Director - HR Business Partner

Organizations everywhere struggle under the crushing costs and complexities of "solutions" that promise to simplify their lives. To create a better experience for their customers and employees. To help them grow. Software is a choice that can make or break a business. Create better or worse experiences. Propel or throttle growth. Business software has become a blocker instead of ways to get work done.

There's another option. Freshworks. With a fresh vision for how the world works.

At Freshworks, we build uncomplicated service software that delivers exceptional customer and employee experiences. Our enterprise-grade solutions are powerful, yet easy to use, and quick to deliver results. Our people-first approach to AI eliminates friction, making employees more effective and organizations more productive. Over 72,000 companies, including Bridgestone, New Balance, Nucor, S&P Global, and Sony Music, trust Freshworks' customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) software to fuel customer loyalty and service efficiency. And, over 4,500 Freshworks employees make this possible, all around the world.

Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.

Freshworks makes it fast and easy for businesses to delight their customers and employees. We do this by taking a fresh approach to building and delivering software that is affordable, quick to implement, and designed for the end user. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Freshworks has a global team operating from 13 global locations to serve more than 65,000 companies -- from startups to public companies – that rely on Freshworks software-as-a-service to enable a better customer experience (CRM, CX) and employee experience (ITSM). 

Our Team

The Freshworks Human Resources team has been gaining significant momentum in adding value to our business.   We have built - and are continuing to evolve - our HR team across a number of areas, from Learning & Development, HR Operations and Talent Management to Total Rewards, and Talent Acquisition.   The success of Freshworks depends on a rich array of products and services that meet, exceed and delight our customers….and the Freshworks HR team is in the heart and center of all that we do.  

About the Role:

This HR Director role will focus on our Customer Experience Group (CXG), which is part of our Global Integrated Customer Growth organization. Today this is a nearly 700 person organization that spans across a portfolio of teams: Customer Support; Digital Sales (which includes Expansion and Support); Business Analytics; and the Digital Adoption (DAP) team. This role leads a team of two HR Business Partners. 

What you'll do: 

• Lead enterprise-wide transformation efforts, including organization design, workforce planning, and capability-building strategies to enable growth and agility

• Shape the group's - in alignment with Freshworks -  approach to AI-enabled transformation, guiding leaders and teams through new ways of working and ensuring upskilling and reskilling programs prepare the workforce for the future

• Drive pay competitiveness strategies by partnering with leaders on market benchmarking, career frameworks, and compensation design that support attraction and retention

• Leading through Freshworks Culture and Values through language, actions, and the complete employee experience

• Consulting on, and improve, the organizational design, role structure, and communication flow to align to business strategy and priorities in the client group

• Provide expertise and influence in organization development, including sales strategy and global workforce planning, as well as an understanding of how to participate in and impact Freshworks business growth strategy

• Deliver all HR programs such as performance assessments, promotions, succession planning, and employee engagement plans with excellence and global consistency

• Being a champion for data and metrics:  leveraging analytics to influence business leaders and shaping direction and guidance

• Provide change management and leadership coaching to successfully embrace opportunities of scale and growth

• Interact across a global HR organization and COE's, from Learning & Development and Talent Management to Total Rewards and Talent Acquisition

• 10+ years' experience in senior HR leadership roles partnering with senior executives

• Experience in domestic and global sales environments

• Extensive experience partnering with executive leaders in a business line or function playing a key role in accelerating business results

• Proven experience leading large-scale organizational transformations, with deep expertise in org design principles and translating strategy into operating models

• Familiarity with emerging technologies, including AI, and a track record of enabling organizations to adapt through structured upskilling and reskilling initiatives

• Strong knowledge of compensation benchmarking practices and the ability to balance competitiveness, internal equity, and business needs in dynamic markets

• While interacting with executive leaders, being able to bend and flex to first and second line people leaders who seek HR engagement and consultation

• Software as a Service (SaaS) business and technology acumen—able to quickly learn the business and make talent and organization decisions that positively impact business outcomes

• Proven experience influencing and leading transformational change across an organization and building this capability in others

• Demonstrated ability to lead with data and insights to drive talent outcomes

• Experience building organization and talent plans to identify and execute against current and future talent needs

• Broad HR knowledge in key domain areas such as organizational design and development, executive coaching, talent acquisition, compensation, talent development, and planning

• Track record of a commitment and proven wins in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

How you will lead:

• Executive Coach: Thought partner and coach to senior leadership teams to grow leadership capability at all levels. Build the rapport and trust required to lead courageous coaching conversations with senior vice presidents.

• High-Performing Team Builder: Create high-performing teams and as a result, highly engaged, high-performing organizations in service to delivering on our vision and strategy.

• Business Expert: Leverage deep understanding of the business strategy, plan, and value creation levers to provide insight and leadership into organizational effectiveness, talent planning, and talent development.

• Talent Steward: Partner with senior leaders and talent acquisition to identify, develop and hire the right senior level talent to support the business strategy and evolve the culture. Build capability for others to become talent stewards to attract, hire and retain top talent.

• Culture Advocate & Role Model Raise the bar on our culture of diversity, belonging, inclusion, and engagement.

• Transformer: Drive People programs through a seamless partnership with HR centers of excellence and peer HR Business Partners to deliver on performance career growth, mobility, executive development, and total rewards.

• Develop Org Health: Deliver talent strategies, programs and mechanisms (performance, employee surveys, High Performing Org, and Talent Reviews) that enable the development and retention of top talent.
• Data Led: Partner with the senior leadership teams to drive analysis, insights, and improvement in key people metrics, including Employee Engagement, Internal Mobility and Top Talent Retention.

At Freshworks, we are creating a global workplace that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion irrespective of their background, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and ethnicity. We are committed to providing equal opportunity for all and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer work environment that advances the goals of our employees, communities and the business.