Senior Talent Acquisition Partner

NKT Operations; Chennai District; Hybrid; INR 1,200,000 - 2,200,000; Full time

Job summary

NKT Operations in India seeks an experienced Talent Acquisition leader to drive end-to-end hiring strategies aligned with business growth and workforce plans. You will partner with business leaders and global stakeholders to build robust talent pipelines, strengthen employer branding and enhance recruitment effectiveness through technology and analytics.

The role emphasizes leadership of the TA function, campus and early-career programs, and adoption of AI-enabled recruitment practices to

Qualifications

• 14-18 years of TA/Recruitment experience in multinational/global organizations.
• Experience with SAP SuccessFactors or Workday HRIS.
• Strong stakeholder management and strategic thinking.
• Experience partnering with global teams across GCCs/matrixed environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end TA strategy for the GCC across functions and levels.
• Partner with business leaders to translate workforce needs into hiring strategies and plans.
• Build strategic talent pipelines for critical and future skills with global governance.
• Drive adoption of AI, automation and analytics to enhance TA effectiveness.
• Coach and develop the Talent Acquisition team and build capabilities in strategic sourcing.

Skills

Talent Acquisition leadership

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Data-driven recruiting

Education

MBA/PGDM in Human Resources

Tools

SAP SuccessFactors

Workday HRIS

Job description

Lead and manage the Talent Acquisition function for NKT in India, driving end-to-end hiring strategies aligned with business growth and workforce plans. Partner with business leaders and global stakeholders to build strong talent pipelines, strengthen employer branding, and enhance recruitment effectiveness through technology, analytics and AI, creating a modern, scalable and high-performing TA framework.

Talent Acquisition Strategy & Leadership

• Lead end-to-end TA strategy for the GCC across functions and levels, including niche, critical and leadership hiring from requisition intake and talent sourcing to assessment, selection and offer management.
• Partner with business leaders, HRBPs and global stakeholders to translate workforce needs into effective hiring strategies and plans.
• Build strategic talent pipelines for critical, niche and future skills while aligning local TA practices with global policies, governance and best practices.

Strategic Sourcing & Talent Pipelines

• Manage recruitment budgets, driving cost-effective hiring strategies and delivering measurable cost savings while maintaining quality and hiring outcomes.
• Develop innovative, data-driven sourcing strategies to attract high-quality and diverse talent in competitive markets.
• Build sustainable talent pipelines through direct sourcing, talent mapping, market intelligence, referrals and targeted campaigns.
• Optimize sourcing channels using quality, conversion, cost and time-to-hire metrics, with a focus on critical and hard-to-fill roles.

Campus & Early Careers Talent Acquisition

• Lead campus and early-career hiring in partnership with leading universities and institutes, building pipelines aligned with current and future GCC talent needs.
• Develop university engagement, campus hiring and early-career programs, tracking effectiveness through quality, conversion, offer-to-join and retention metrics.
• Drive apprenticeship and return-to-work programs to build diverse, skilled and sustainable talent pipelines.

AI, Automation & HR Technology

• Drive adoption of AI-enabled sourcing, screening, automation and digital recruitment solutions to enhance TA effectiveness.
• Evaluate and scale AI-powered solutions across sourcing, talent mapping, screening, scheduling and candidate engagement.
• Leverage SAP HRIS and recruitment technologies to streamline workflows, improve data accuracy, visibility and stakeholder experience.
• Partner with HR technology and business stakeholders to implement, integrate and scale emerging technologies, improving speed, productivity and candidate experience.

Recruitment Analytics, Insights & Process Excellence

• Develop TA dashboards, MIS and recruitment analytics to track hiring performance and provide actionable leadership insights.
• Monitor key metrics including Time-to-Hire, Time-to-Fill, Quality of Hire, Offer-to-Join, Source Effectiveness and Hiring Manager Satisfaction.
• Analyze recruitment trends, funnel performance and bottlenecks to drive data-led decisions and improve hiring efficiency and quality.
• Drive process standardization and continuous improvement, identifying gaps and implementing scalable best practices to enhance efficiency and stakeholder experience.
• Benchmark TA practices against market trends, emerging technologies and industry best practices to continuously improve recruitment effectiveness.

Employer Branding & Candidate Experience

• Strengthen employer branding and talent attraction through compelling EVP, targeted campaigns and recruitment communications to position the GCC as an employer of choice.
• Enhance the end-to-end candidate experience through streamlined processes, digital engagement, timely communication and data-driven continuous improvement.

Stakeholder & Global TA Collaboration

• Partner with local and global business leaders, HRBPs, hiring managers and global TA teams to align talent strategy with business priorities and workforce needs.
• Act as a strategic TA advisor, providing market intelligence, talent insights and hiring recommendations while aligning local practices with global standards and governance.
• Drive diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) hiring initiatives through targeted sourcing strategies, diverse talent pipelines and inclusive selection practices, while tracking progress against diversity hiring objectives
• Coach and develop the Talent Acquisition team, fostering a collaborative, customer-centric and data-driven culture while building capabilities in strategic sourcing, stakeholder management and talent acquisition best practices

Recruitment Vendor & Partner Management

• Manage external recruitment agencies, search firms and talent partners, establishing clear SLAs, performance expectations and governance.
• Monitor and optimize vendor performance across quality, turnaround time, cost, diversity and hiring outcomes, aligned with business needs.

Compliance, Governance & Risk Management

• Ensure recruitment practices comply with organizational policies, global TA governance and local employment regulations.
• Maintain robust controls for candidate data, recruitment documentation, selection processes and hiring approvals.
• Drive fair, transparent and consistent hiring practices while adapting to evolving regulatory and business requirements.

Success Criteria in this role will be measured through:

• Achievement of hiring targets within agreed timelines and budgets, with improved Time-to-Hire, Quality of Hire and Offer-to-Join ratios.
• Strong stakeholder satisfaction and effective partnership with business leaders and global HR/TA teams.
• Successful adoption of AI, automation, SAP HRIS and recruitment analytics to enhance hiring effectiveness and decision-making.
• Improved sourcing effectiveness and reduced dependency on traditional recruitment channels.
• Strong talent pipelines for critical, niche and future skills.
• Enhanced candidate experience and employer brand in the talent market.
• High-performing, agile TA team with improved capability, productivity and cost efficiency.

Education

• MBA/PGDM in Human Resources or equivalent qualification preferred.

Experience

• 14 - 18 years of overall Talent Acquisition / Recruitment experience, preferably with multinational or global organizations.
• Strong experience working with global firms, GCCs or matrixed international environments.
• Experience in SAP- SuccessFactors or Workday- HRIS

Personal Competencies

• Strategic, analytical and commercially oriented with strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build trusted partnerships across levels and functions.
• Proactive, agile and results-driven, with a strong focus on delivering quality talent outcomes.
• Collaborative and culturally aware, with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Innovative and technology-oriented, with an openness to AI, digital solutions and new-age Talent Acquisition practices.
• Strong leadership and people management capabilities, with the ability to build and motivate high-performing teams.