Deputy General Manager - People Business Partner - Freight Forwarding

DP World; Mumbai; On-site; INR 2,800,000 - 4,200,000; Full time

Job summary

DP World in Mumbai seeks an experienced HR Business Partner to lead the Freight Forwarding HR agenda. You will partner with senior leaders to translate business priorities into actionable HR initiatives, drive workforce planning, talent development and engagement across multiple locations.

With 12-15 years in HR, you will guide performance, rewards, governance and compliance while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration across HR functions.

Qualifications

• 12-15 years of experience in human resources with HRBP exposure.
• Experience in Freight Forwarding, Logistics, or related operations preferred.
• Experience partnering with senior managers across locations and functions.
• Hands-on experience in employee relations, performance, planning and HR operations.
• Exposure to labour & establishment compliance, contract workforce management, HR audits and HR systems/MIS.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive HR strategy and transformational people agenda for Freight Forwarding.
• Partner with leadership to translate priorities into actionable HR interventions.
• Act as trusted advisor to BU leadership and People Managers on strategic matters.
• Embed annual HR agenda and ensure timely execution of processes.
• Provide data-driven insights to support business decisions.
• Ensure consistency and collaboration across HRBPs and COEs.
• Lead manpower planning and workforce acquisition with Talent Acquisition.
• Review structures, spans and costs for optimal resource use.
• Identify critical talent needs and build proactive pipelines.
• Drive talent review, succession planning and development pathways.
• Manage internal mobility and career development opportunities.
• Oversee performance management, KRAs/KPIs alignment, and rewards cycles.
• Ensure fair, compliant HR practices across the business.
• Develop and execute employee engagement and culture strategies.
• Collaborate with L&D on capability-building and leadership development.
• Ensure HR governance, data accuracy and audit readiness.
• Lead contract labour management and vendor governance.
• Support change management during restructures and transformations.
• Maintain strong stakeholder relationships across Operations, Finance, Legal and Compliance.

Skills

Strategic HR partnering

Business acumen

Workforce planning

Talent and succession

Organization development

Employee relations

Performance management

Rewards management

Employee engagement

Stakeholder management

Data-driven HR insights

HR transformation & digitization

Communication & problem-solving

Education

MBA/PGDM in HR

Tools

MS Excel

PowerPoint

HRMS/HRIS

Job description

• Define and deploy the HR strategy and transformational people agenda for the Freight Forwarding business in alignment with overall business objectives.
• Partner with the Freight Forwarding leadership team to understand business priorities, growth plans, organizational challenges and workforce requirements, and translate them into actionable HR interventions.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the BU leadership and People Managers on all strategic and operational people matters.
• Embed the annual HR agenda across Freight Forwarding through People Managers and ensure timely execution of recurring people processes.
• Provide data-driven people insights and recommendations to support business and organizational decisions.
• Partner with other HRBPs and COEs to ensure consistency, cross-functional collaboration and effective sharing of best practices.
• Workforce Planning & Talent Acquisition
• Lead strategic and location-wise manpower planning in line with business growth, productivity and organizational requirements.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition to ensure timely hiring of critical and business-critical positions.
• Review organization structures, spans and layers, workforce productivity and manpower costs to ensure optimal resource utilization.
• Identify critical talent requirements and build proactive talent pipelines for key business roles.
• Support workforce transitions, restructuring, new business requirements and organizational expansion.
• Talent & Succession Management
• Drive the annual talent review and succession planning agenda across Freight Forwarding.
• Identify critical roles, high-potential talent and succession gaps and develop appropriate talent actions.
• Partner with leaders to create individual development plans and career pathways for key talent.
• Drive internal mobility, career development and opportunities for cross-functional exposure.
• Monitor talent retention risks and implement targeted interventions for critical talent.
• Performance & Rewards
• Drive the annual performance management cycle across Freight Forwarding, ensuring effective goal setting, mid-year reviews and year-end evaluations.
• Partner with business leaders to establish meaningful KRAs/KPIs aligned with business outcomes.
• Identify performance gaps and support managers in implementing appropriate performance improvement plans.
• Partner with the Compensation & Benefits team on annual compensation reviews, promotions, incentives and other reward programs.
• Ensure fair, consistent and performance-driven people practices across the business.
• Employee Engagement & Culture
• Develop and execute the employee engagement strategy for Freight Forwarding based on business priorities and employee feedback.
• Conduct regular employee pulse checks, focus groups, one-on-one and skip-level interactions to understand employee sentiment and identify emerging concerns.
• Analyse engagement and employee experience data and translate insights into actionable interventions.
• Drive initiatives that strengthen employee connect, recognition, inclusion, collaboration and organizational culture.
• Partner with leaders to create a positive and high-performance employee experience across locations.
• Learning & Capability Development
• Identify current and future capability requirements in partnership with Freight Forwarding leadership and functional teams.
• Partner with L&D to design and implement targeted learning and capability-building interventions.
• Drive leadership development, manager capability and functional development programs.
• Monitor effectiveness and business impact of key learning interventions.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning, knowledge sharing and career development.
• Employee Relations & People Governance
• Provide strategic guidance to managers on employee relations, disciplinary matters, grievances, counselling and workplace concerns.
• Ensure timely and effective resolution of employee grievances and sensitive people matters.
• Drive consistent application of HR policies, processes and employee practices across Freight Forwarding.
• Ensure compliance with applicable labour laws, statutory requirements and company policies.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance and relevant stakeholders on complex employee relations and statutory / establishment regulatory matters.
• HR Operations & Compliance
• Ensure effective delivery of core HR processes including onboarding, employee lifecycle management, transfers, exits, attendance, payroll coordination and HR documentation.
• Ensure data accuracy and governance across HR systems and employee records.
• Drive process standardization, digitization and automation of HR processes across Freight Forwarding.
• Support internal, external and customer audits and ensure timely closure of audit observations.
• Establish appropriate HR governance mechanisms, dashboards and review processes to monitor service delivery and compliance.
• Lead the overall contract labour management framework across eligible Freight Forwarding locations.
• Ensure appropriate governance of manpower vendors, including onboarding, attendance, payroll, statutory compliance and performance.
• Drive digitalization and process improvements in contract manpower management through appropriate systems such as CLMS.
• Ensure periodic vendor reviews and audits, including compliance with statutory and contractual requirements.
• Partner with Operations and Procurement to address vendor performance and workforce-related issues.
• Change Management & Organization Development
• Lead HR interventions during organizational restructuring, business transformation, integrations and other major change initiatives.
• Assess people impact and develop appropriate change management and communication plans.
• Partner with leaders to ensure effective communication, stakeholder alignment and employee adoption of organizational changes.
• Identify opportunities to improve organizational effectiveness, collaboration and ways of working.
• Stakeholder Management
• Build strong relationships with Freight Forwarding leadership, People Managers, employees, HR COEs and other internal stakeholders.
• Partner closely with Operations, Sales, Finance, Legal, Compliance and other functions to address business and people requirements.
• Represent HR in relevant business reviews, governance forums and leadership discussions.
• Ensure HR remains proactive, responsive and customer-centric in supporting business needs.

Key Responsibilities

Job Description

• HR Strategy & Business Partnership
• Define and deploy the HR strategy and transformational people agenda for the Freight Forwarding business in alignment with overall business objectives.
• Partner with the Freight Forwarding leadership team to understand business priorities, growth plans, organizational challenges and workforce requirements, and translate them into actionable HR interventions.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the BU leadership and People Managers on all strategic and operational people matters.
• Embed the annual HR agenda across Freight Forwarding through People Managers and ensure timely execution of recurring people processes.
• Provide data-driven people insights and recommendations to support business and organizational decisions.
• Partner with other HRBPs and COEs to ensure consistency, cross-functional collaboration and effective sharing of best practices.
• Workforce Planning & Talent Acquisition
• Lead strategic and location-wise manpower planning in line with business growth, productivity and organizational requirements.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition to ensure timely hiring of critical and business-critical positions.
• Review organization structures, spans and layers, workforce productivity and manpower costs to ensure optimal resource utilization.
• Identify critical talent requirements and build proactive talent pipelines for key business roles.
• Support workforce transitions, restructuring, new business requirements and organizational expansion.
• Talent & Succession Management
• Drive the annual talent review and succession planning agenda across Freight Forwarding.
• Identify critical roles, high-potential talent and succession gaps and develop appropriate talent actions.
• Partner with leaders to create individual development plans and career pathways for key talent.
• Drive internal mobility, career development and opportunities for cross-functional exposure.
• Monitor talent retention risks and implement targeted interventions for critical talent.
• Performance & Rewards
• Drive the annual performance management cycle across Freight Forwarding, ensuring effective goal setting, mid-year reviews and year-end evaluations.
• Partner with business leaders to establish meaningful KRAs/KPIs aligned with business outcomes.
• Identify performance gaps and support managers in implementing appropriate performance improvement plans.
• Partner with the Compensation & Benefits team on annual compensation reviews, promotions, incentives and other reward programs.
• Ensure fair, consistent and performance-driven people practices across the business.
• Employee Engagement & Culture
• Develop and execute the employee engagement strategy for Freight Forwarding based on business priorities and employee feedback.
• Conduct regular employee pulse checks, focus groups, one-on-one and skip-level interactions to understand employee sentiment and identify emerging concerns.
• Analyse engagement and employee experience data and translate insights into actionable interventions.
• Drive initiatives that strengthen employee connect, recognition, inclusion, collaboration and organizational culture.
• Partner with leaders to create a positive and high-performance employee experience across locations.
• Learning & Capability Development
• Identify current and future capability requirements in partnership with Freight Forwarding leadership and functional teams.
• Partner with L&D to design and implement targeted learning and capability-building interventions.
• Drive leadership development, manager capability and functional development programs.
• Monitor effectiveness and business impact of key learning interventions.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning, knowledge sharing and career development.
• Employee Relations & People Governance
• Provide strategic guidance to managers on employee relations, disciplinary matters, grievances, counselling and workplace concerns.
• Ensure timely and effective resolution of employee grievances and sensitive people matters.
• Drive consistent application of HR policies, processes and employee practices across Freight Forwarding.
• Ensure compliance with applicable labour laws, statutory requirements and company policies.
• Partner with Legal, Compliance and relevant stakeholders on complex employee relations and statutory / establishment regulatory matters.
• HR Operations & Compliance
• Ensure effective delivery of core HR processes including onboarding, employee lifecycle management, transfers, exits, attendance, payroll coordination and HR documentation.
• Ensure data accuracy and governance across HR systems and employee records.
• Drive process standardization, digitization and automation of HR processes across Freight Forwarding.
• Support internal, external and customer audits and ensure timely closure of audit observations.
• Establish appropriate HR governance mechanisms, dashboards and review processes to monitor service delivery and compliance.
• Contract Labour & Vendor Management
• Lead the overall contract labour management framework across eligible Freight Forwarding locations.
• Ensure appropriate governance of manpower vendors, including onboarding, attendance, payroll, statutory compliance and performance.
• Drive digitalization and process improvements in contract manpower management through appropriate systems such as CLMS.
• Ensure periodic vendor reviews and audits, including compliance with statutory and contractual requirements.
• Partner with Operations and Procurement to address vendor performance and workforce-related issues.
• Change Management & Organization Development
• Lead HR interventions during organizational restructuring, business transformation, integrations and other major change initiatives.
• Assess people impact and develop appropriate change management and communication plans.
• Partner with leaders to ensure effective communication, stakeholder alignment and employee adoption of organizational changes.
• Identify opportunities to improve organizational effectiveness, collaboration and ways of working.
• Stakeholder Management
• Build strong relationships with Freight Forwarding leadership, People Managers, employees, HR COEs and other internal stakeholders.
• Partner closely with Operations, Sales, Finance, Legal, Compliance and other functions to address business and people requirements.
• Represent HR in relevant business reviews, governance forums and leadership discussions.
• Ensure HR remains proactive, responsive and customer-centric in supporting business needs.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• 12-15 years of overall experience in Human Resources, with relevant experience in HR Business Partnering.
• Prior experience in Freight Forwarding, Logistics, Supply Chain, Warehousing or a similar operations-driven industry will be preferred.
• Experience in partnering with business managers across multiple locations/functions and handling a diverse employee base.
• Strong hands-on experience in employee relations, performance management, workforce planning, employee engagement, talent management and HR operations.
• Experience in managing HR processes in a fast-paced, multi-location environment with strong stakeholder interaction.
• Exposure to labour & Establishment compliances, contract workforce management, HR audits and HR systems/MIS will be an advantage.

Qualifications

• MBA/PGDM in Human Resources or equivalent postgraduate qualification is preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of HR practices, employment laws, Statutory & establishment compliances, employee relations and HR processes.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and HRMS/HR reporting tools

Key Competencies

• Strategic HR Business Partnering
• Business and commercial acumen
• Workforce & manpower planning
• Talent and succession management
• Organization development and change management
• Employee relations and labour compliance
• Performance and rewards management
• Employee engagement and culture building
• Stakeholder and leadership management
• Data-driven HR decision making
• HR transformation and process digitization
• Strong communication, influencing and problem-solving skills