Manager – Human Resources Business Partner

WHAT WE DO AND WHO WE ARE

Join the dynamic team at Wholsum Foods and be part of an extraordinary movement!

Our mission is simple: to change the world's eats. With brands like Slurrp Farm and Mille, we offer healthy and delicious alternatives to the junk food epidemic. It’s time to rediscover the nutritious traditions of our ancestors and embrace the power of millets like Ragi, Jowar, Bajra and Foxtail Millet.

Led by founders Shauravi Malik and Meghana Narayan, we are food enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and mothers committed to making a difference. We’re expanding globally and looking for people who thrive in a collaborative, innovative and high-growth environment.

At Wholsum Foods, we believe our team is our greatest asset. Our core values — Relationship First, Dependable, Passionate and Growth Mindset — shape how we work and how we grow together.

We are also Great Place to Work Certified.

If you enjoy being close to the business, solving real people challenges and building things rather than just following playbooks, you’ll enjoy this role.

WHAT WILL YOU DO AT WHOLSUM FOODS?

As a Manager – HR Business Partner, you will be a strategic and hands-on people partner to our business leaders.

You will work closely with leaders and managers to understand where the business is headed, what the organisation needs to get there, and how HR can enable that journey.

This is not a role limited to HR processes. You will be expected to understand the business, people, numbers and culture, and translate business priorities into meaningful people actions.

You will own the HR agenda for assigned functions across workforce planning, talent acquisition, performance, talent management, employee engagement, organisation effectiveness and employee lifecycle, while partnering closely with leadership on critical people decisions.

The role requires someone who is equally comfortable discussing business targets with a leader, solving an employee concern, challenging a hiring manager, analysing people data or getting into the details to make something happen.

JOB PURPOSE

To partner with business leaders in building a high-performing organisation by translating business priorities into effective people strategies and ensuring strong execution across the employee lifecycle.

The Manager – HRBP will act as a thought partner to the business, while remaining deeply hands-on in execution.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Business Partnering

• Partner with business leaders to understand their business plans, organisation structure, workforce requirements and people challenges.
• Act as a trusted HR advisor and thought partner to leaders and managers.
• Translate business priorities into people priorities and actionable HR plans.
• Proactively identify people risks and opportunities rather than only responding to issues.
• Challenge and influence managers where required, while maintaining strong relationships and credibility.
• Understand business metrics and connect people decisions with business outcomes.

2. Workforce Planning & Organisation Effectiveness

• Partner with leaders on annual and periodic workforce planning.
• Assess organisation structures, spans, layers, capability requirements and future talent needs.
• Support manpower planning based on business growth, productivity and cost considerations.
• Identify capability gaps and work with leaders to build the right talent and organisation structure.
• Support organisation design and restructuring initiatives as the business evolves.

3. Talent Acquisition

• Partner with Talent Acquisition on critical and leadership hiring requirements.
• Support role calibration, talent benchmarking and hiring strategy for assigned functions.
• Ensure hiring plans are aligned with business priorities, timelines and budgets.
• Bring a business lens to candidate quality, compensation and talent availability.
• Build strong understanding of internal and external talent pipelines.

4. Performance & Talent Management

• Own and strengthen performance management practices for assigned teams.
• Partner with managers on goal setting, performance reviews, feedback and performance improvement.
• Support talent reviews, succession planning and identification of high-potential talent.
• Enable managers to have better quality performance and career conversations.
• Identify capability gaps and work with the People Team to create relevant development interventions.

5. Employee Engagement & Culture

• Actively own the employee experience for assigned functions.
• Use employee feedback, engagement data and people insights to identify areas of improvement.
• Partner with managers to strengthen engagement, retention and team effectiveness.
• Drive meaningful employee connects and culture initiatives rather than activity-led engagement.
• Be a strong custodian of Wholsum’s values and culture as the organisation scales.

6. Employee Relations & Manager Enablement

• Act as a point of support for managers and employees on people-related matters.
• Handle sensitive employee situations with maturity, empathy and sound judgement.
• Coach managers on employee conversations, conflict resolution, performance concerns and people decisions.
• Ensure consistent and fair application of HR policies and processes.
• Build manager capability to independently handle people matters effectively.

7. People Analytics & Insights

• Use people data to identify trends and support business decisions.
• Track metrics such as attrition, hiring TAT, workforce cost, engagement, performance and retention.
• Convert people data into meaningful insights and recommendations for leadership.
• Build a data-backed approach to solving recurring people challenges.

8. HR Projects & Organisation Building

• Lead and contribute to strategic People & Culture projects as the organisation scales.
• Build and improve HR processes, frameworks and systems with a focus on simplicity and effectiveness.
• Identify opportunities to use technology and AI to improve HR productivity and employee experience.
• Drive projects from idea to execution, ensuring measurable outcomes.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

In this role, success will mean:

• Business leaders see you as a trusted people partner, not just an HR process owner.
• Workforce plans are aligned with business growth and cost priorities.
• Hiring, retention and talent decisions are increasingly proactive and data-backed.
• Managers become better at managing, developing and engaging their teams.
• Performance and talent processes are executed with quality and ownership.
• People issues are identified early and resolved thoughtfully.
• Employees have a strong and consistent experience across their lifecycle.
• HR is seen as an enabler of business growth, not a support function sitting on the sidelines.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• 9–12 years of relevant experience across HR Business Partnering, HR Generalist, Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, HR Operations or related HR roles.
• Strong experience in business partnering with managers and senior business leaders.
• Experience working in a startup, D2C, FMCG, food, retail, consumer or other high-growth environment will be preferred.
• Strong exposure to multiple HR areas, with the ability to look at people challenges holistically.
• Demonstrated experience in handling complex people situations and influencing stakeholders.
• Experience in workforce planning, performance management, talent management and employee engagement.
• Strong understanding of HR metrics and people analytics.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Business Acumen

You understand that HR decisions ultimately need to support the business. You are curious about revenue, growth, productivity, cost and organisational performance.

Ownership

You don’t wait for perfect instructions. You identify the problem, figure out what needs to happen and drive it to closure.

Stakeholder Management

You can build trust with people at different levels while also having the confidence to challenge when required.

People Judgement

You can balance empathy with business realities and make thoughtful decisions in sensitive situations.

Execution Excellence

You can think strategically but are equally comfortable getting into the details and making things happen.

Growth Mindset

You enjoy ambiguity, learn quickly and are excited by the opportunity to build rather than simply maintain existing systems.

Data Orientation

You are comfortable using data and people insights to understand problems, challenge assumptions and make better decisions.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

• MBA / PGDM in Human Resources is preferred.
• Candidates with a bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, Commerce or a related discipline may also be considered.

WHAT WILL YOU GET?

• A front-row seat to building a high-growth FMCG business.
• Opportunity to work closely with founders, business leaders and senior People & Culture leaders.
• The opportunity to shape the people agenda as Wholsum scales.
• Exposure to strategic workforce planning, organisation building and business decision-making.
• Freedom to experiment, build and improve rather than simply follow established playbooks.
• Mentorship from senior leaders, board members and in-house experts.
• The opportunity to think strategically while staying close to execution.
• A chance to make a real impact on how people experience and grow with Wholsum Foods.

STARTING DATE: Position open immediately

LOCATION: Golf Course Road, Gurugram

WORKING MODEL: 5-day working week | Wednesday WFH

Wholsum Foods is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity in its workforce.