Head of People & Talent Acquisition

ITHI · JOB DESCRIPTIONHead of People & Talent AcquisitionHyderabad · Full-time · Reports to the Founder & CEOITHI is a connection-first discovery and collaboration platform for Indian cinema, built on the belief that all 24 filmmaking crafts carry equal dignity. We are hiring our first dedicated people leader — someone who can build the team that takes ITHI from ideation to market release, and who can tell a strong designer, engineer, tester or marketer from a weak one before the interview loop begins.Reports toFounder & CEOLocationHyderabad, on-site; travel to campuses and industry eventsExperience6–10 years in HR, 3+ hiring for product and technology teamsWhat you will do

• Plan the workforce. Turn the product roadmap into a hiring plan by department, role, seniority and timing; decide full-time vs contract vs agency with the founder.
• Own talent acquisition end to end. Write role-specific JDs, source through LinkedIn, Naukri, Wellfound, Behance, GitHub and film, media and design schools, and run first-level screening with real technical and craft judgment.
• Design fair evaluations. Build assignments, portfolio reviews and interview loops per role; manage offers, negotiation and reference checks.
• Onboard into two worlds. Teach new hires the product and the industry.
• Build the people function. Policies, handbook, payroll coordination, statutory compliance (PF, ESI, gratuity, POSH), and contracts with IP, confidentiality and NDA clauses.
• Care for culture and retention. Run feedback and growth conversations, handle grievances with discretion, and run internship tracks with partner colleges.Who you areMust have
• At least 5 years in HR or talent acquisition, at least 2 hiring for product, design and engineering teams.
• Fluency in tech hiring.
• Experience building an HR function from scratch - policies, compliance, performance cycles.
• Working knowledge of Indian labour law, POSH and the DPDP Act for employee and candidate data.
• Warm, clear communication in English and Telugu; Hindi is a plus. Discretion with unreleased creative work and personal data. Good to have
• Hiring for media, entertainment, OTT or creator-economy companies; a network in the South Indian film industry.
• Campus hiring with film, media, design or engineering colleges; managing freelancers and creative agencies.What success looks like
• In 90 days: a 12-month hiring plan, screening rubrics for each department, core HR policies and contracts in place, and the first priority roles hired or in final rounds.
• In 12 months: every stage of the product cycle has a clear owner, hiring managers see short and strong shortlists, and time-to-hire and retention are tracked and improving.How to applySend your resume and a one-page note on how you would build ITHI’s first 5 hires to hr@ithi.world with the subject line “Head of People — ITHI”. The process: founder call, a case exercise ranking five anonymised profiles for a sample ITHI role, a panel with team leads, and a final conversation.ITHI is an equal-opportunity employer. Every craft carries equal dignity — and so does every applicant.ITHI · Head of People & Talent Acquisition 1