Chief People Officer — Speciality-Materials Portfolio

The mandate

Following two years of uneven execution, the board is addressing leadership and workforce redesign as the strategy changes within a multinational-owned multi-site industrial manufacturing group. The immediate arena is the speciality-materials portfolio during a working-capital release. For mandate 454, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief People Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹12,050 crore in manufacturing and commercial portfolio, with activity spanning several speciality-materials portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief People Officer Manufacturing remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,175 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Chief People Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the speciality-materials portfolio. The Chief People Officer Manufacturing seat must resolve a working-capital release, while preserving the underlying strengths of the speciality-materials portfolio. For mandate 454, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief People Officer’s first year on the speciality-materials portfolio is expected to end with critical-role depth, productivity and an executable people plan. In mandate 454, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief People Officer — Speciality-Materials Portfolio seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the speciality-materials portfolio, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a working-capital release cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief People Officer value-creation thesis for the speciality-materials portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹12,050 crore in manufacturing and commercial portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief People Officer Manufacturing organisation of about 1,175 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the speciality-materials portfolio economics and execution constraints created by a working-capital release, with Chief People Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief People Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the speciality-materials portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have changed an executive structure and workforce economics while sustaining critical talent and employee relations in mandate 454.
• Build the Chief People Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the speciality-materials portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Manufacturing organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the speciality-materials portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to leadership and workforce redesign as the strategy changes, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief People Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the speciality-materials portfolio, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable speciality-materials portfolio trend against critical-role depth, productivity and an executable people plan, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief People Officer’s agreed first-year speciality-materials portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief People Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the speciality-materials portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief People Officer mandate’s highest-priority speciality-materials portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical speciality-materials portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief People Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief People Officer-owned improvement in the speciality-materials portfolio operating constraint behind a working-capital release, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 454: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a CHRO, Chief People Officer or Regional HR Director in a multinational-owned Manufacturing or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the speciality-materials portfolio, your Chief People Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from industrial manufacturing, engineering, chemicals, automotive components or process industries will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief People Officer brief.

As a Chief People Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Manufacturing or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹7,000 crore and led an organisation of at least 825 people.

For mandate 454, the board wants two transitions: a difficult speciality-materials portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a working-capital release. As the prospective Chief People Officer for this speciality-materials portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 454 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief People Officer role in Manufacturing is based in Vadodara; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of CHRO, Chief People Officer or Regional HR Director, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Manufacturing governance forum.
• Proven Chief People Officer ownership of at least ₹7,000 crore and leadership of no fewer than 825 employees in a comparable speciality-materials portfolio context.
• One completed Manufacturing or adjacent-sector example of leadership and workforce redesign as the strategy changes with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from industrial manufacturing, engineering, chemicals, automotive components or process industries; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief People Officer-level speciality-materials portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Vadodara location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 454.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief People Officer package is ₹2.2–3.0 crore fixed + performance variable, calibrated to the final speciality-materials portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 454 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief People Officer appointment in Vadodara, centred on the speciality-materials portfolio, offers regular exposure to the board and its investment committee. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 454.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 454. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 454.