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Senior HR professional with 20+ years of progressive experience driving people strategy, HR transformation, and organisational excellence across international education (AKDN) and commercial sectors in India and the UK. Proven track record in full-cycle HR business partnering, talent acquisition, HRMIS digitisation, and POSH/labour law compliance for multicultural, geographically dispersed workforces. Adept at building high-performance HR functions from the ground up and partnering with C-suite stakeholders to align people strategy with business objectives.

Now seeking remote or hybrid Senior HR role, HRBP, or HR Consultant roles — India-wide or globally — where strategic HR leadership can drive measurable organisational impact.

Manager - Human Resources at The Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad (Aga Khan Development Network — AKDN) (2011-08 – 2026-04)

Led end-to-end HR strategy and operations for a globally recognised international educational institution with 200+ faculty and staff, delivering consistent people outcomes across a highly multicultural environment.

• Joined the Academy when it started in 2011 and architected and owned the institution's HR setup from scratch
• Designed and rolled out a structured performance management framework, driving accountability across all departments
• Built succession planning and talent pipeline processes to ensure continuity in senior academic and administrative roles
• Aligned HR KPIs and OKRs with institutional mission, reporting outcomes to senior leadership and AKDN global stakeholders
• Reduced time-to-hire by 20% through redesigned recruitment workflows and structured competency-based interviewing
• Developed onboarding frameworks for 50+ international hires, cutting ramp-up time and improving 90-day retention
• Built diverse talent pipelines across local and expatriate candidate pools, improving quality-of-hire scores
• Rolled out leadership development tracks for academic department heads and admin managers
• Partnered with external vendors and online platforms to scale learning access cost-effectively
• Achieved 100% compliance across POSH, maternity benefits, leave entitlements, and disciplinary procedures
• Member of Internal Complaints Committee (ICC)
• Developed and revised HR policy manuals, employee handbooks, and statutory compliance trackers
• Led full HRMIS digitisation programme, eliminating paper-based HR processes and saving approximately 80+ hours/month in administrative effort
• Implemented digital leave management, payroll integration, and employee self-service portals
• Introduced HR dashboards tracking headcount, attrition, training completion, and engagement metrics for senior leadership review
• Conducted annual compensation benchmarking and designed localised reward structures
• Ensured market-competitive pay bands for faculty and staff, reducing pay-equity gaps and supporting retention
• Established employee wellness programmes, internal communication protocols, and engagement surveys
• Drove year-on-year improvements in engagement scores through action-planning based on survey data

Team Manager — HR Operations at Alliance Boots (2007-05 – 2011-05)

Managed full-cycle HR functions for a major UK pharmacy and health & beauty retailer, supporting a multi-site workforce across London.

• Reduced recruitment costs by 12% through in-house sourcing strategies and vendor renegotiation, while maintaining quality-of-hire standards
• Improved employee retention rates through structured engagement initiatives, line manager coaching, and stay-interview programmes
• Led workforce resilience and change management programmes during economic downturn, delivering cross-functional training to support role transitions
• Managed onboarding, probation reviews, performance coaching, and disciplinary processes for 100+ employees across multiple sites
• Partnered with business leaders as an embedded HRBP, providing pragmatic HR guidance on people matters and organisational changes

Manager — Human Resources at Bhrigus India Pvt. Ltd. (2003 – 2007)

• Managed end-to-end recruitment, payroll processing, statutory compliance, and employee onboarding across the organisation
• Developed HR manuals, SOP documentation, and statutory compliance trackers to build foundational HR infrastructure
• Supported implementation of HR policies aligned with Indian labour laws, contributing to audit-ready compliance posture

Technician at GAETEC, Semiconductor Complex Ltd. (1997 – 2002)

Provided technical operations support in a government semiconductor manufacturing environment.

Executive Post Graduate Programme (EPGP) in Human Resources & Organisational Development – Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kozhikode (2003)

Bachelor of Science – Osmania University, Hyderabad (1997)