Website:
blackpiano.co.uk
Job details:
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Black Piano is a UK-based consulting business providing offshore solutions to different businesses primarily in UK and other countries., set up in 2020 by Jonathan McElhatton (ex-Accenture) and Abhishek Maurya (ex-CGI/Logica). We help ambitious small-medium sized businesses around the world to build effective teams in India.
We are growing quickly as more and more businesses embrace remote working and are experiencing increased cost pressure from rising salary expectations and tax burdens in countries like the UK. Our India-based internal team source, screen, hire, onboard and manage all HR processes for around 60 Indian staff, which we expect to rise to around 150 staff in the next one year. Our UK team manages all sales, marketing and account management activity.
India is an incredibly exciting country. With a population of 1.4 billion and a high-quality education system, there is an abundance of talented people. India’s economy is growing faster than any other country in the world, meaning development is fast. 5G internet connectivity is excellent, meaning people can work effectively from home all over the country. Salary expectations in India are between 50-80% lower than in the UK. This combination of a large, educated population and lower salary expectations means that India is one of the most attractive places in the world to hire right now.
ROLE OVERVIEW
We are looking to make a senior, full-time hire (based in India) to manage all operations in India. This individual will be responsible for the internal functioning of our business in India, including commercial aspects of our operations, negotiations, managing risks, finance and payroll, decision-making, recruitment processes, HR, office and IT. You shall work alongside our co-founder, Abhishek, to maintain and evolve our special people-focused culture, while implementing improved operational efficiencies across the business. You shall report directly to our CEO, Jonathan (based in UK).
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
Standards/control. You’ll work with our CEO, Jonathan, to review our existing set of standards, values, processes, professional standards, and operational efficiency across the business. You’ll then be responsible for upholding these standards across our India organisation and our members, combining motivational and command/control techniques. You’ll demonstrate full control of operations, you’ll always be proactive and one step ahead; you will build processes, dashboards and communication methods so that all levels of operations teams and keep management is on top of updates/progress; you’ll identify risks and mitigate them before they become issues. You will fearlessly communicate them to management. You’ll think about what our CEO, Jonathan, and Top management needs to know and provide it before they ask for it.
Recruitment. We have constant recruitment demand, fed into India by our UK sales team. You’ll own all aspects of our recruitment process, from receipt of demand, through job description, advertising, sourcing of candidates, screening, negotiating, internal interviews, resume quality, background checks, salary negotiation, ‘selling’ Black Piano to candidates, mitigating risk, onboarding and probation management. You will have a team of internal and external recruiters to support you. You’ll be measured on roles successfully hired and retained.
Finance. Our India business operates (mostly) as a cost centre. You’ll own our cost base, ensuring every cost is fair and negotiated firmly, with candidates, staff and suppliers. You’ll oversee payroll and associate payments for our staff. You will be responsible for maintaining all local finance-related operations internally and externally (including GST and other authorities/compliances You’ll provide timely reporting to our CEO, Jonathan. You’ll be measured on reducing per member overhead costs and maintaining (and improving) margin targets for the UK entity while maintaining the highest level of member satisfaction.
HR. We are proud of our people-focused culture. We have an impressive retention rate due to our care for our ‘members’ and the happy culture we have built. We must not compromise this. However, HR must also operate efficiently. Staff must diligently follow the rules we set around topics such as professional conduct and leave management, company policies, confidentiality and GDPR standards. You will implement a performance management process that holds staff accountable when standards are not met. Balance between care and a ‘firm hand’ is required.
You will maintain communication with our clients on a regular basis and understand their satisfaction. You will work on their concerns and resolve them as quickly as possible. At the same time, you will probe the clients for further growth of the accounts. You will also be measured on account growth and creating new opportunities with the existing clients. You may also be required to be involved in new business development discussions along with our CEO, creating proposals and new services.
Automation/AI/technology. The world is moving fast. We do not need to be a market-leader, our business model does not enable significant internal investments in innovation. But we must move with the time. Automation and AI must be implemented across our internal operations. You’ll be measured on the cost of operations per staff basis. You must have experience in AI tools like Claude, Copilot, etc to implement these tools across Black Piano India operations and bring efficiency and accuracy.
People management. You’ll line manage our internal recruiters and HR professionals. You’ll train and develop them to understand what ‘good’ operational efficiency looks like. You’ll motivate them while always holding them to the highest of standards. You’ll be measured on internal staff retention, staff satisfaction and operations effectiveness and efficiency.
We are a risk-averse organisation. You will proactively identify risks related to legal, finance, clients, staff/members and work with management to mitigate them.
EXPERIENCE & KEY SKILLS
The most important requirement in this role is meticulous attention to detail. You’ll be hyper-organised and process-oriented, focused on delivering efficiently in all you do. You’ll set your own standards sky high and you won’t accept any less from the team around you. Our India operations must run like a ‘well-oiled machine’. Mistakes can happen, but they will be few, and they will not be repeated.
You’ll be ambitious, hungry and driven to take on more responsibility and accelerate your career into a senior leadership position. It is likely that this will be your first role at the leadership table of an organisation, after some years in mid-level/senior delivery or operations roles in a notable international corporation, for example Accenture or IBM.
You’ll have experience working with British or other international stakeholders/clients. You’ll understand international business culture, international professional standards and be able to communicate in English, both orally and in writing, to an exceptional standard.
You’ll have experience managing people. You’ll find the balance between motivating and driving the highest of standards.
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