Manager - HR

The Apprentice Project; Mumbai; Hybrid; INR 1,800,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

The Apprentice Project in India is building an AI-powered learning companion and is seeking a hands-on HR leader to own the people function end-to-end.

You will hire across product, tech, curriculum, and data roles, design retention strategies, streamline HR operations, and drive a high-growth culture that aligns with our mission to transform education for government school students.

Qualifications

• 4–7 years of HR experience in a high-growth organisation.
• Personal ownership of specialist or technical roles beyond process support.
• Ability to assess candidates for product, tech, data, or other specialist functions.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end hiring for specialist, niche, and leadership roles from sourcing to closure.
• Build and manage pipelines for hard-to-fill roles across product, tech, curriculum, program, and data functions.
• Develop and execute sourcing strategies across job boards, LinkedIn, sector networks, references, and direct outreach.
• Ensure a high-quality, structured candidate experience at every stage of the process.
• Manage hiring timelines, flag risks early, and drive closures without compromising quality.
• Own recruitment branding and TAP's employer narrative across channels.
• Oversee smooth onboarding for all new hires.

Skills

Talent Acquisition

HR Operations

Stakeholder Management

Problem Solving

Job description

We Want To Change The World. We Believe It Starts With Education.

In India, 100 million children from low-income communities grow up without access to the 21st-century skills they need to thrive — from emotional intelligence and digital literacy to everyday money management. This gap leads to a lifetime of limited opportunity, intergenerational poverty, and rising mental health concerns.

What Are We Doing?

At The Apprentice Project (TAP), we're building India's boldest bet on education equity — an AI-powered learning buddy that helps thousands of government school students unlock 21st-century skills. We don't just teach coding or financial literacy — we spark self-confidence, creativity, and lifelong curiosity in children who've been told to "stay in their lane."

We're not looking for employees. We're looking for co-builders — people who want to create generational change, one student at a time.

Who We're Looking For

We're looking for a sharp, operationally strong people professional who can hold the full scope of an HR function — hiring, retention, culture, compliance, and everything in between. You've worked in a fast-moving environment where you own outcomes without a large team behind you.

You've personally closed hard, specialist roles — not managed a process, not supported a recruiter, but owned the sourcing, assessment, and closure of positions that most people struggle to fill. You know what it takes to find a strong product manager, a data engineer, or a curriculum specialist, and you've done it before, more than once.

You're empathetic enough to handle people situations with discretion, structured enough to keep operations running cleanly, and sharp enough to understand roles across functions well enough to hire for them credibly. If you've thrived in a high-ownership environment and want to apply that energy to a mission that actually matters — you'll thrive here.

About The Role

Location: Pune / Mumbai or Remote

Experience: 4–7 years

Type: Full-time

What You'll Do

Talent Acquisition

• Own end-to-end hiring for all roles including specialist, niche, and leadership roles — from sourcing strategy to offer closure.
• Build and manage pipelines for hard-to-fill positions across product, tech, curriculum, program, and data functions.
• Develop and execute sourcing strategies across job boards, LinkedIn, sector networks, references, and direct outreach.
• Ensure a high-quality, structured candidate experience at every stage of the process.
• Manage hiring timelines rigorously — flag risks early and drive closures without losing quality.
• Own recruitment branding and ensure TAP's employer narrative is compelling and consistent across channels.
• Oversee smooth onboarding for all new hires.

Talent Retention

• Track attrition patterns and proactively identify retention risks before they become exits.
• Work with leadership to ensure employees have clear growth paths, regular feedback, and a sense of progression.
• Design and run engagement initiatives that build a sense of belonging and connectedness across a distributed team.
• Support the performance review process as a tool for development, not just evaluation.
• Flag compensation, role clarity, or culture issues that may be driving disengagement — and bring solutions, not just observations.
• Work closely with leadership to ensure compensation is reviewed regularly and stays competitive with sector benchmarks.
• Support compensation planning during performance cycles — flagging anomalies, inequities, or retention risks linked to pay.

HR Operations

• Maintain and update HR policies — ensuring they are current, clearly communicated, and consistently implemented.
• Own documentation systems for hiring, onboarding, performance, and exits.
• Conduct exit interviews and use findings to improve retention and culture.
• Ensure compliance with applicable labour laws and maintain accurate employee records.
• Support payroll and administration in coordination with relevant teams.

Performance & Culture

• Run structured performance review cycles — coordinating with managers, tracking timelines, and ensuring consistency.
• Support managers in handling performance conversations, documentation, and follow-through.
• Work on culture-building initiatives that strengthen team cohesion, trust, and shared values.
• Handle employee grievances with empathy, discretion, and clear resolution processes.
• Identify and flag patterns in employee feedback, attrition, or engagement that need leadership attention.

Who You Are

• 4–7 years of HR experience, with a significant portion in a high-growth organisation.
• Have personally owned and closed specialist or technical roles — not just supported a hiring process.
• Comfortable engaging with and assessing candidates for roles in product, tech, data, or other specialist functions.
• Sharp, fast-moving, and able to figure things out without a large team or established playbook behind you.
• Strong on process and documentation — you build systems that others can follow, not just ones that work for you.
• Empathetic and discreet in handling people situations — from grievances to difficult conversations.

Skills You Bring

• Talent Acquisition: End-to-end hiring ownership — sourcing, assessment, pipeline management, and closure — especially for niche and specialist roles.
• HR Operations: Strong grasp of policies, documentation, compliance, and people processes — able to run them independently and improve them over time.
• Stakeholder Management: Able to work closely with hiring managers, leadership, and candidates — building trust and moving things forward without friction.
• Problem Solving: Comfortable navigating ambiguity, resolving people situations, and making sound judgement calls under pressure.

Desired Competencies

• Action and goal-oriented — you close things, you don't just track them
• Data-driven — you use hiring metrics, attrition data, and feedback to make better decisions
• Quick decision-maker — you don't need perfect information to move forward
• Conflict management — you handle difficult situations with maturity and clarity

What Success Looks Like

• Specialist and niche roles are closed on time and with the right people — no more extended open positions.
• Hiring pipelines for critical roles are always active, not built from scratch each time a position opens.
• HR documentation, policies, and compliance are consistently maintained and up to date.
• Performance cycles run on time with strong manager participation.
• Employee grievances are resolved fairly, quickly, and without escalation where avoidable.
• TAP's employer brand is sharper, more visible, and attracting stronger candidates across all levels.
• Compensation is reviewed regularly and stays aligned with sector benchmarks and internal equity.

Why Join Us?

Because this is not a role where you manage HR processes for a stable, slow-moving organisation. TAP is scaling fast, hiring across functions, and building a team that is doing genuinely hard and important work. You will own the people function in a real sense — with the autonomy to build systems, close roles that others struggle to fill, and shape the culture of an organisation that is trying to change how children in government schools experience education. If you want a role where your impact is visible, your ownership is real, and your work actually matters — this is it.

What You Can Expect?

• Real ownership: You will run the people function end-to-end — not execute someone else's process.
• Autonomy: Build hiring systems, improve HR operations, and make judgement calls without needing sign-off on every step.
• Mission that matters: Every hire you make directly strengths TAP's ability to reach more children with better learning.
• Supportive culture: Collaborative teams, open communication, and shared purpose.

You can always reach out to us for any questions on [e-mail]