Role Overview:

We are looking for a strategic and execution-focused Head - Placement & Career Services to lead career services, employer partnerships, and placement operations for a large online learner ecosystem. The role will be responsible for building strong corporate relationships, driving quality placement outcomes, strengthening learner employability, and establishing scalable placement processes and governance.

Key Responsibilities:

- Develop and execute the overall placement and career services strategy aligned with learner outcomes and organizational objectives.

- Lead end-to-end placement operations, including employer engagement, job opportunities, candidate coordination, placement processes, and post-placement tracking.

- Build and manage strategic relationships with CHROs, Talent Acquisition leaders, senior HR stakeholders, corporates, recruiters, and industry partners.

- Develop and scale employer partnerships to increase the breadth, quality, and relevance of career opportunities available to learners.

- Drive placement outcomes through structured employer outreach, hiring programs, recruitment partnerships, and strategic corporate engagements.

- Identify industry and hiring trends to align employer partnerships and career programs with evolving market requirements.

- Lead career-readiness and employability initiatives, including career coaching, resume development, interview preparation, mentoring, and job-readiness programs.

- Establish and monitor placement KPIs, SLAs, dashboards, operating processes, and governance mechanisms.

- Analyze placement and employer data to identify trends, improve conversion, and enhance learner outcomes.

- Work closely with Academic, Product, Marketing, Technology, and Operations teams to integrate career services into the overall learner journey.

- Develop scalable processes and technology-enabled solutions to improve employer engagement, learner participation, and placement operations.

- Lead, mentor, and develop high-performing Career Services, Corporate Relations, and Placement teams.

- Establish quality standards for employer partnerships and ensure a strong learner and employer experience throughout the placement lifecycle.

- Represent the organization in strategic corporate and industry forums and build its reputation within the employer ecosystem.

Requirements:

- 12 - 15 years of experience in placements, career services, corporate relations, talent acquisition, employer partnerships, or related functions.

- 7 - 9 years of experience in leadership roles managing placement, career services, corporate relations, or employer engagement teams.

- Proven experience building and managing strong employer and recruiter networks and engaging senior HR/Talent Acquisition stakeholders.

- Demonstrated experience driving placement programs, employer partnerships, recruitment outcomes, and career initiatives at scale.

- Strong understanding of corporate hiring processes, employer expectations, talent acquisition practices, and employability trends.

- Experience designing and implementing career-readiness and learner employability programs.

- Strong experience in placement operations, performance tracking, dashboards, SLAs, governance, and process improvement.

- Strong data-driven approach with the ability to analyze placement metrics and translate insights into actionable initiatives.

- Experience working cross-functionally with academic, product, marketing, technology, and operations teams.

- Experience in Higher Education, EdTech, Workforce Development, or a similar learner-focused ecosystem is preferred.

- Strong leadership, negotiation, communication, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills.

- MBA/PGDM or equivalent qualification preferred.

- Exposure to placement and career platforms such as Superset, Unstop, FirstNaukri, LineupX, or similar platforms would be an advantage.