Associate Director - Talent Acquisition

Span of Control: Design Processes, Develop the Team, Leverage Digital Tools, and ensure that the firm has a robust, scalable, and future-ready talent acquisition engine.

Qualification: MBA (HR) from a Tier-I institute

Reporting to: Executive Director - Human Resources

Post Qualification Experience: 10 - 15 years in Talent Acquisition in Consulting Organisations, Professional Services Firms, or Diversified Business Groups

Location: Lower Parel, Mumbai

Designation: Associate Director - Talent Acquisition

Role Summary:

The Talent Acquisition Lead is responsible for building and leading a structured, scalable, digitally-enabled talent acquisition function for the Firm across legal and allied roles, and across levels. The role combines strategic design with operational leadership: talent acquisition strategy, workforce planning, leadership hiring governance, market mapping, partner/search management, recruitment operations, and team capability.

This is not a pure delivery recruitment role. It is a firm-building role for someone who can design and scale the TA operating model, while remaining hands-on in critical searches and working credibly with partners, business leaders, external leadership talent advisor, and search firms.

The role serves as a trusted advisor to the Managing Partner's Office, Executive Committee, Practice Leaders, and functional heads on talent strategy, leadership hiring, and market intelligence, operating within a partnership-driven environment.

Job Responsibilities:

Talent Strategy & Advisory:

- Partner with the Managing Partner's Office, Executive Committee, Practice Leaders, and functional heads to understand current and future talent needs across legal and allied roles.

- Translate firm and practice priorities into annual hiring plans and medium-term workforce plans (by location, level, and function).

- Advise leadership on talent availability, competitor moves, succession risks, and external market trends, including leadership and specialist talent.

TA Operating Model, Governance & Digital Enablement:

- Design and run a structured, scalable TA operating model covering processes, service levels, roles, and decision rights.

- Standardize core recruitment workflows: role briefing, sourcing, evaluation, interview discipline, candidate tracking, offer management, and closure.

- Ensure compliance with employment regulations and internal policies.

- Drive adoption of recruitment technology, ATS/HRIS tools, and digital sourcing channels; build dashboards and analytics to provide visibility on volumes, pipelines, time-to-hire, and quality-of-hire.

Leadership & Senior Hiring (Legal & Allied):

- Collaborate with Senior Leadership Talent advisor in the governance and process of senior and leadership hiring: Partners, Counsel and above, Practice/Office leadership roles, and senior Allied roles (Director and above).

- Work alongside the senior Leadership Talent Advisor and L&D team on search strategy, assessment design, and leadership evaluation frameworks, rather than running all assessments personally.

- Contribute to search briefs and role calibration with internal stakeholders, market mapping, longlists/shortlists, candidate benchmarking, and offer strategy, negotiations, and onboarding of leadership hires.

- Facilitate interview and assessment processes (including psychometric and behavioural tools).

- Ensure strict confidentiality and disciplined process management for all senior mandates.

Executive Search & External Partner Management:

- Manage relationships with external executive search firms and advisor, specialist recruiters, and assessment providers.

- Set clear expectations, evaluate quality and effectiveness, and hold partners accountable for delivery, candidate quality, and process hygiene.

- Negotiate commercial terms for search firm in collaboration with ED HR and leadership; monitor search partner effectiveness and recommend changes where needed.

Legal Hiring (Non-Partner):

- Lead the TA team responsible for end-to-end hiring for legal roles from Associate through Principal Associate across all offices.

- Ensure strong sourcing strategies (direct sourcing, referrals, consultants, and targeted lateral outreach) and maintain healthy talent pipelines.

- Oversee screening, interview coordination, evaluation, and offer management; intervene in critical or complex mandates as needed.

- Build and manage relationships with legal recruitment consultants and specialist search partners for non-partner lateral hiring.

Allied Hiring:

- Oversee end-to-end hiring for Allied roles (e.g., HR, L&D, Knowledge Management, Finance, Strategy, Practice Management, BD, IT, Digital, Innovation, and other business services roles) typically from Executive to Associate Director levels.

- Partner with functional leaders and the MPO Office to understand role requirements, success profiles, and workforce priorities.

- Ensure effective sourcing strategies, candidate evaluation, and timely closure while maintaining quality and culture fit.

Campus and Early Careers:

- Lead the campus and early-careers strategy, supported by a dedicated team member.

- Collaborate with the HR team to forecast fresher hiring requirements across offices and practice areas.

- Build and manage relationships with leading law schools and relevant institutes; own Day Zero, PPO, internship, and other structured campus programs.

- Ensure a strong employer brand presence on campus and robust conversion from interns/trainees to full-time offers.

Employer Brand and Market Positioning:

- Strengthen Khaitan & Co's positioning as an employer of choice for legal and allied talent, including leadership talent.

- Develop targeted engagement initiatives (events, roundtables, networking, content) to deepen relationships with key talent communities.

- Represent the Firm at relevant industry and campus forums, together with partners and business leaders.

Team Leadership and Capability Building:

- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing TA team (Executives/Senior Executives and Managers).

- Set clear goals, performance metrics, and ways of working; create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

- Build recruiter capability in sourcing, stakeholder management, market mapping, process discipline, digital tools, and candidate experience.

Candidate Profile:

Education:

- Postgraduate qualification in Human Resources, Organizational Psychology, Business, or a related field preferred.

Experience:

- 10 - 15 years of experience in talent acquisition, with significant exposure to leadership / senior hiring and professional services.

- Experience in a leading law firm, consulting firm, accounting firm, high-quality executive search firm, or similar professional services environment is preferred.

- Demonstrated success in managing complex and confidential searches, while also building or running a broader TA function.

- Strong experience engaging directly with senior stakeholders (Managing Partners, Executive Committees, CXOs, functional heads).

Competencies:

Technical:

- Talent acquisition strategy and workforce planning.

- Executive search and talent mapping methodologies.

- Leadership assessment and selection frameworks (orchestrated with external advisors and L&D).

- Market intelligence, competitor analysis, and talent insights.

- Talent analytics, reporting, and comfort with ATS/HR technology.

- Stakeholder and vendor/partner management.

Leadership:

- Executive presence and the ability to engage confidently with senior leaders and partners.

- Strategic thinking with the ability to link talent plans to business priorities and firm strategy.

- Influence and credibility as a trusted advisor, capable of constructive challenge.

- Commercial acumen and understanding of professional services and partnership models.

- Relationship building with internal stakeholders and external talent communities.

- Judgment and confidentiality in handling sensitive hiring matters.

- Resilience and agility in managing multiple high-profile and high-volume mandates simultaneously.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

The ideal candidate combines the rigour of an executive search professional, the strategic mindset of a talent advisor, and the discipline of a TA operations leader. They are comfortable operating at the highest levels of the organization while remaining a hands-on builder of the function: designing processes, developing the team, leveraging digital tools, and ensuring that Khaitan & Co has a robust, scalable, and future-ready talent acquisition engine.