Role Overview:

The Lead HR Operations will lead the end-to-end HR Operations function for the organization. This is a comprehensive role responsible for governing payroll, compensation & benefits (including insurance), statutory & legal compliance, onboarding, background verification (BGV), HRIS management, and full employee lifecycle administration.

Key Deliverables:

Payroll & Compensation Management:

- Own end-to-end payroll processing ensuring strict accuracy and timelines. Administer annual increments, bonus/incentives, sales commissions, investment/flexi declarations, and F&F settlements.

Insurance & Benefits Administration:

- Manage Mediclaim, Group Life, and Personal Accident policies including monthly additions/deletions, premium calculations, vendor/broker renewals, and handling escalations and employee grievances.

Statutory & Legal Compliance:

- Ensure 100% adherence to labor laws, PF, ESI, TDS, and statutory return filings. Lead internal/external HR audits and govern compliance policies across all employee locations. Act as the primary liaison with government authorities, labor departments, and legal counsel to represent the company during inspections, handle notices, and resolve regulatory inquiries.

Onboarding & Background Verification (BGV):

- Oversee joining formalities, offer generation, HR system inductions, BGV vendor management, discrepancy resolutions, and maintain audit-ready personal records.

Employee Lifecycle & HRIS Lead:

- Drive lifecycle processes (transfers, promotions, exit management) and serve as functional lead for HRIS platforms (Peoplestrong) across Recruitment, Compensation, Talent, and Performance modules.

Process Digitization & MIS Reporting:

- Drive HR automation and service delivery reengineering. Generate monthly HR MIS dashboards for leadership tracking key operational metrics (payroll accuracy, SLA adherence, and data integrity).

Team & Stakeholder Escalation Management:

- Mentor a team of HR specialists, act as the escalation contact for business stakeholders, and represent HR Operations in regional forums. Work closely with stakeholders to ensure smooth and effective HR procedure and policies. Strong communicator with good written and spoken English. You should have exposure to working with the senior Leadership team.

Skills & Capabilities Required:

Operational Expertise:

- Deep expertise in end-to-end HR Operations and Payroll Management within large multi-location setups (1,000+ employees).

HRIS Mastery:

- Hands-on functional mastery over enterprise HRIS platforms such as PeopleStrong.

Statutory & Audit Knowledge:

- Strong command over Indian statutory compliance regulations (PF, ESI, TDS, key labor codes) and audit management practices.

Vendor & SLA Governance:

- Proven track record in managing payroll vendors, BGV partners, insurance brokers, and enforcing strict service level agreements (SLAs).

Data & Analytics:

- Proficiency in data analytics, HR dashboarding, Excel-based modeling, and executive-level reporting.

Leadership & Execution:

- Strong leadership, stakeholder management, structured thinking, and process automation mindset.

What Success Looks Like in This Role:

Payroll & Settlement Accuracy:

- 100% accurate and on-time monthly payroll processing and Full & Final settlements.

Audit & Compliance:

- Zero high-risk compliance findings or statutory audit non-conformances across state and central guidelines.

Onboarding & BGV SLAs:

- Seamless onboarding experience and >95% SLA compliance on BGV turn-around times.

Employee Satisfaction:

- Measurable improvement in HR service resolution times and employee NPS/satisfaction for HR helpdesk queries.

Digital Transformation:

- Successful execution of process automation and HRIS digitization initiatives within target timelines.