Role Summary :

We are looking for a seasoned professional to own and scale the management of the company's apprenticeship and trainee hiring needs, including contract employees engaged through third party partners and government schemes such as the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), NATS (National Apprenticeship Training Scheme), PMIS, Learn and Earn Schemes, etc.

- This role will be responsible for end-to-end governance of external workforce strategy, including vendor management, workforce planning, hiring, compliance, cost optimization, and productivity enhancement.

- This is a high-impact, execution-focused role at the intersection of HR, operations, and vendor management.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Resource Mobilization & Manpower Planning :

- Partner with plant operations and business leaders to forecast manpower requirements across locations and shifts. Forecast manpower requirements, execute resource mobilization plans, and maintain optimal staffing levels across functions

- Define optimal workforce mix (contract vs apprentices)

- Manage ramp-up/ramp-down of large contract and permanent workforce as per business needs. Drive workforce scalability aligned to production cycles

Campus Engagement & Bulk Hiring :

- Build and maintain strong relationships with ITI and Polytechnic colleges across targeted regions

- Plan and execute campus recruitment drives, pre-placement talks, and selection processes to meet bulk hiring targets for skilled and semi-skilled roles.

2. Vendor & Partner Management :

- Identify, evaluate, onboard, and manage third-party HR service vendors (background verification, payroll processing, compliance consultants, training partners, etc.).

- Establish SLAs, KPIs, and governance frameworks

- Rationalize vendor base and drive performance benchmarking

- Ensure consistent hiring quality and turnaround times

- Negotiate contracts, monitor SLAs, and ensure cost-effective delivery of services

3. Apprenticeship Program Management (NAPS / NATS) :

- Design and scale apprenticeship programs leveraging government initiatives

- Liaise with regulatory bodies and external partners

- Optimize utilization of subsidies and cost benefits

- Ensure structured onboarding, training, and deployment

4. Managing all Learn & Earn Programs (Hiring, Onboarding & Training) :

- Oversee high-volume hiring through partners

- Standardize onboarding, induction, and safety training

- Ensure workforce readiness and deployment efficiency

- Drive continuous skill development initiatives

5. Statutory Compliance, Payroll & Risk Management :

- Ensure 100% adherence to all labour laws, PF, ESI, PT, Gratuity, Contract Labour Act, POSH, and other statutory requirements

- Conduct regular audits, maintain records, and handle inspections by government authorities

- Mitigate risks related to contract labour and apprenticeship frameworks

- Maintain documentation and audit readiness

- Oversee accurate and timely payroll processing for employees and contract workforce (including variable pay, incentives, reimbursements, and deductions).

- Coordinate with finance for seamless salary disbursement and tax compliance.

6. Workforce Performance & Productivity :

- Track workforce productivity, absenteeism, and attrition

- Drive initiatives to improve efficiency and output

- Partner with operations to align workforce performance with production goals

7. Cost Management & Analytics :

- Own budgeting and cost optimization for contingent workforce

- Benchmark rates and drive commercial negotiations with vendors

- Build dashboards for headcount, cost, and performance visibility

- Deliver data-driven insights to leadership