Talent Acquisition Head | Retail​/Manufacturing

Job Description:

Head – Talent Acquisition

Location:

Coimbatore / Chennai

Experience:

12–18 years

Industry Preference:
Manufacturing / Automotive / Industrial / Engineering-led organizations

Role Overview

The Head of Talent Acquisition will own and lead the end-to-end hiring strategy across plant, corporate, and leadership roles. This role is critical in building scalable hiring engines, strengthening employer branding, and partnering closely with business leaders to support aggressive growth and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition Strategy & Leadership

- Define and execute a comprehensive TA strategy aligned with business growth, expansion, and workforce planning.
- Lead and mentor a multi-location TA team handling bulk, lateral, niche, and leadership hiring.
- Act as a strategic advisor to CXOs, Plant Heads, and Functional Leaders on hiring plans and talent market insights.

Hiring Operations & Delivery

- Own end-to-end recruitment across:
- Plant & shop-floor roles (operators, technicians, supervisors)
- Engineering & manufacturing leadership
- Corporate functions (Sales, SCM, Quality, Finance, HR, IT)
- Drive high-volume and time-critical hiring with strong TAT, quality, and cost controls.
- Build robust sourcing strategies using direct hiring, vendors, referrals, campus programs, and local talent ecosystems.

Stakeholder & Business Partnership

- Work closely with Plant Heads and Business Leaders to understand manpower plans, skill gaps, and productivity needs.
- Translate business demand into structured hiring roadmaps and quarterly workforce plans.
- Influence hiring decisions using data, benchmarks, and talent availability insights.

Employer Branding & Talent Pipeline

- Strengthen employer branding across regional and national talent markets.
- Build long-term talent pipelines for critical and hard-to-fill roles.
- Drive campus hiring initiatives with ITIs, polytechnics, engineering colleges, and management institutes.

Process, Governance & Metrics

- Establish scalable TA processes, SOPs, and governance models.
- Track and report key metrics: TAT, cost per hire, source effectiveness, quality of hire, offer-to-join ratio.
- Leverage ATS and recruitment technology to improve efficiency and candidate experience.

Vendor & Budget Management

- Manage recruitment budgets and vendor partnerships.
- Optimize agency usage and improve direct hiring ratios.
- Negotiate commercials and ensure performance-driven vendor management.

Key Requirements

- 12+ years of progressive experience in Talent Acquisition, with at least 4–6 years in a leadership role.
- Strong exposure to manufacturing / plant hiring along with corporate and leadership recruitment.
- Proven experience managing large-scale hiring volumes across multiple locations.
- Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to operate at CXO and Plant Leadership levels.
- Hands-on understanding of South India talent markets, especially Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore / Chennai).
- Experience building TA teams, processes, and scalable hiring frameworks from scratch or during high-growth phases.
- Data-driven, process-oriented, and execution-focused mindset.

Preferred Background

- Manufacturing, automotive, heavy engineering, industrial products, or allied sectors.
- Experience working in multi-plant or distributed workforce environments.
- Exposure to ERP/ATS-driven recruitment setups.