HR Business Partner- India

HR Business Partner – International Businesses Location: India (Ahmedabad / Mumbai) with extensive international travel
Travel: 40%+ internationally
Reporting to: Chief People Officer
About the Opportunity Our client is a leading Indian multinational in the infrastructure, ports, logistics and transportation sector, with a rapidly expanding international presence across the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Australia and other global markets.
As the organisation continues its international growth and investment strategy, it is seeking an experienced HR Business Partner – International Businesses to lead the people agenda across a diverse portfolio of overseas operations.
This is a high-impact, senior HR leadership role offering the opportunity to work directly with CEOs, Business Heads and senior leadership teams across multiple countries and cultures.
The Role The successful candidate will act as a strategic HR partner to international business leaders, driving organisational effectiveness, talent strategy, leadership development, workforce planning, employee relations and cultural integration across geographically dispersed operations.
You will play a key role in supporting international expansion, transformation, acquisitions and organisational change, while ensuring effective HR governance and alignment with local employment frameworks.
The role will suit a globally experienced Indian HR leader who has worked outside India and is comfortable operating in complex, multicultural and industrial environments.
Key Responsibilities Strategic HR Business Partnering

• Act as a trusted advisor to CEOs, Business Heads and senior leaders across international operations.
• Align people strategy with business growth, expansion, productivity and operational priorities.
• Drive workforce planning, organisational effectiveness and leadership capability.
• Provide strategic HR input into business transformation and growth initiatives.

Talent & Leadership Development

• Lead talent reviews, succession planning and leadership pipeline development.
• Identify and develop high-potential talent across international businesses.
• Drive leadership development and capability-building initiatives.
• Ensure critical talent is available to support current and future business requirements.

Organisation Development & Transformation

• Lead organisation design, restructuring and organisational effectiveness initiatives.
• Drive culture, engagement and employee experience programmes.
• Support transformation, acquisitions, integrations and restructuring activities.
• Lead change management initiatives across diverse geographies.

International HR & Governance

• Ensure effective implementation of HR policies, systems and governance frameworks across countries.
• Partner with local leadership to ensure compliance with local employment legislation and practices.
• Identify and mitigate people-related risks.
• Promote high standards of governance, ethics and compliance.

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

• Partner with recruitment teams to attract senior, specialist and leadership talent internationally.
• Develop workforce plans aligned with business growth.
• Support expatriate, localisation and global mobility strategies.
• Build talent pipelines for critical international positions.

Employee & Industrial Relations

• Develop and execute employee and industrial relations strategies across international operations.
• Partner with site and business leadership to maintain constructive workforce relationships.
• Engage with unions, employee representatives, works councils and relevant authorities where applicable.
• Provide guidance on collective bargaining, workforce restructuring, productivity initiatives and organisational change.
• Manage complex employee relations matters, grievances, disputes and conflict resolution.
• Identify and proactively mitigate industrial relations risks that could affect business continuity.
• Ensure compliance with country-specific labour laws, collective agreements and employment practices.

Global Mobility & Cross-Cultural Leadership

• Oversee international assignments, expatriate programmes and talent mobility.
• Support leaders in managing multicultural and geographically dispersed teams.
• Promote collaboration and cultural integration across international operations.

M&A & International Expansion

• Support HR due diligence for acquisitions and strategic investments.
• Lead people, culture and organisational integration following acquisitions.
• Partner with leadership on workforce integration and change management.
• Support HR strategy associated with new market entry and international expansion.

International Exposure The role will support operations and investments across multiple international markets, including:

• Middle East
• East Africa
• South Asia
• Australia
• Israel
• Europe
• North America

The successful candidate should be comfortable working across multiple time zones, cultures and business environments, with frequent international travel expected.
Candidate Profile Education

• MBA / PGDM in Human Resources from a reputed institution.
• Additional qualifications in Organisational Development, Change Management, Leadership, International HR or Coaching would be advantageous.

Experience

• 12–18 years of progressive HR experience, including at least 5 years in a strategic HR Business Partnering capacity.
• Significant experience supporting multinational or geographically dispersed businesses.
• Previous international HR leadership or business partnering experience outside India is essential.
• Experience working with senior executives and international leadership teams.
• Experience in infrastructure, ports, logistics, shipping, transportation, energy, manufacturing or other large-scale industrial environments would be highly advantageous.

Essential Requirements

• Indian national with meaningful professional experience outside India.
• Proven experience supporting businesses across multiple countries and cultures.
• Strong exposure to international HR and multicultural workforces.
• Experience working with developed and emerging markets.
• Exposure to European and/or US business environments through direct HR support, international assignments or multinational organisations.
• Strong understanding of global talent, leadership and workforce practices.
• Demonstrated experience in Industrial Relations / Employee Relations, including unions, workforce engagement, collective bargaining or complex employee matters.
• Willingness and ability to undertake frequent international travel (40–60%+).
• Comfortable spending extended periods at overseas business locations when required.

Key Competencies Strategic & Business

• Strategic HR Business Partnering
• Business Acumen
• Organisational Design
• Workforce Planning
• Change Management

Leadership

• Executive Stakeholder Management
• Influencing & Negotiation
• Coaching & Mentoring
• Cross-Cultural Leadership
• Strong Executive Presence

HR Expertise

• Talent Management & Succession Planning
• Leadership Development
• Performance Management
• Employee & Industrial Relations
• M&A and Post-Merger Integration
• Global Mobility
• International HR Governance

Industrial Relations

• International Industrial Relations
• Union & Workforce Engagement
• Collective Bargaining
• Labour Law & Compliance
• Workforce Conflict Resolution
• Employee Relations Strategy

Personal Attributes

• Global mindset and strong cultural adaptability.
• High resilience and comfort operating in complex environments.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong commercial orientation and business acumen.
• Results-driven with a hands-on approach to execution.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders across different cultures and geographies.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving international organisation.

The Ideal Candidate The ideal candidate will be a globally experienced Indian HR leader with a strong combination of strategic HR Business Partnering and Industrial/Employee Relations expertise.
You will have worked outside India, supported multicultural workforces and partnered with senior leadership across multiple international markets. Experience within large-scale industrial, infrastructure, logistics, transportation or related businesses will be particularly relevant.
This is an exceptional opportunity for an HR leader looking to take ownership of a global people agenda within a rapidly expanding multinational business, with significant exposure to international operations, transformation and growth.