Website:
vedantfashions.com
Job details:
Vedant Fashions is a listed company and India’s leading celebration wear brand. After years of strong growth, the company has experienced revenue stagnation over the past two years. The organization is looking to further elevate the strategic impact and business partnership capabilities of the HR function.
This is primarily an accountability and gap-identification role. The Head HR / CHRO will partner closely with business leaders and the MD to identify improvement opportunities, drive accountability, and support continuous organizational development.
The good news: the senior leadership team (including long-tenured functional heads) is broadly willing to change. The senior leadership team is supportive of change and committed to organizational improvement. What they need is a leader who consistently drives execution, follow-through, and continuous improvement.
Additionally, the Head HR / CHRO must have the capability to transform specific departments — particularly design and merchandising — from an HR/talent perspective: assessing capability, identifying gaps, restructuring roles if needed, and bringing in the right people.
What Success Looks Like at 12 Months
- Performance reality is shared, not hidden: The organization has established a culture of transparent, data-driven performance assessment and continuous improvement. Leaders can articulate where their functions are strong and where they’re falling short — because the Head HR / CHRO has built the mechanisms and habits that make this normal.
- Design and merchandising are on an upgrade path: The Head HR/ CHRO has assessed the talent in these critical departments, identified specific capability gaps, and begun filling them — whether through hiring, restructuring, or development.
- The MD has a trusted people advisor: The Head HR/CHRO regularly surfaces issues, gaps, and opportunities that the MD wouldn’t otherwise see. The MD trusts the Head HR/CHRO’s judgment enough to act on their recommendations.
- Accountability sticks: Commitments made in leadership meetings are tracked, followed up on, and have consequences. The Head HR/CHRO owns this rhythm and doesn’t let it slip.
Scope & Boundaries
Directly Owns
Influences But Does Not Own
HR strategy, policy, and operations for ~550 direct employees (500 white-collar, 50 blue-collar)
Performance management system design and execution
Talent acquisition, development, and succession planning
Compensation and benefits framework
Departmental HR transformation (design, merchandising, others as needed)
Organizational accountability rhythms: tracking commitments, reporting gaps, following up
Training standards and capability frameworks for ~2,700 franchisee store staff
Franchise team execution of people-related initiatives
Leadership behavior change across all functions
Authority: The Head Hr/CHRO has full decision-making authority within HR. Exits and restructuring above a certain level require CEO/MD sign-off.
Candidate Profile
Non-Negotiables
- Passionate and relentless: This person proactively identifies organizational challenges and acts with urgency to address them. They don’t wait for someone to ask them to identify gaps — they’re already tracking them, documenting them, and bringing them to the MD with recommendations. High levels of ownership, resilience, and execution focus are essential.
- Business-first thinker: Connects HR actions to revenue, margin, and competitive position. Can sit in a business review and contribute substantively, not just observe.
- Common sense over frameworks: Solves problems pragmatically. Doesn’t default to ‘best practice’ models that don’t fit reality. Can distinguish between what actually matters and what looks impressive in a PowerPoint.
- Comfortable with seniority gaps: Can sit across from functional heads with 20+ years of tenure and tell them, respectfully but clearly, where their department has gaps. Does this with data and conviction, not aggression.
- Consumer-facing industry experience: Retail, FMCG, QSR, hospitality, or similar. Understands seasonal dynamics, distributed workforces, and franchise/channel ecosystems.
- 10–14 years experience, fast-track career: From a solid institution. Promoted faster than peers. Has punched above their weight. Currently likely a senior HRBP, VP HR, or HR Head at a mid-size consumer company (₹500–2,000 Cr revenue).
Strong Preferences
- Has built or significantly improved HR systems from a low base of maturity (not just maintained already-excellent systems)
- Experience working in or with a promoter-driven or family-influenced business
- Has done departmental talent transformation — assessed a function, identified gaps, restructured or upgraded talent
- Comfortable in Kolkata — either based there or genuinely willing to relocate (not treating it as a temporary assignment)
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