Senior HRBP

Ethos Life; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 3,000,000 - 5,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Ethos, Bangalore-based life insurance technology leader, seeks an experienced HR Business Partner for India. You will partner with leaders to attract, develop and retain talent while ensuring compliance with Indian laws.

You’ll own employee relations, local policy interpretation, and HR operations in Karnataka, collaborating with Payroll, Compliance, Talent Acquisition and Total Rewards to deliver a consistent employee experience.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of HRBP experience, preferably in tech or insurance.
• Strong knowledge of Indian labor law and compliance.
• Experience handling complex employee relations and investigations.
• Experience in a matrix or multi-country People team is a plus.
• Empathetic, data-driven, and strong communicator.

Responsibilities

• Partner with business units as the primary People contact.
• Provide compensation and leveling guidance aligned with benchmarks (Total Rewards).
• Analyze workforce metrics and develop HR solutions and policies.
• Lead organizational design and headcount planning to meet business objectives.
• Oversee compliance, payroll coordination, and policy interpretation.

Skills

HRBP

Indian labor law

Employee relations

Data-driven

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Postgraduate HR

Job description

Ethos is a leading life insurance technology company on a mission to protect families by democratizing access to life insurance and empowering agents at scale. With its robust three-sided technology platform, Ethos is transforming the life insurance experience for consumers, agents, and carriers alike. Ethos offers instant, accessible products and a seamless online process that requires no medical exams and just a few health questions; it eliminates traditional barriers, making it easier than ever for everyone to protect their families. Ethos is redefining how life insurance is bought, sold, and underwritten.

About the role

As an HR Business Partner for India, you'll work closely with the Director of People – APAC to support our Bangalore based teams through a period of rapid growth. You will enable leaders to achieve their business goals through their people - building the capacity of the organization to attract, develop, and retain talent while ensuring every decision holds up against India's statutory and regulatory framework.

This role combines strategic HRBP partnership with hands-on ownership of India-specific compliance, employee relations, and operational rigor. You'll be a trusted advisor to business leaders and a steady, empathetic presence for employees, while working closely with Payroll & Compliance, Talent Acquisition, and Total Rewards to deliver a consistent employee experience.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Business Partnership

• Conduct regular cadence meetings with your assigned business unit(s), acting as the primary People point of contact for leaders and employees.
• Provide compensation and leveling guidance to business unit leaders, in partnership with Total Rewards, anchored to India market benchmarks and internal equity.
• Analyze workforce trends and metrics - attrition, hiring, promotions, engagement - in partnership with the People Operations team to develop solutions, programs, and policies.
• Drive business unit organizational design and talent strategy to achieve business objectives, including headcount planning and role scoping.

Employee Relations & Compliance

• Manage and resolve complex employee relations issues; conduct thorough, objective, and well-documented investigations.
• Maintain in-depth, current knowledge of Indian labor law - including the Shops and Establishments Act, Payment of Bonus Act, Payment of Gratuity Act, POSH Act, and the New Labour Codes as they come into force - to reduce legal risk and ensure regulatory compliance across Karnataka and any other state of operation.
• Partner with Payroll & HR Compliance and external legal counsel as needed on statutory matters, notices, and filings.
• Own or contribute to background verification (BGV) exception handling and RAG-based risk assessment for your business unit, in line with company policy.
• Provide day-to-day performance management guidance to managers - coaching, counseling, career development, and disciplinary action - consistent with Indian employment norms and documentation standards.
• Work closely with management and employees to improve working relationships, build morale, and increase productivity and retention.
• Provide HR policy guidance and interpretation, flagging gaps between global policy and India-specific legal requirements.

Talent, Training & Culture

• Identify training needs for business units and individual coaching needs for people managers; monitor and follow up on training and upskilling objectives.
• Support onboarding and offboarding processes for your business unit, partnering with Onboarding & Ops on a smooth, compliant employee lifecycle.
• Gather and report on metrics related to retention, promotion, hiring, and diversity for your client group.
• Help build and refine India People Ops systems and processes - you'll help write a policy when one doesn't yet exist.

Qualifications and Skills:

• 8+ years of experience as an HRBP, with a strong point of view on how HRBPs move a business forward; experience at a fast-growing technology or insurance company is a plus.
• In-depth working knowledge of Indian labor law and statutory compliance - PF, ESI, gratuity, statutory bonus, Karnataka Shops & Establishments Act, and the New Labour Codes. Prior exposure to a multi-state India compliance footprint is a strong plus.
• Experience managing complex employee relations cases, including conducting investigations and resolving disputes; experience partnering with Underwriting, Engineering, or another regulated business function is a plus.
• Working knowledge of multiple HR disciplines - organizational design, learning and development, compensation, HR technology, and data management.
• Exposure to a matrixed or multi-country People team structure (e.g., partnering across India, Singapore, or the US) is a plus.
• You are an empathetic listener who can build trust quickly and hold it, even in difficult conversations.
• You are data-driven - able to back up your recommendations to client groups with solid data and clear reasoning.
• You thrive in a fast-paced, first-principles environment and see the ambiguity of a scaling company as an exciting challenge rather than a blocker.
• You are a strong communicator, comfortable representing the People function to senior stakeholders.
• You have a genuine passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Bachelor's degree required; a postgraduate qualification in HR or a related field is preferred.

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Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. At Ethos we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Pursuant to the SF Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider employment for qualified applicants with arrests and conviction records.

Recruitment Notice: Please be aware of recruitment scams. All legitimate communication from our team will only come from email addresses ending in @ethos.com or @getethos.com.
We will never ask for payment, banking details, or sensitive personal information during the hiring process. If you are contacted by someone claiming to represent us from a different email address, please treat it as fraudulent.