Senior Manager Human Resources

Organization Background:

mission to build innovative schools that will empower children & young adults from underserved

communities and influence the ecosystem. Akanksha supports 14,600 students through the formal-school

education program and 5,800alumni from low-income backgrounds. Our 27 English-medium schools run

in partnership with municipal corporations in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. We provide students from

underserved communities a high-quality, holistic education at no cost. Our aim is to give students the

knowledge, skills, and values they need to lead empowered lives, maximize their potential and break out

of the cycle of poverty.

With a vision to scale our impact we codified our practices and, in 2022, joined forces with Nagpur

Municipal Corporation and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation to take these practices to nearly 200

public schools under 'Project Setu'.

Position Summary: In order to deliver quality impact, Akanksha believes in recruiting excellent talent,

creating opportunities for development; and engaging and retaining its people. We want each of our

members to be immersed in Akanksha’s culture of warmth, care and commitment towards our mission.

As the Manager-HR, you will be the HR lead for School Support & Central Support teams at Akanksha.

You will also assist the Head of HR in formulating and executing the People practices at Akanksha. You

will co-create and shape Talent acquisition, Development, Engagement and Retention such that people

at Akanksha give their personal best, working together as a team towards the Akanksha Vision, Mission

and reinforcing its values.

This position reports to Senior Director- Human Resources at The Akanksha Foundation

CTC - 18 Lac to 20 Lac per annum

Specific responsibilities will include:

Talent Acquisition

● Lead end-to-end recruitment for key and leadership roles across Central Support and School

Support functions in all three locations.

● Drive long-term capacity building by identifying future talent needs and building internal and

external pipelines accordingly.

● Partner with functional heads and school leaders to understand evolving workforce

requirements and role-specific success profiles.

● Strengthen recruitment systems and processes, ensure high-quality candidate experience, and

track data for improving hiring efficiency and effectiveness.

HR Operations, Data & Compliance

● Lead HR operations for all Strategic Projects and Support Functions, ensuring smooth execution

of the entire employee lifecycle (from onboarding to exit).

● Ensure organization-wide compliance with applicable statutory requirements (PF, ESIC, Shops &

Establishment Act, POSH), with a special focus on applicability to charitable organizations.

● Monitor, review, and streamline processes related to off-roll staff contracts, payouts, and

trackers across locations.

● Drive automation and digitization of key HR processes across the organization to enhance

efficiency, reduce manual effort, and improve accuracy.

● Maintain and audit HR data and MIS to ensure data integrity and support internal and external

audits.

● Regularly review and improve HR policies and SOPs to align with organizational needs across

schools, central teams, and strategic projects.

Talent Management & Development

● Partner with HR Leads and Central/School leadership to strengthen employee engagement,

retention, and overall team culture.

● Co-lead the design and execution of key talent management interventions, including but not

limited to Performance Management, Succession Planning, Learning & Development initiatives

● Support school and team leaders in building enabling work environments that foster growth,

accountability, and psychological safety.

● Lead cross-functional collaboration on organizational development and culture-building projects.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

● Lead, coach, and build the capability of a 3–4 member Central HR team, ensuring clarity of goals,

developmental feedback, and performance outcomes.

● Collaborate closely with city HR leads in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur to ensure alignment of

systems, practices, and culture across locations.

● Contribute to org-wide HR strategy and priorities beyond individual accountabilities; serve as a

thought partner on key transformation or growth initiatives.

Strategic Projects & Internal Capability Building

● Lead or co-lead strategic HR projects such as implementation of HR technology platforms, DEI

initiatives, or cross-functional organization-wide diagnostics.

● Strengthen the internal HR team’s effectiveness by driving documentation, process clarity, peer

learning forums, and ongoing capability-building efforts.

What you need for this role:

● Deep belief in Akanksha’s vision of transforming education for all children.

● Minimum 6 years of relevant HR experience, with at least 3 years in a people management

role.

● Proven experience in talent acquisition, HR operations, and compliance in large people-centric

organizations.

● Demonstrated ability to lead cross-location HR initiatives and partner with senior leadership.

● Strong command over HR systems, data, and analyticsfor decision-making.

● Understanding of compliance frameworks applicable to nonprofits/charitable trusts.

● Ability to manage diverse stakeholder relationships with empathy and assertiveness.

● Strong communication, facilitation, and negotiation skills.

● Postgraduate qualification in HR (MBA or equivalent) from a recognized institution.

● Willingness to travel regularly across Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.

What Can The Akanksha Foundation Offer You

1. An opportunity to be a part of one of the most reputed organizations in the education sector in India, that focuses on transformative impact on children by getting them out of poverty.
2. An environment that is challenging, offers a significant degree of autonomy and is focused on holistic well-being of its people, so they can be the best version of themselves in life.
3. Access to learning and career growth opportunities in a steadily growing organization
4. 
   
5. Remuneration that is competitive in top one-third of Indian NGO scales and benefits that include medical insurance (covering spouse + 2 children), provident fund benefit, paid leaves.