Website:
innofarms.ai
Job details:
INNOFarms.AI
TheAgriFood Intelligence Layer connecting Farms and Enterprises
We're Hiring
HR Manager & Founder's Office Associate
Reports To: Founder & CEO
Experience: 3–5 years (HR generalist)
Engagement: Full-time
About INNOFarms.AI
INNOFarms.AI is a Global AgriFood intelligence platform operations in India, Hong Kong, UAE. We are the only platform connecting farm Intelligance & Automation/operations and enterprise supply chain simultaneously, through a modular AI SaaS stack.
Role Overview
We are hiring a hands-on HR Manager & Founder's Office Associate to own end-to-end HR for our India entity AND act as the Founder & CEO's operational right hand on cross-functional execution, project & strategy execution. This is a dual-track role designed for an ambitious 2–5 year HR , Founder office, Strategy/Operation manager/Chief of staff who wants depth and ownership, not a narrow specialist track.
70% of your week is People & HR — owning the full employee lifecycle, statutory compliance, the Keka HRMS, and building the culture that lets us scale to 50+ people without losing our edge. 30% of your week is Founder's Office — running the leadership cadence, driving cross-functional follow-ups, and being the CEO's operational anchor on rollouts that span finance, sales, product, and legal.
You will work directly with the Founder & CEO, with high exposure to investors, customers, and the leadership team. This role is not behind a desk filing forms — it is at the centre of how the company runs.
Why This Role Matters
• You are the single owner of People & HR at the moment when culture and process get permanently set.
• You will own HRMS (Keka), live policies, and active workstreams.
• You will work daily with the Founder & CEO and the leadership team — high learning, high visibility, real influence.
• Clear growth path to Head of People / Director/Chief of Staff — People & Operations as we scale post-Series A and as the team crosses 50 people.
Core Responsibilities — People & HR (≈70%)1. Talent Acquisition & Onboarding
• Own end-to-end hiring for the India entity — JD creation, sourcing strategy, screening, scheduling, candidate experience, offer rollout.
• Build and maintain a sourcing pipeline through LinkedIn, employee referrals, college tie-ups, and select partner platforms.
• Drive structured onboarding through Keka — from offer acceptance through Day 90 confirmation, including documentation, asset issue, policy acknowledgement, and ramp-up plans.
• Coordinate with hiring managers on interview rubrics, technical screening, and reference checks.
2. HRMS Governance & Operations
• Own Keka HRMS as the single system of record — drive 100% adoption across attendance, leave, expenses, performance, assets, payroll, and exits.
• Maintain and publish the monthly Keka compliance dashboard to the CEO and function heads.
• Configure workflows, approval chains, and master data; partner with Keka customer success on any platform issues.
• Be the in-house expert for managers and employees on every Keka workflow.
3. Statutory & Legal Compliance
• Ensure 100% on-time compliance with PF, ESI, Professional Tax, TDS on salaries, and gratuity provisioning.
• Implement and maintain compliance with the new Labour Codes, the Code on Wages, Social Security, OSH & Working Conditions, and Industrial Relations Codes.
• Run the POSH framework — constitute and maintain the Internal Committee, conduct annual awareness training, handle complaints in accordance with the Act.
• Maintain Shops & Establishments registration and all statutory registers.
• Coordinate with the company's legal counsel on contract reviews, employment law queries, and any disputes.
• Ensure DPDP Act (2023) compliance for employee personal data processing.
4. Performance, Engagement & Development
• Run quarterly and annual performance cycles in Keka — goal setting, 1:1 cadence, mid-year and annual reviews, calibration with leadership.
• Manage compensation review cycles, increment letters, and ESOP grants in coordination with the CEO and Finance.
• Design and run employee engagement programmes — recognition, anonymous feedback, exit interviews.
• Identify training needs and coordinate L&D — especially around technical, leadership, and compliance topics.
• Drive Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) when required, with proper documentation.
5. Policies, Contracts & Documentation
• Maintain and update all HR policies — handbook, code of conduct, IT acceptable use, IP & confidentiality, leave, travel, expense — in coordination with legal counsel.
• Own offer letter and employment contract templates; ensure each contains tight clauses around IP assignment, confidentiality, non-solicitation, notice period, and handover obligations.
• Ensure all employee documentation is digitised and audit-ready in Keka.
6. Exit Management
• Run the structured Keka offboarding workflow — resignation acceptance, handover checklist, access revocation, asset return, exit interview.
• Process Full & Final settlement in coordination with Finance within statutory timelines.
• Protect the company against post-exit misuse of company name, resources, or IP, in coordination with legal counsel.
Core Responsibilities — Founder's Office (≈30%)7. Leadership Cadence & CEO Operations
• Run the weekly leadership review — agenda preparation, action item tracking, follow-ups across function leads.
• Maintain a single cross-functional dashboard (people, sales pipeline, product delivery, finance close, compliance) for the CEO.
• Project-manage company-wide rollouts (e.g., policy launches, project governance, system migrations, audit prep) end-to-end.
• Chase deliverables from function owners and surface blockers before they reach the CEO.
8. Investor, Board & External Coordination
• Coordinate logistics and documentation for investor meetings, due diligence requests, and board updates.
• Maintain the data room — keeping people-related documents (employee count, ESOP register, statutory compliance certificates, contracts) audit-ready.
• Prepare people-related slides and metrics for investor and board decks.
9. Founder Productivity
• Support the CEO on inbox triage, calendar management, and meeting preparation for high-stakes interactions.
• Draft internal communications, team announcements, and external comms on behalf of the CEO as required.
• Coordinate travel and logistics for the CEO and visiting leadership.
Must-Have Qualifications
• 2–5 years of HR experience, with at least 2 years owning end-to-end HR at an early-stage startup or SME (≤ 100 people).
• Bachelor's degree in HR, Business, Psychology, or related field. MBA / PGDM in HR or Strategy strongly preferred.
• Hands-on experience with at least one modern HRMS (Keka, Zoho People, BambooHR, or similar). Keka experience is a strong plus.
• Working knowledge of Indian statutory compliance — PF, ESI, Professional Tax, TDS, gratuity, POSH Act, Shops & Establishments Act.
• Awareness of the new Labour Codes and ability to adapt company practices accordingly.
• Demonstrated experience hiring across functions — engineering, sales, finance, operations.
• Excellent written and verbal English — you will draft team comms, policies, and investor-ready people content.
• High personal organisation, follow-through, and comfort with multiple parallel workstreams.
• Founder-friendly mindset — proactive, hands-on, comfortable with ambiguity, able to make decisions without escalating every detail.
• Discretion and confidentiality — you will handle sensitive employee data, compensation, and founder-level information.
Good-to-Have Qualifications
• Prior experience at an AgriTech, FoodTech, ClimateTech, or Technlogy B2B SaaS startup.
• Experience with multi-entity organisations (India + international entities, e.g., UAE, Singapore, HK).
• Exposure to investor diligence, data rooms, and ESOP administration.
• Prior experience as an Executive Assistant, Chief of Staff, or Founder's Office Associate.
What We Are NOT Looking For
• Pure recruitment specialists with no generalist depth — this role owns the entire HR function, not just hiring.
• L&D-only or Talent Acquisition-only profiles — too narrow for this role.
• HR business partners from large IT services or BPO backgrounds — the work culture, pace, and ambiguity here are very different.
• Candidates uncomfortable with founder-direct working style, fast iteration, or 30-40% non-HR scope (Strategy, Operations, Project Governance, and anything else comes between).
Compensation
• Fixed CTC: INR 5L – 8L per annum
• Variable: INR 50,000 – 1,00,000 per annum, tied to People & Operational KPIs, Retention bonus
• Annual salary review at Day 365; structured growth path to Head of People/Chief of Staff as the team scales.
Why You Should Take This Role
• Direct daily access to the Founder & CEO — you will sit in the room where strategy is shaped, not downstream of it.
• Real ownership of the entire People function and the Founder's Office operating system — rare exposure at this stage of career.
• A mission worth working on — food security, sustainability, climate-resilient farming — in one of the world's most climate-stressed agricultural regions.
Application Process
1. Submit your CV and LinkedIn + send an email” careers@innofarms.ai with a short cover note (max 200 words) answering: "Describe the messiest HR situation you have personally cleaned up at a startup. What was broken, what did you change, and what was the outcome?"
Click on Apply to know more.