Director-People & Organization Practice

Cedar Management Consulting International; Maharashtra; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Cedar Management Consulting International is seeking a Director - People & Organization Practice in Maharashtra, India. You will drive business development and end-to-end HR transformation engagements, acting as a senior thought leader and representing Cedar with client leadership.

You will originate mandates, build high-level relationships with CHROs and CEOs, and lead engagements spanning org design, performance frameworks, and workforce planning, while shaping Cedar’s methodologies and market

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience, with at least 10 in a consulting or advisory capacity.
• Prior experience at a top-tier HR/people consulting firm preferred.
• Proven track record of originating and closing client engagements.
• Deep expertise in at least two of the practice focus areas listed.
• Experience managing multi-stakeholder projects at senior organisational levels.

Responsibilities

• Originate and qualify new mandates across target accounts.
• Build trusted-advisor relationships with CHROs, CPOs, and CEOs.
• Lead proposal development, pitches, and scope negotiation.
• Lead engagements on org design, spans & layers, and operating model work.
• Develop firm methodologies, tools, and reusable assets.

Skills

Executive presence

Communication skills

Commercial instinct

Analytical rigour

Collaborative mindset

Job description

Cedar is a global strategy consulting, research and analytics firm with a 40-year track record and clients across multiple industry sectors. Since 1985, our teams have assisted clients in strategy, process innovation, strategic human capital and business technology, among others, with a strong focus on the Financial Services sector. As a full-suite management consulting firm, Cedar assists clients across these areas in an integrated fashion — from strategy formulation to execution and implementation.

The firm's heritage includes being part of the former US$1 billion Renaissance Worldwide, whose leadership included the creators of the Balanced Scorecard — the world's leading strategy-deployment and performance-management tool, used by organisations globally. Cedar's specialist Financial Services practice serves as the firm's centre of excellence, offering innovative advisory, research and accelerator capabilities to players across the global Financial Services ecosystem.

Cedar's group unit, UK-headquartered IBS Intelligence (IBSi), is a leading global pure-play FinTech research, news-analysis and advisory firm; for over 30 years it has been the definitive source of independent, in-depth analysis of global financial-technology markets, and its annual Sales League Table is considered the global industry barometer of banking-technology suppliers. The Cedar-IBSi platform also runs Cedar-IBSi FinTech Labs, a BankTech / B2B FinTech accelerator home to 70+ FinTechs since 2017; and Cedar's independent venture capital fund, announced in 2023, backs founders building AI-first enterprise technology for the Financial Services industry.

Title/ Role:

Director - People & Organization Practice

Job Summary:

This is a dual-mandate role combining business development and project delivery. You will be expected to build and maintain client relationships, identify and convert opportunities, and lead the end-to-end delivery of HR transformation engagements. You will operate as a senior thought leader within Cedar and represent the firm at the highest levels of client organizations.

-Client Development

• Originate and qualify new mandates across target accounts
• Build trusted‑advisor relationships with CHROs, CPOs, and CEOs
• Lead proposal development, pitches, and scope negotiation
• Represent Cedar at industry forums and networks
• Contribute to firm thought leadership and market positioning
• Lead engagements on org design, spans & layers, and operating model work
• Design and implement performance management frameworks
• Advise on HR strategy, talent architecture, and workforce planning
• Manage project teams, quality, timelines, and client satisfaction
• Develop firm methodologies, tools, and reusable assets

-Practice Focus areas:

-Core Areas

• Spans, layers & role clarity
• Performance management systems

-Extended Areas

• Leadership & succession frameworks
• Talent strategy & workforce planning
• Culture & change management

Candidate profile:

-Experience & Background

• 15+ years of experience, with at least 10 in a consulting or advisory capacity
• Prior experience at a top‑tier or specialist HR/people consulting firm strongly preferred
• Demonstrated track record of originating and closing client engagements
• Deep expertise in at least two of the practice focus areas listed above
• Experience managing multi‑stakeholder projects at senior organisational levels

-Skills & Attributes

• Exceptional executive presence and communication skills
• Strong commercial instinct — able to spot and shape client opportunities
• Analytical rigour combined with practical implementation judgment
• Collaborative, low‑ego, builder mindset suited to a boutique environment
• Comfort with ambiguity and ability to navigate complex stakeholder dynamics