Talent Lead

# About this role Zenskar is in hyper-growth mode. We're scaling past 100+ full-time employees across India and the US. We are building an A-lister team and processeses built to scale, not just get us through the next few hires. We need someone who can own talent acquisition end-to-end while also helping shape the HR side of the function as it grows. This is a Player-coach role: you'll lead a team of 3 across TA/HR + interns, while also staying hands-on yourself as an IC recruiter. The role is roughly 80% TA, 20% HR. You're the one running hiring day to day, and you're also the senior voice helping the HR team figure out process, policy, and the people-side of scaling, without owning day to day HR execution yourself. You'll own sourcing and pipeline across India and US roles, work directly with the co-founders on headcount planning and with hiring managers to keep requisitions moving, and partner with your Ops/admin teammates on the onboarding handoff. Alongside that, you'll spend time with the HR team mentoring, sanity-checking decisions, and helping figure out the frameworks (performance, policy, comp) that let HR scale. ## **What you'll own** ### **Talent Acquisition (~80%)** - **Sourcing and pipeline**: building and running sourcing strategy for open roles, keeping pipelines full enough that hiring managers are never waiting on you - **Co-founder and hiring manager partnership**: sharpening JDs, running intake calls, and holding HMs accountable for fast, clear feedback on candidates - **Candidate experience**: running a screening and interview process that moves fast and treats candidates well, from first outreach to offer - **Agency and vendor coordination**: managing external recruiting agencies where they're used (e.g., US hiring), keeping them accountable to quality and turnaround - **Reporting and process**: tracking pipeline health, time-to-fill, and source effectiveness; flagging bottlenecks before they become escalations - **Onboarding handoff**: working with the Ops/Admin teammate so new hires land well, not just get a laptop and a Slack invite ### **HR mentoring and support (~20%)** - **Mentoring the HR team**: being a sounding board for the HR team on judgment calls, escalations, and how to handle things they haven't seen before - **Helping figure out and guide HR, not run it day to day**: working alongside the HR team on performance frameworks, policy, and process design, without owning execution of any of it - **Connecting TA and HR**: making sure what you're seeing in the market and in hiring (comp benchmarks, candidate expectations, attrition signals) actually informs how HR builds its frameworks ## **What this role is** - **A doers’ seat**: you're sourcing, screening, and closing candidates yourself, not just managing a dashboard. - **Coach and Manage**: Manage the other TA and HR team members and their outcomes. - **Built for range**: in a given week you might be closing a candidate, sitting in on a policy discussion, and coaching someone on how to handle a tricky HR conversation - **A growth track**: as the team and function scale, this role is a natural path towards TA/HR leader ## Best Fit - 9-12 years of experience in Talent Acquisition, with genuine curiosity or prior exposure to HR/HRBP work - Comfortable owning full-cycle recruiting independently - sourcing through offer - without heavy hand-holding - Experience managing a team of 2 or more people in TA/HR - Startup experience preferred: comfortable with ambiguity and building process as you go rather than inheriting one. - Prior experience at a high-growth Series A–D B2B AI/SaaS company where you helped scale the TA motion during a growth phase - Have seen a headcount scale from 80 employees to 300+ - Direct, plain communicator: with candidates, hiring managers, agencies, and the HR team alike - Experience hiring for US roles from India is a strong plus, given the market gap that makes this hard to run solo ## Location - Hybrid - 2 days per week (Tuesday, Thursday) - Office Location: Indiranagar, Bengaluru. - Address: 3rd Floor, A wing No 1, Carlton Towers, HAL Old Airport Rd, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560008. ## **Interview Process** Our interview process is designed to be structured and efficient. - **R0 – Recruiter Screening:** Quick conversation to assess basic fit and role expectations. - **R1 – Introductory Chat:** We recommend reviewing the job description & Apurv's recorded videos before this step. - **Take-Home Assignment:** Sent after the initial conversation with a 72-hour window. - **R2 – Assignment Discussion:** 45-minute session with the team covering assignment walkthrough, CS operating depth, and problem-solving. - **R3 – Culture Fit (In-Office):** 45-minute conversation, ideally in person if based in Bangalore. - **Reference Checks:** Two former direct manager calls. - **R4 – Founder Round:** 20-minute founder conversation. ## How to apply Please write to Nikita@zenskar.com 🙂