Chief People Officer

**Chief People Officer - South Asia**

**Role Summary and Impact**

GroupM South Asia is experiencing rapid business growth and transformation, including leveraging AI to enhance our operations, product offerings, and operating model. As part of this evolution, we are strengthening our **client-centric approach** and organizational agility. We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Chief People Officer (CPO) to lead our People Team and drive our People strategy across South Asia (primarily India and Sri Lanka). This critical leadership role will be responsible for aligning our people strategy with ambitious business objectives, fostering a high-performance culture, and ensuring we attract, develop, and retain top talent. The CPO will be a key member of the South Asia leadership team, providing strategic guidance and driving impactful change at this pivotal junction of our journey.

**Location**: Mumbai, India with the ability to frequently to travel to our multiple offices in India and Sri Lanka

**Key Responsibilities**:

- ** Strategic HR Leadership**: Develop and execute People strategies aligned with GroupM's business goals in South Asia, aligned to regional and global people goals. Provide strategic guidance to senior leadership on talent acquisition, development, retention, compensation, and employee relations. Anticipate future talent needs and proactively build talent pipelines. Champion the adoption of AI and other technologies to transform the People function and improve HR processes. Drive the adoption of the new people operating model across the South Asia region.
- ** Strategic Talent Acquisition & Workforce Management**: Lead innovative talent acquisition efforts to attract top talent. Drive strategic workforce planning to anticipate future talent needs. Oversee the resource management function to ensure efficient allocation of talent. Develop and implement employer branding strategies to enhance GroupM's reputation as an employer of choice.
- ** Employee Engagement**: In line with the future focus & vision of One GroupM, cultivate a positive and inclusive work environment, develop and implement effective employee communication strategies, and drive initiatives to enhance employee engagement & workplace culture
- ** Org Development & Growth**: Lead organizational design and change management efforts, including those related to AI implementation and the new people operating model. Oversee performance management, ensuring fairness and driving excellence. Identify and develop high-potential employees and champion succession planning. Oversee the design and delivery of impactful learning and development programs across the employee lifecycle, including programs to upskill employees on AI and related technologies, and to support the adoption of the new people operating model.
- ** Budget Management**:Oversee the People function’s budget, ensuring effective resource planning, cost control, and alignment with business priorities.
- ** Compensation and Benefits**: Support the development and administration of competitive compensation and benefits programs, ensuring compliance and effective communication.
- ** HR Operations Leadership**: Drive operational excellence by leveraging data-driven insights and HR technologies to optimize people strategies, enhance efficiency, and continuously improve employee experience
- ** Employee Advocacy**: Act as an advocate for employees, ensuring fair treatment and opportunities and manage employee relations effectively ensuring compliance with local laws

**Skills and Experience**

At GroupM, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embody GroupM’s core values:

- ** Be Extraordinary**: Lead Collectively to Inspire Transformational Creativity.
- ** Create an Open Environment**: Balance People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.
- ** Lead Optimistically**: Champion Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.
- Degree in HR, Psychology, or a related field.
- Proven ability to analyze HR data to identify trends and insights, and leverage business and commercial acumen to make data-driven decisions aligned with organizational goals
- In-depth knowledge of India and Sri Lanka employment laws.
- Experience leading HR & business transformation initiatives, including the adoption of AI and automation, implementing new people operating models, and a strong understanding of AI's impact on the workforce and the skills needed for the future.
- Strong project management and change management skills, with a demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and drive successful outcomes.
- Excellent communication, influencing, and coaching abilities, with the ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels and effectively communicate complex information.
- Resilience and adaptability to th