Head of Human Resources

Varaha is a global, leading, climate tech venture focused on carbon removal solutions such as - regenerative agriculture, afforestation, biochar, and enhanced rock weathering - that support smallholder land stewards at scale. In just the third year of operation, we are removing and avoiding more than 1 million tons of CO2 and distributing the majority of the revenues to more than 100,000 smallholder land stewards in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Backed by leading global investors, our founding and management team comes with a stellar track record of successfully scaling projects and products to millions of smallholder land stewards at leading Agriculture and tech businesses.

Position: Head of Human Resources

Location: Gurgaon, Haryana

Role Overview

As the Head of Human Resources, you will lead Varaha’s people and culture agenda, partnering closely with the CEO and leadership team to build a high-performing, purpose-driven, and inclusive organization. You will be responsible for shaping and executing a scalable people strategy aligned with Varaha’s mission, rapid growth, and sustainability goals. The role combines strategic leadership with hands-on execution across talent, culture, digital HR, total rewards, and organizational development in a multi-geography environment.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic People & Culture Leadership

• Partner with the CEO and senior leadership to define and implement a people strategy aligned with business, impact, and growth objectives.
• Translate organizational priorities into actionable workforce and talent plans.
• Represent people and culture priorities in leadership, Board, and investor discussions.

2. HR Digital Transformation & Analytics

• Lead the adoption of modern HR technologies, including AI-enabled recruitment, automation, and people analytics.
• Build a data-driven HR function to support workforce planning, talent decisions, and employee experience.
• Drive digitization of HR processes to improve efficiency, scalability, and transparency.

3. Organizational Design & Workforce Planning

• Design and evolve organizational structures to support scale across geographies.
• Lead workforce planning, succession planning, and capability development initiatives.
• Drive change management efforts during periods of growth and transformation.

4. Culture, Well-being & Employee Experience

• Build a strong culture rooted in purpose, performance, trust, and sustainability.
• Design employee well-being initiatives covering mental health, flexibility, and work-life balance.
• Oversee the end-to-end employee lifecycle, ensuring a consistent and engaging experience from onboarding to exit.

5. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

• Champion DEI across hiring, development, leadership, and workplace practices.
• Establish measurable DEI goals, policies, and learning programs to promote inclusive leadership.
• Embed fairness, transparency, and equity across all people processes.

6. Talent, Reskilling & Leadership Development

• Lead talent acquisition strategies to attract mission-aligned, high-performing talent.
• Build reskilling and upskilling programs to support evolving business and technology needs.
• Develop leadership frameworks, succession plans, and mentoring initiatives.

7. Hybrid & Remote Work Enablement

• Define policies and practices that support effective hybrid and remote work.
• Strengthen engagement, collaboration, and accountability in distributed teams.
• Implement tools and processes for virtual onboarding, communication, and team effectiveness.

8. Compensation, Total Rewards & Performance

• Design and govern compensation and total rewards frameworks aligned with Varaha’s values and growth strategy.
• Ensure competitive, equitable, and compliant pay structures, including fixed pay, variable pay, bonuses, and ESOPs.
• Build performance management and reward systems that drive accountability, innovation, and impact.

9. Compliance & Ethical Governance

• Ensure compliance with local and global labor laws, policies, and ethical standards.
• Promote transparency, integrity, and data privacy across HR practices.
• Act as a steward of ethical workplace conduct and employee trust.

Qualifications & Experience

• Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field (preferred).
• 12–15 years of progressive HR experience, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Proven experience building and scaling HR functions in high-growth, multi-location, or mission-driven organizations.
• Strong expertise in organizational design, digital HR, DEI, total rewards, and talent development.
• Excellent leadership, stakeholder management, and communication skills.
• Experience in climate-tech, sustainability, or start-up environments is an advantage.

What we offer

• A strategic leadership role in one of the fastest-growing global climate-tech ventures.
• Competitive executive compensation, ESOPs, and comprehensive benefits.
• Opportunity to shape a people-first organization driving measurable climate and social impact.
• Culture of collaboration, innovation, and purpose.
• Access to global learning, professional development, and leadership growth opportunities.