retention and performance of your hires, not by the number of CVs sent.
- Commercially aware – you understand how the business makes money and which roles matter most.

WHAT WE OFFER

- A mandate to build a modern talent acquisition function at one of India's largest jewellery manufacturers.
- Direct visibility to the CEO and senior leadership on critical hires.
- Exposure to global customers and new businesses in lab-grown diamonds, brand manufacturing and diamond technology.
- Investment in tools, including an applicant tracking system and AI-assisted recruiting.
- Competitive compensation, discussed confidentially with shortlisted candidates.

📌 Senior Manager Talent Acquisition (Mumbai)
🏢 H.K.Designs
📍 Mumbai