Manager - Human Resources (Talent Acquisition)

The role will require a strong combination of strategic recruitment planning, stakeholder management, sourcing expertise, data-driven decision-making and operational execution. The incumbent will also contribute to employment branding, diversity hiring, recruitment process improvement and vendor management.

Function: Human Resources - Talent Acquisition

Designation: Manager / Deputy Manager - Talent Acquisition

Location: Mumbai

Reporting To: Head - Talent Acquisition / Deputy General Manager

Experience: 6-10 years

Industry Preference: Retail / E-commerce / Consumer / Lifestyle / Sportswear

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Talent Acquisition Planning

• Partner with business leaders and HRBPs to understand current and future manpower requirements.
• Develop and execute recruitment strategies aligned with business growth plans and workforce requirements.
• Translate manpower plans into actionable recruitment plans with clear priorities, timelines and ownership.
• Identify critical, niche and recurring hiring requirements and develop targeted sourcing strategies.
• Ensure recruitment plans are aligned with approved manpower budgets and organisational priorities.
• Provide market intelligence on talent availability, compensation trends and competitor hiring practices.

2. End-to-End Recruitment & Selection

Manage the complete recruitment lifecycle for Retail and Corporate hiring, including:

• Understanding and validating manpower requirements.
• Preparing and/or reviewing detailed Job Descriptions.
• Identifying appropriate sourcing channels based on the role and talent pool.
• Candidate sourcing, screening and shortlisting.
• Conducting initial HR/TA interviews and competency assessments.
• Coordinating interviews with hiring managers and functional stakeholders.
• Managing candidate feedback and interview processes.
• Salary benchmarking and offer negotiations.
• Offer generation and closure.
• Pre-joining engagement and follow-ups.
• Ensuring smooth transition from offer acceptance to joining.
• Maintaining candidate engagement throughout the recruitment journey.

3. Retail Talent Acquisition

• Drive high-volume and replacement hiring for EBO, MBO and other retail formats across regions.
• Partner with Retail HR and business teams to understand store manpower requirements.
• Develop region-wise sourcing strategies to address location-specific talent challenges.
• Monitor store hiring TAT, offer-to-join ratio and hiring productivity.
• Drive direct sourcing through job portals, LinkedIn, employee referrals, walk-ins, local networks and other relevant channels.
• Work towards reducing dependency on recruitment consultants and improving cost-effective direct hiring.
• Support manpower ramp-ups for new store openings and business expansion.

4. Corporate Talent Acquisition

• Manage recruitment across corporate functions such as Finance, Marketing, Digital, Legal, Supply Chain, IT, HR, Business Development and other functions.
• Partner with functional leaders to understand role expectations, competencies and talent requirements.
• Develop targeted sourcing strategies for mid-to-senior level positions.
• Build and maintain talent pipelines for recurring and critical positions.
• Ensure a high-quality candidate experience throughout the hiring process.

5. Offer Management & Pre-Onboarding

• Manage salary discussions, negotiations and offer closures in line with internal compensation structures.
• Ensure offers are released accurately and within agreed timelines.
• Drive effective pre-onboarding engagement with selected candidates.
• Maintain regular communication with candidates during the notice period.
• Proactively identify potential offer dropouts and develop retention/engagement strategies.
• Coordinate with HR Operations and relevant stakeholders to ensure smooth joining formalities.

6. Stakeholder Management

• Establish strong and proactive relationships with business leaders, hiring managers and HRBPs.
• Act as a trusted TA partner by providing regular updates on hiring progress, challenges and market insights.
• Conduct periodic recruitment reviews with key stakeholders.
• Ensure clarity on hiring priorities, expectations and closure timelines.
• Escalate potential delays, hiring challenges and risks proactively.
• Manage stakeholder expectations while balancing business urgency with quality of hire.

7. Diversity Hiring

• Develop and implement initiatives to improve diversity representation across the organisation.
• Build diverse talent pipelines across relevant functions and levels.
• Partner with hiring managers to promote inclusive hiring practices.
• Explore specialised sourcing channels and partnerships for diverse talent.
• Track diversity hiring metrics and identify opportunities for improvement.

8. Sourcing Strategy & Talent Mapping

• Leverage multiple sourcing channels to maximise direct hiring.
• Utilise LinkedIn, job portals, employee referrals, internal databases, social media, campus hiring, professional networks and recruitment partners as appropriate.
• Build talent pools for frequently hired and critical positions.
• Conduct market mapping and competitor talent benchmarking.
• Identify emerging sourcing channels and recruitment technologies to improve hiring efficiency.
• Continuously evaluate sourcing effectiveness based on cost, quality and conversion.

9. Recruitment Vendor Management

• Manage relationships with recruitment consultants and staffing partners.
• Allocate positions to vendors based on capability, specialisation and performance.
• Establish clear expectations around TAT, candidate quality and closure ratios.
• Monitor vendor performance and productivity.
• Review consultant costs and identify opportunities to optimise recruitment spend.
• Ensure adherence to agreed commercial terms and recruitment processes.
• Support vendor empanelment, performance reviews and contract renewals as required.

10. Recruitment MIS, Analytics & Reporting

• Maintain accurate and updated recruitment data across all assigned positions.
• Prepare and circulate regular recruitment MIS and dashboards.
• Track key TA metrics including:
  • Open positions
  • Time-to-fill
  • Time-to-hire
  • Hiring TAT
  • Offer-to-join ratio
  • Source effectiveness
  • Cost-per-hire
  • Consultant utilization
  • Diversity hiring
  • Candidate pipeline
  • Offer dropouts
  • Joining ratio
• Analyze recruitment data to identify bottlenecks and improve hiring productivity.
• Provide data-driven insights to TA leadership and business stakeholders.
• Ensure recruitment data is accurate, complete and reported within defined timelines.

11. Recruitment Policy & Process Compliance

• Ensure adherence to the organization’s recruitment policies, processes and approval matrix.
• Ensure hiring is undertaken within approved manpower budgets.
• Maintain appropriate documentation throughout the recruitment lifecycle.
• Ensure consistency and fairness in recruitment practices.
• Work closely with HR Operations to ensure compliance with onboarding and documentation requirements.

12. Turnaround Time & Hiring Productivity

• Ensure recruitment TATs are maintained as per defined SLAs.
• Monitor ageing positions and take proactive corrective action.
• Prioritise critical and business-sensitive positions.
• Identify bottlenecks in the recruitment process and resolve them in consultation with stakeholders.
• Drive continuous improvement in recruitment productivity and closure rates.

13. Employer Branding

• Support and drive initiatives to strengthen Skechers India's employer brand.
• Develop recruitment-related content for LinkedIn and other relevant platforms.
• Promote employee stories, career opportunities, workplace culture, and talent initiatives.
• Partner with internal teams to strengthen the organization’s visibility as an employer of choice.
• Support campus, talent community and external employer-branding initiatives.

14. Job Description Management

• Create comprehensive and market-relevant Job Descriptions in consultation with hiring managers.
• Ensure JDs clearly define responsibilities, qualifications, competencies, and experience requirements.
• Review existing JDs periodically to ensure they remain aligned with evolving business needs.
• Ensure consistency in designation, role expectations and qualification requirements.

15. Continuous Process Improvement

• Identify opportunities to streamline and automate recruitment processes.
• Improve candidate experience at every stage of the recruitment journey.
• Evaluate new recruitment tools, platforms and technologies.
• Identify opportunities to reduce hiring costs and improve direct sourcing.
• Drive initiatives to improve recruitment TAT, quality of hire and offer-to-join conversion.
• Benchmark TA practices against relevant organizations and industry trends.

Key Performance Indicators

The role will be evaluated on:

• Time-to-Fill / Time-to-Hire
• Position closure within agreed TAT
• Quality and relevance of shortlisted candidates
• Offer-to-Join Ratio
• Reduction in offer dropouts
• Direct sourcing contribution
• Consultant dependency and cost optimization
• Cost-per-Hire
• Diversity hiring targets
• Stakeholder satisfaction
• Recruitment MIS accuracy and timeliness
• Candidate experience
• Manpower budget adherence
• Talent pipeline development
• Process improvement initiatives

Candidate Profile

Education

• Graduate/Postgraduate in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a relevant discipline.
• MBA/PGDM in HR will be preferred.

Experience

• 6-10 years of relevant Talent Acquisition experience for Manager/Deputy Manager level.
• Strong experience in end-to-end recruitment across Retail and Corporate functions.
• Experience in high-volume retail/store hiring will be an advantage.
• Experience in managing recruitment vendors and direct sourcing channels.
• Exposure to diversity hiring and employer branding will be preferred.

Core Skills & Competencies

• Strategic Recruitment Planning
• Stakeholder Management
• Business Acumen
• End-to-End Recruitment
• Talent Sourcing & Market Mapping
• Offer Negotiation
• Vendor Management
• Data Analytics & Recruitment MIS
• Employer Branding
• Diversity Hiring
• Process Improvement
• Strong Communication & Interpersonal Skills
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making
• Planning & Prioritization
• Attention to Detail
• Ownership & Accountability

Technology Skills

• Strong proficiency in MS Excel and PowerPoint.
• Working knowledge of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
• Ability to work with recruitment dashboards and analytics.
• Knowledge of LinkedIn Recruiter and job portals will be an added advantage.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate should be a hands-on Talent Acquisition professional who can balance strategic thinking with strong execution. The person should be comfortable managing both high-volume Retail hiring and Corporate recruitment, while working closely with business leaders and HRBPs.

The candidate should have a strong understanding of the talent market, be data-driven in their approach, demonstrate excellent stakeholder management skills and have a proven ability to close positions within defined TATs while maintaining quality, cost efficiency and a strong candidate experience.

For the Manager level, the role will additionally be expected to demonstrate greater ownership of TA strategy, workforce planning, stakeholder governance, analytics, recruitment cost optimization and team/vendor productivity.

About Skechers

Skechers, a global Fortune 500® company, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel, and accessories. Serving over 180 countries and territories, Skechers connects customers to products through department and specialty stores, e-commerce and digital stores, and through our more than 5,300 Skechers retail locations.