About Dharmalife
Dharma Life is a social impact organization advancing inclusive progress across India through two core pillars — People and Planet. Working in over 40,000 villages across 15 states, it has built a rural network of 20,000+ women entrepreneurs, Dharmalife Entrepreneurs (DLEs) who drive sustainable community development. The organization works alongside women by enhancing their economic power, agency, and leadership, while addressing key social and environmental challenges. Through this network of DLEs, Dharmalife promotes sustainable livelihoods, behaviour change, and solutions across key domains — Health, Well-being, Livelihood, Education, Care, Clean Energy, Sustainability, and Circular Economy.Impact so far:17.5 million+ people reached through Women-led initiatives.500,000+ children supported through education, health, and hygiene programs.50,000+ clean energy solutions deployed, saving over 131,000 tons of CO₂.By 2030, Dharma Life aims to advance 1 million rural women through sustainable livelihoods and care support. Its group entities — Dharma Life Foundation, Gajam India Pvt. Ltd., Dharma Life Labs, and Dharma Life Society — work together to create lasting systemic change at scale.
Role Purpose
The Head of Human Resources is a member of the Executive Leadership Team responsible for designing and driving Dharmalife’s people, culture, and social impact strategy. This role will lead an organization-wide drive to build an agile, inclusive, and value-driven culture that reflects our purpose — empowering people and community to live with dignity, empathy, and sustainability.The HR Head will act as a strategic partner, cultural architect, and people coach, ensuring alignment between people, structure, systems, and Dharmalife’s mission of equitable growth. The role will also shape Dharmalife’s future of work agenda, drive digital HR transformation, and design an exceptional employee experience rooted in purpose, performance, and growth.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic HR Leadership
- Partner with the CEO and senior leadership to define and execute a future-ready people and culture strategy aligned with Dharmalife’s impact vision.
- Translate mission priorities into organization design, talent plans, and leadership capability frameworks.
- Drive digital transformation of HR through advanced analytics, automation, and AI tools to enhance employee experience, workforce insights, and decision-making.
2. Culture and Values Stewardship
- Serve as the custodian of Dharmalife’s culture, ensuring that its core values — Performance, Integrity, Collaboration, Innovation, and Impact — are lived daily across all levels.
- Design and champion the Dharmalife Culture Framework, articulating the organization’s identity, purpose, and ways of working. Define and operationalize Dharmalife’s People Behaviours Framework linking values to measurable actions and performance outcomes. Build cross-functional collaboration and shared accountability across program, business, and functional teams to reduce silos and nurture team spirit.
- Create psychologically safe environments where diverse voices are heard, and inclusion drives innovation and performance.
3. Organizational Design and Workforce Planning
- Lead end-to-end organization structuring and job architecture for efficiency, accountability, and role clarity. Create career pathways and succession plans that support both organizational growth and employee aspiration.
- Develop internal mobility programs and talent marketplaces for career growth across functions, geographies, and roles. Ensure equitable opportunities for field, program, and functional teams.
4. Talent Acquisition, Development & Capability Building
- Drive strategic talent acquisition with a focus on value alignment, diversity, and leadership potential.
- Establish a Leadership Accelerator Program and Future Leaders Initiative for emerging talent across corporate and field levels.
- Develop and institutionalize a Capacity Development Framework, including mentoring, rotational assignments, and learning journeys. Embed a continuous learning mindset by integrating peer learning, feedback, and self-driven digital modules through the Dharmalife Capability Academy and Jaya LMS.
5. Performance, Reward & Recognition Systems
- Design and implement an integrated
Performance and Growth Framework
combining OKRs, continuous feedback, and contribution-based recognition. Ensure fairness, transparency, and differentiation in reward and career progression systems. - Align individual and team goals with Dharmalife’s impact outcomes and organizational priorities. Use data-driven HR dashboards to track talent performance, retention, and diversity metrics.
6. HR Operations, Policies, and Governance
- Oversee HR policies, legal compliance, and governance processes in line with Indian labour regulations and international donor requirements. Ensure robust implementation of POSH, Code of Conduct, and ethical workplace policies.
- Implement digital HR systems to automate recruitment, attendance, payroll, and performance analytics.
- Champion ethical leadership and governance through transparent communication and fair policies.
7. People Engagement and Experience
- Coach and counsel mid-senior level leaders on organizational behaviour, leadership, and change management.
- Facilitate Leadership Huddles and People Labs for collaborative problem-solving, cross-functional learning, and innovation.
- Institutionalize Rituals of Recognition (storytelling, field impact showcases, annual DL Society Awards, etc.) to celebrate purpose-driven work.
- Champion holistic well-being by embedding physical, emotional, and mental wellness into the organization’s DNA.
- Design differentiated employee experiences across the talent lifecycle, integrating flexibility and inclusion.
- Lead Dharmalife’ s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
(DEI)
strategy, promoting women’s leadership and rural representation at all levels. - Build a high-trust, learning-oriented organization capable of scaling social impact sustainably.
- Build strong internal communication channels that foster transparency, engagement, and storytelling around impact.
Role Profile
Education:
Master’s degree in human resources, Organizational Development, or Behavioural Sciences (MBA/PGDM preferred).
Experience:
Minimum 15 years of progressive HR leadership experience, with at least 3 years at a senior management level. Experience in hybrid business-social models preferred.
- Demonstrated success in leading culture transformation, organizational design, and people development.
- Expertise in digital HR, analytics, and future-of-work strategy.
- Deep appreciation for rural India, gender inclusion, and community empowerment models.
- Exceptional interpersonal, facilitation, and change management skills.
- Strong ethical foundation and commitment to Dharmalife’s mission.
Why Join Dharmalife?
Opportunity to lead HR of one of India’s most impactful People + Planet organizations. Influence the future of rural social development leadership, gender equity, and sustainable development. Shape a values-driven, globally benchmarked culture that unites purpose, performance, and growth. Lead a future-ready people strategy integrating digital transformation and social impact. Collaborate with passionate changemakers who are redefining how social impact and enterprise intersect. Represent Dharmalife externally as a thought leader in the People + Planet ecosystem, showcasing best practices at the national and global forums.
