Jr Talent Acquisition Manager

About the Role

We are looking for a driven and hands-on Jr. Talent Acquisition Manager to join our People & Culture team and support the organisation's growing talent acquisition function.

This role will be responsible for managing end-to-end recruitment across multiple functions, building strong talent pipelines, partnering closely with hiring managers, monitoring recruitment performance and ensuring that hiring is delivered within defined timelines and quality expectations.

The ideal candidate should be more than a strong recruiter. We are looking for someone who understands recruitment as a business function, can work with data and hiring metrics, proactively identify bottlenecks, improve recruitment processes and eventually take ownership of a recruitment portfolio and team.

Key Responsibilities

1. End-to-End Talent Acquisition

• Manage the complete recruitment lifecycle from requisition to joining.
• Understand manpower requirements, job specifications and hiring priorities.
• Source candidates through LinkedIn Recruiter, Naukri, referrals, databases, professional networks and other relevant channels.
• Conduct initial screening and assess candidates against defined competencies and role requirements.
• Coordinate interviews with hiring managers and stakeholders.
• Manage candidate communication throughout the recruitment process.
• Drive offer discussions, negotiation and closure in coordination with HR.
• Maintain a healthy pipeline for current and anticipated hiring requirements.

2. Stakeholder Management

• Partner closely with hiring managers and business leaders to understand their talent requirements.
• Act as the primary recruitment point of contact for assigned business functions.
• Establish clear recruitment expectations, timelines and SLAs with stakeholders.
• Provide regular hiring updates and proactively escalate recruitment challenges.
• Advise hiring managers on candidate availability, market trends, compensation expectations and sourcing challenges.
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and ensure a positive hiring experience.

3. Recruitment Planning & Talent Pipeline

• Develop proactive talent pools for recurring and critical positions.
• Conduct market mapping and identify suitable talent across relevant industries and organisations.
• Build pipelines for hard-to-fill and specialised positions.
• Maintain an active database of relevant candidates for future requirements.
• Track pipeline health, source effectiveness and conversion ratios.

4. Recruitment Metrics & Analytics

• Track key recruitment metrics including:
• Time to Hire
• Time to Fill
• Hiring TAT
• Source-wise conversions
• Interview-to-selection ratio
• Offer-to-join ratio
• Requisition ageing
• Pipeline health
• Prepare periodic recruitment MIS and dashboards.
• Identify trends and bottlenecks in the recruitment funnel.
• Use recruitment data to recommend corrective actions and process improvements.
• Ensure recruitment targets and SLAs are consistently monitored.

5. Recruitment Operations

• Ensure all recruitment activities are accurately updated in the RMS/ATS and other HR systems.
• Monitor open requisitions and ensure timely movement of candidates through the recruitment lifecycle.
• Coordinate closely with HR Operations and relevant stakeholders for documentation, offer release, preboarding and joining.
• Support background verification and preboarding processes wherever applicable.
• Maintain appropriate recruitment records and documentation.

6. Team & Process Support

• Support the Talent Acquisition Manager in managing the day-to-day recruitment function.
• Guide junior recruiters and provide support on sourcing, screening and candidate closure.
• Review recruiter productivity and pipeline movement where required.
• Support development and implementation of recruitment SOPs, templates and workflows.
• Identify opportunities to improve recruitment efficiency through technology, automation and process redesign.
• Participate in recruitment projects and organisation-wide HR initiatives.

Key Performance Indicators

The role will be evaluated on:

• Recruitment TAT and adherence to hiring SLAs
• Number and quality of positions closed
• Quality of candidate pipeline
• Offer-to-joining conversion
• Candidate experience
• Hiring manager satisfaction
• Source effectiveness
• Requisition ageing
• Recruitment MIS accuracy
• Recruiter productivity, where applicable
• Process improvement initiatives
• Quality of talent mapping and proactive pipelines

Job Requirement:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, Business Administration, Management or a related discipline.
• MBA/PGDM in HR will be an advantage but is not mandatory.

Experience

• 4-7 years of experience in Talent Acquisition / Recruitment.
• Experience in corporate or internal recruitment is preferred.
• Experience managing multiple functions or diverse hiring requirements is preferred.
• Prior experience mentoring junior recruiters or coordinating a recruitment team will be an advantage.

Technical Skills

The candidate should have practical experience with:

• LinkedIn Recruiter
• Naukri
• ATS / RMS platforms
• Recruitment MIS and reporting
• Boolean and advanced candidate search
• Microsoft Excel / Google Sheets
• HRMS platforms

Experience with KEKA, Wrike or similar HR/recruitment workflow tools will be an advantage.

Behavioural Competencies

• Strong stakeholder management
• Excellent communication skills
• High ownership and accountability
• Strong follow-up discipline
• Data-driven approach
• Problem-solving ability
• Commercial awareness
• Negotiation skills
• Ability to prioritise multiple requirements
• Attention to detail
• Ability to work independently
• Team collaboration and mentoring mindset
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment

We are looking for someone who:

• Takes ownership rather than simply processing recruitment tasks.
• Can independently manage hiring requirements from requisition to joining.
• Is comfortable challenging hiring managers when necessary.
• Understands recruitment numbers and can explain what the data means.
• Can identify why a position is not closing and change the recruitment strategy accordingly.
• Builds relationships with candidates and stakeholders rather than treating recruitment as a transactional process.
• Is process-oriented but can adapt quickly to changing business requirements.
• Has the ambition and capability to grow into a larger Talent Acquisition leadership role.