Industry: Non-profit Organizations, Education
The Akanksha Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing children from low-income communities with high-quality, holistic education - enabling them to maximize their potential and transform their lives. Akanksha operates through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in partnership with municipal governments across Urban Maharashtra.
Today, Akanksha runs 27 English-medium schools across Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur, reaching 14,600 students and employing 760+ educators. Its four core programs - the School Project, Alumni Support and Engagement (ASE), Project Setu, and Art for Akanksha (AFA) - collectively serve tens of thousands of children and young adults on their journey from early schooling to economic mobility.
Akanksha's 2031 aspiration is to run 45β50 high-performing PPP schools serving 35,000 children directly, while enabling holistic outcomes for 250,000 children across 800-1000 government schools through Project Setu.
Function / Team: People & Culture / Organization Leadership Team
Location: Mumbai or Pune
Reports To: CEO
Position Summary
The person will drive Akanksha's end-to-end talent and culture agenda across a workforce of 700+ members spanning teachers, school leaders, social workers, counsellors, and central staff. You will translate Akanksha's cultural values - Passion, Purpose & Performance - into the systems, practices, and leadership that enable every team member to give their best, and every child to receive their best.
This is not a traditional HR leadership role. It calls for someone who understands that in a school network, talent is the program and who brings the strategic conviction, relational depth, and operational rigor to build and execute a people function that enables realization of Akanksha's vision.
Key Responsibilities:
Drive the Organization, Culture & Engagement Agenda and People Strategy for the Future:
β’ Design and own a 5-year Talent Strategy roadmap aligned to Akanksha's 2026β2031 vision
β’ Co-create the organizational structure in partnership with the CEO
β’ Drive Akanksha's Passion, Purpose & Performance culture
β’ Design engagement strategies for school-based and central staff
β’ Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion
Provide Direction and Shepherd Future-Focused HR Operations:
β’ Lead HR operations across Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and future cities
β’ Ensure compliance with Code of Conduct, Child Protection Policy, and POSH
β’ Support expansion decision-making from a talent readiness perspective
Akanksha Academy & Talent Pipeline:
β’ Develop blueprint for Akanksha Academy
β’ Build sustainable talent pipelines across educators and leaders
β’ Create sourcing partnerships with campuses, fellowship programs, and alumni channels
Performance Management:
β’ Lead performance management transformation
β’ Resolve pay parity and compensation alignment
β’ Embed competency frameworks organization-wide
Leadership Bench & Career Development:
β’ Cultivate second-line leadership pipeline
β’ Design career pathways across school and central functions
β’ Lead succession planning for critical roles
HR Systems, Technology & Governance:
β’ Design and deliver HR policies and processes
β’ Strengthen HRIS and digital HR processes
β’ Ensure legal compliance and sector alignment
β’ Build and develop a high-performing HR team
β’ Assess and mitigate people risks
Executive Leadership & Organizational Oversight:
β’ Serve as a key member of the executive leadership team
β’ Lead HR Board Sub-Committee
β’ Provide oversight and leadership of academic division
β’ Represent organization with stakeholders and funders
What You Bring:
Values & Mindset:
β’ Deep belief in Akankshaβs mission
β’ Ability to balance care and excellence, autonomy and accountability
β’ Collaborative, mission-first leadership style
β’ Resilient, adaptive, and outcome-oriented mindset
Knowledge & Skills:
β’ Strategic HR leadership expertise
β’ Strong knowledge of talent acquisition, compensation, performance management, L&D, and organizational design
β’ Strong people analytics and HR data interpretation skills
β’ Excellent communication and stakeholder management
β’ Ability to balance strategic vision with execution
Experience And Education Qualifications:
β’ 12β15 years of progressive HR leadership experience
β’ 3β5 years in Head HR or strategic HR leadership role
β’ Experience in multi-site organizations
β’ Education, social sector, or non-profit experience preferred
β’ Experience building leadership pipelines and talent development systems
β’ Strong operational and strategic HR experience
β’ MBA in HR or Master's degree in Organisational Psychology, Education Leadership, Social Work or related field preferred
Application Instructions:
Please email a 1-2 page resume, an output/piece of work you are most proud of (maintaining confidentiality), and 3 references (names and email IDs).