Director - Human Resources

Director Human Resources

CMR Group of Institutions & Ekya Schools

Location: Bengaluru

Reports To: Group Leadership

About CMR Group:

The CMR Group of Institutions is a unique education conglomerate based in Bangalore, India that offers a wide range of courses from the Montessori / Kindergarten level to Post Graduate and PhD programs. Founded in 1991 to meet the needs of local students, CMR Group currently comprises different brands of schools & colleges namely, CMRIT Bangalore, Ekya Schools, CMR National Colleges & the CMR university which was established in 2013.

Institutions: 20+ | Programs: 80+ | Students: 18000+

About Ekya Schools:

Founded in 2010, Ekya Schools offers progressive K-12 education through CBSE, ICSE, and Cambridge IGCSE curricula, emphasising experiential learning. Alongside Ekya Schools, our chain of CMR Pre-University Colleges deliver an extensive pre-university program affiliated with the Karnataka Pre-University Board, offering a rigorous academic curriculum and a well-rounded learning experience. Drawing from the rich legacy of the CMR Group, we nurture lifelong learners equipped to thrive in a dynamic and evolving world.

This year, we have launched our first Purpose-Based Schools, thematic schools where students develop specialized skills from an early age. The first, Ekya Nava, focuses on Innovation, Creativity, and Design, empowering students to become future technopreneurs, innovators, and changemakers. Ekya Vana is a nature-inspired, purpose-driven school within Ekya Schools that reimagines learning as a living ecosystem rooted in sustainability, curiosity, compassion, and real-world impact. It blends inquiry-led, interdisciplinary academics (IGCSE & IB) with immersive pathways in People & Planet, Earth Care, Living Systems, and Energy & Innovation shaping creative thinkers, responsible stewards, and future change-makers.

Role Overview

The Director Human Resources will serve as the chief architect of the Groups people strategy, driving transformation across a dual ecosystem spanning Higher Education and K12.

This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for building a unified, future-ready HR function that strengthens academic excellence, organisational capability, cultural alignment, and long-term institutional sustainability.

The mandate is transformation not maintenance.

Strategic Purpose of the Role

To design, build, and institutionalise a modern, data-driven people strategy that:

• Enables institutional growth and scalability
• Builds leadership pipelines across campuses
• Embeds a high-performance and accountable culture
• Modernises systems and HR governance
• Strengthens employer brand and talent magnetism
• Aligns people decisions with educational outcomes and financial sustainability

Key Outcomes

1. Unified People Strategy

• Develop and implement a group-wide HR strategy aligned with expansion and academic excellence goals
• Integrate University and K12 workforce planning into a cohesive framework

2. Workforce Planning & Organisational Design

• Establish structured succession planning across academic and administrative leadership
• Design scalable organisation structures to support growth
• Build leadership capability pipelines

3. HR Systems & Digital Transformation

• Implement and optimise a modern HRIS platform with analytics dashboards
• Drive automation across the employee lifecycle
• Ensure 100% accuracy and governance of employee data
• Embed data-led decision making across leadership forums

4. Performance & Talent Management Excellence

• Institutionalise a consistent performance management framework across campuses
• Establish talent review and high-potential development programs
• Reduce regretted attrition through internal mobility and engagement strategies
• Ensure high performers have structured development plans

5. Safer Recruitment & Employer Brand

• Standardise safer recruitment protocols aligned with best practices
• Strengthen faculty and leadership hiring quality
• Embed diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across hiring
• Use recruitment analytics to improve quality-of-hire and retention

6. Culture, Engagement & Employee Experience

• Develop and launch a clearly articulated Group Culture Charter
• Drive engagement survey frameworks with measurable action plans
• Strengthen wellbeing, belonging, and cross-campus collaboration
• Support organisational change and new campus onboarding initiatives

7. Compensation & Governance

• Benchmark compensation structures against market standards
• Lead annual salary review processes aligned with financial sustainability
• Ensure compliance with employment laws and education regulations
• Standardise HR policies across institutions

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic business partnering with Vice Chancellors, Deans, Principals, and Regional Leaders
• Executive coaching and leadership advisory
• Complex employee relations oversight
• HR project governance and transformation management
• Collaboration with Finance on workforce budgeting and cost optimisation
• Representation of the Group in people-related strategic forums

Ideal Candidate Profile

Experience

• 15+ years in progressive HR leadership roles
• Minimum 7+ years in senior HR transformation capacity
• Experience in multi-unit, matrixed, or knowledge-driven organisations
• Exposure to education sector preferred

Competencies

• Strategic HR leadership
• Organisational design & workforce analytics
• Commercial and financial acumen
• Change and transformation leadership
• Talent architecture & succession planning
• HRIS and digital capability
• Strong stakeholder influence at Board and Executive level

Leadership Traits

• Builder mindset with long-term institutional vision
• High ownership and accountability
• Data-driven and pragmatic
• Strong ethical compass
• Purpose-led with operational discipline
• Ability to balance academic culture with performance rigor

Impact of the Role

The Director Human Resources will directly influence:

• Elevate HR from an operational support function to a strategic growth engine across the Group.
• Strengthen the quality, capability, and stability of academic and administrative leadership.
• Build a unified, high-performance culture that aligns University and K12 ecosystems under a shared purpose and values framework.
• Improve talent attraction, development, and retention ensuring the institutions consistently secure and nurture top-tier educators and professionals.
• Embed data-driven decision-making into workforce planning, performance management, and organisational design.
• Enhance employee engagement, belonging, and wellbeing across campuses.
• Safeguard governance, compliance, and ethical employment practices.
• Enable sustainable growth by aligning people strategy with financial discipline and long-term institutional vision.