Chief Human Resources Officer

Description:

Role Purpose:

The CHRO will lead Zurich Kotaks end-to-end people strategy to enable rapid growth, strengthen culture, and build future-ready capabilities. As a core member of the ExCo, the CHRO will drive organizational effectiveness, leadership succession, digital/AI-enabled HR transformation, total rewards, and DE&I -ensuring our talent agenda directly supports business outcomes and regulatory expectations.

Key Responsibilities:

1. People Strategy & Organizational Effectiveness:

- Define and execute an integrated people strategy aligned to business priorities, growth plans, and operating model.

- Lead workforce planning, organizational design, role architecture, and productivity initiatives.

- Strengthen culture and ways of working across functions and geographies, embedding Zurich Kotak values and leadership expectations.

2. Digital & AI-enabled HR Transformation:

- Drive digitization of core HR processes (hire-to-retire) to improve employee experience, compliance, and efficiency.

- Implement HR analytics and AI-enabled insights for talent decisions (e.g., attrition risk themes, skills forecasting, hiring funnel health) with strong governance.

- Improve data quality, HR MIS, dashboards, and decision cadence for EXCO and the Board/NRC.

3. Talent Acquisition, Capability Building & EVP

- Build scalable talent acquisition strategies for high-growth business needs, including critical roles and niche digital talent.

- Create or refresh the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and employer brand to improve attraction, engagement, and retention.

- Lead learning, leadership development, skill-building, and career frameworks to grow internal talent and raise internal fill rates.

4. Leadership Succession, Bench Strength & Continuity Planning:

- Own enterprise succession planning for CEO-1 / mission-critical roles, including:

- Annual talent reviews and readiness mapping

- Emergency succession plans for CEO and key CXOs to ensure continuity.

- Act as key partner to the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC), providing data-backed insights on leadership, succession, and people risks.

5. Performance, Total Rewards & Recognition

- Design and govern performance management frameworks that drive accountability, outcomes, and growth.

- Lead compensation strategy, benefits, incentives, sales performance alignment (as applicable), and market benchmarking.

- Ensure pay-for-performance principles, transparency, and competitiveness while managing cost and regulatory considerations.

6. Employee Relations, Compliance & Governance

- Ensure HR policies and practices meet statutory requirements and support ethical, compliant conduct.

- Oversee employee relations, disciplinary processes, and grievance management with fairness and consistency.

- Strengthen HR risk management, controls, audit readiness, and documentation.

7. DE&I, Wellbeing & Culture Building

- Drive DE&I strategy, inclusive leadership practices, and equitable talent processes.

- Implement wellbeing, engagement, and employee listening to mechanisms with measurable action plans.

- Partner with business leaders to build a safe, respectful, high-performing workplace.

8. Change Leadership (Transformation, M&A Integration, Restructuring)

- Lead people and culture integration during transformations, restructuring, or M&A activities.

- Build change management discipline: stakeholder plans, communications, capability enablement, and adoption measurement.

Key Stakeholders:

- MD & CEO, ExCo, Business Unit Heads, CFO, CRO, CIO/CTO, Chief Compliance/Legal, and Head(s) of Distribution.

- Board and Board Committees, especially NRC.

- Regional APAC teams COE Heads (Talent, Rewards, Operations & Digitization, Engagement)

- Zurich Insurance Group stakeholders (as relevant to JV governance).

- Regulators/industry bodies (as needed), and strategic HR partners/vendors.

Success Measures (What Good Looks Like):

- Improved leadership strength and higher internal fill rates for critical roles.

- Reduced regretted attrition and improved engagement scores with clear action closure.

- Faster, higher-quality hiring for priority roles; improved offer-to-join and time-to-fill.

- HR digitization milestones delivered (process automation, adoption, measurable cycle-time reduction).

- Performance and rewards systems that improve productivity and differentiation.

- Strong compliance posture with zero major HR audit/regulatory observations.

- Demonstrable DE&I progress (representation, inclusion metrics, fairness in talent outcomes).

Candidate Profile (Experience & Qualifications):

Education:

- MBA from a Tier-I/ Tier-II institute (preferred) with a strong technical/ analytical foundation (engineering/technology background preferred).

Experience:

- 12+ years progressive HR leadership experience, including leading HR for complex, high-growth organizations.

- Exposure across high-pressure environments such as BFSI/Insurance, Retail, or Consulting; experience across multiple sectors is a plus.

- Proven delivery of large-scale transformations (e.g., merger integration, org redesign for 2,000+ employees, enterprise HR digitization).

- Strong board/NRC exposure, including preparing and presenting leadership, succession, and reward materials.

Functional Strength:

- Succession planning, leadership development, performance & rewards, org design, Employee Relations, HR governance, DE&I, and HR analytics/digital HR.

Critical Competencies:

- Strategic architect: connects people agenda to business and financial outcomes.

- Transformation leader: drives adoption, speed, and measurable outcomes.

- Data-driven judgement uses analytics while balancing human context and culture.

- Board-level gravitas: credible with leaders & committees; communicates risk & trade-offs clearly.

- Inclusive leadership: builds belonging, psychological safety, and fair processes.

- Execution excellence: hands-on, prioritizes well, delivers under pressure.

About Us:

Zurich Kotak General Insurance Company (India) Limited is a 70:30 joint venture between Zurich Insurance Group and Kotak Mahindra Bank. We are one of Indias fastest-growing non-life insurers, offering products across Motor, Health, Home and more, powered by modern digital capabilities. We are committed to an inclusive culture where people can do their best work and grow.