Head of Talent Acquisition

Who We Are:

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse. 

Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences.  Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work. 

The opportunity:

VML is seeking a highly experienced, strategic, results driven and hands-on Head of Talent Acquisition to lead our critical talent growth initiatives for the India market. This is a pivotal leadership role, reporting directly to the CPO and is instrumental in defining, driving, and delivering our ambitious hiring goals. 

You will take complete ownership of VML's entire talent acquisition lifecycle, responsible for scaling and optimising a high-volume recruitment engine tasked with attracting and securing both experienced professionals and graduates annually across diverse functions. Beyond strategic oversight, this role demands actively engaging in critical hires while simultaneously designing, implementing, and refining end-to-end talent acquisition processes to drive efficiency, quality, and an exceptional candidate experience. 

You will lead, mentor, and develop a team of up to 20 Talent Acquisition professionals, fostering a culture of excellence and innovation. Success in this role hinges on your ability to build strong, collaborative partnerships with senior stakeholders across multiple business units and geographic regions, including APAC and EMEA, ensuring talent strategy is seamlessly aligned with global business objectives and VML's strategic vision 

What you’ll be doing:

Strategic Talent Acquisition Leadership & Delivery: 

• Define, own, and execute the end-to-end Talent Acquisition strategy for VML's India operations to support growth. 
• Actively participate in the hands-on delivery of high-priority requirement to meet business needs. 

Global Stakeholder Partnership & Advisory: 

• Cultivate strong, trusted partnerships with senior business leaders and hiring managers across VML's India, APAC, and EMEA regions. 

Process Optimisation & Operational Excellence: 

• Manage end-to-end process improvement and change management initiatives across all TA functions. Identify inefficiencies, streamline workflows, and implement best practices to ensure our recruitment operations are highly scalable, efficient, and capable of supporting our aggressive annual hiring targets. 
• Champion the evaluation, adoption, and optimisation of TA technologies and tools, including AI-driven solutions, advanced assessment methodologies, and automation. Leverage technology to enhance efficiency, scalability, candidate experience. 

Team Leadership & Development: 

• Create a high-performing team structure to deliver the business requirements, ensuring best practice and fostering a culture of continuous learning, accountability, and excellence. 
• Provide hands-on guidance, performance coaching, and career development opportunities, empowering the team to achieve ambitious hiring targets and develop into talent advisors. 

Data-Driven Performance & Forecasting: 

• Establish and leverage a data-driven TA framework. Continuously monitor, analyse, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, offer acceptance rates, quality of hire, source effectiveness. 
• Use these insights to proactively identify bottlenecks, optimise processes, forecast talent needs, and inform strategic decisions that drive continuous improvement. 

Talent Pipeline & Campus Strategy: 

• Develop, implement, and oversee a robust campus hiring strategy for VML India, building sustainable talent pipelines across various functions for future growth and ensure a consistent influx of entry-level talent to meet business needs 
• Innovate and execute diverse sourcing strategies to build proactive talent pipelines for critical and hard-to-fill roles. 

What we want from you:

We are seeking an exceptional and results-oriented Talent Acquisition leader with a proven track record of, hands-on experience in high-growth, fast-paced environments, The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker, an operational expert, and an inspiring leader, clearly demonstrating the following: 

• Prior experience as a Head of Talent: creating Talent structures and strategies to deliver high volume recruitment ideally within a Global Capability Centre (GCC) or a prominent IT/Digital Services consultancy in India. 
• Significant experience in managing, mentoring, and developing large Talent Acquisition teams with demonstrable expertise in owning and scaling the entire talent acquisition lifecycle  
• Prior experience delivering proactive sourcing strategies to build talent pipelines for volume recruitment, niche roles and campus recruitment programs  
• You will have worked with senior business leaders and executives across diverse functions and global geographies (including APAC and EMEA)  
• Experience with process optimisation, re-engineering and optimising TA processes, and successfully leading change management initiatives to enhance scalability, drive operational excellence, and elevate the candidate and hiring manager experience. 
• Experience hiring across Technology, digital, AI, creative and marketing roles 
• You will have an analytical and data-driven mindset, with a track record of leveraging TA analytics and KPIs (e.g., time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, source effectiveness, quality of hire, diversity metrics) to inform strategic decisions, optimise performance, and demonstrate ROI. 

      Personal Attributes: 

• Thrives in dynamic, high-pressure, and often ambiguous environments, demonstrating exceptional problem-solving skills, adaptability, and resilience in driving outcomes. 
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex strategies, influence stakeholders at all levels, and present data-driven insights clearly and concisely. 

What we can offer you:

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we’ll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We’ll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.

Permanent only:
We offer a great benefits package including a discretionary bonus scheme, training opportunities, competitive pension, medical insurance, life assurance, social events, opportunities to buy and sell holidays, family friendly policies, discounts with hundreds of retailers and much more.

Our culture thrives on our core values, designed for impact-driven individuals: Heart, Brains and Courage.

We lead with Heart, fostering empathy and trust where genuine connections and human-centric work flourish.
We empower your Brains for innovation, valuing relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence to solve complex challenges.
And we champion Courage, inspiring you to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions that push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

 

AT VML Enterprise Solutions

Our Enterprise Solutions division houses strategic consultants, creative and technical architects and skilled developers and operators that together help some of the world’s leading organisations to deliver outstanding digital experiences across all major routes to market worldwide: marketplaces, online retailers, D2C, B2B and social platforms. With over 4,200 experts in 55 operational centres across 34 countries, our capabilities span the entire buying journey from customer acquisition, through engagement, to conversion and loyalty, driving multi-channel growth for world-leading brands.

We work with some of the most exciting brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, EY, Bosch, Unilever, Ford, DFS, Mercedes-Benz, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Sainsbury’s, Selfridges, Shell and Tiffany & Co. We’ve built over 500 platforms for brands and retailers and generate in excess of $29bn annually for our clients and work with over 50 strategic partners including Adobe, SAP, Salesforce, HCL, Shopify, Sitecore, BigCommerce, commerce tools and Acquia. Our reputation is based on our people, and we believe we have some of the best in the business.

As our business grows internationally, we’re looking for new people to join us on our journey to inspire and take a key role in shaping some of the best commerce solutions, services, and websites in the world. Working as a team, no problem is insurmountable; we share in our client’s successes and believe that anyone can show creative bravery no matter what their role is in the team.
#LI-APAC #LI-HYBRID

WPP (VML Enterprise Solutions) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers. 

VML is a WPP Agency. For more information, please visit our website, and follow VML on our social channels via Instagram, LinkedIn, and X. 

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