Talent Acquisition & HR Lead (Player-Coach)

' : - ( - ) Experience: 8+ yrs Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Bengaluru Job Type: Full-time We are looking for an experienced and hands-on Talent Acquisition & HR Lead to lead talent acquisition while providing strategic guidance across key HR initiatives. This is a player-coach role , with approximately 80% focus on end-to-end talent acquisition and 20% on HR mentoring, process development, and people-related initiatives. The ideal candidate will be comfortable managing a small team while remaining actively involved in recruiting. You will partner closely with founders, hiring managers, and HR stakeholders to build high-quality talent pipelines, improve hiring processes, strengthen candidate experience, and support organizational growth across India and the US. Requirements Key ResponsibilitiesTalent Acquisition & Hiring - Own end-to-end talent acquisition across India and the US , from sourcing through offer closure. - Build and execute effective sourcing strategies for multiple roles and functions. - Partner with founders and hiring managers to understand hiring requirements and refine job descriptions. - Conduct intake discussions and establish clear hiring expectations, timelines, and evaluation criteria. - Build strong candidate pipelines and ensure hiring managers have consistent access to qualified talent. - Manage candidate screening, interviews, feedback, selection, and offer processes. - Maintain a fast, transparent, and positive candidate experience throughout the hiring journey. Team & Agency Management - Lead and mentor a small Talent Acquisition/HR team and take ownership of team performance. - Guide team members on recruiting strategy, stakeholder management, escalations, and decision-making. - Manage external recruitment agencies and hold them accountable for candidate quality and turnaround time. - Establish clear expectations, metrics, and performance standards for internal and external recruiting partners. Recruitment Analytics & Process Improvement - Monitor pipeline health, time-to-fill, source effectiveness, conversion rates, and hiring performance . - Identify bottlenecks in the recruitment process and implement improvements. - Use market intelligence, compensation benchmarks, candidate expectations, and attrition trends to improve hiring strategies. - Build scalable recruitment processes and frameworks suitable for a rapidly growing organization. HR Advisory & Mentoring - Mentor the HR team on performance management, policy interpretation, process design, and people-related escalations. - Provide guidance on developing effective HR frameworks without owning day-to-day HR execution. - Connect talent acquisition insights with broader HR initiatives and organizational planning. - Support smooth onboarding in collaboration with HR, Operations, and Administration teams. What's Makes You a Great Fit - 8+ years of experience in Talent Acquisition, Recruitment, or related HR functions, with strong hands-on recruiting experience. - Proven expertise in full-cycle recruitment , from sourcing and screening to offer closure. - Experience managing and mentoring a team of 2+ TA/HR professionals . - Strong experience developing sourcing strategies and building talent pipelines for multiple roles. - Experience working closely with founders, senior leaders, and hiring managers. - Prior exposure to HR/HRBP functions , including policies, performance frameworks, and people processes. - Experience working in a startup or high-growth environment , particularly where processes need to be built from scratch. - Experience hiring for B2B technology, AI, SaaS, or other rapidly scaling businesses is highly preferred. - Exposure to scaling organizations from approximately 80 to 300+ employees will be an advantage. - Experience managing recruitment for US-based roles from India is a strong plus. - Strong stakeholder, candidate, and agency management skills. - Excellent communication skills with a direct, clear, and practical approach. - Strong understanding of recruiting metrics, candidate experience, and market intelligence. - Comfortable balancing strategic leadership with hands-on recruiting execution . - Highly proactive, adaptable, and comfortable operating with ambiguity and changing priorities.