PG India - Associate Vice President

Company description Publicis Groupe is a global leader in marketing, communications, and digital business transformation, bringing together creativity, media, data, and technology to help clients drive business growth. Through its integrated capabilities and people-first approach, the Groupe fosters innovation, collaboration, and talent development across its businesses. Overview We are looking for a strategic and business-oriented Associate Vice President – HR Business Partner (AVP – HRBP) to partner with leadership teams across Publicis Groupe Central. The role will focus on aligning people strategy with business priorities, driving organizational effectiveness, strengthening leadership capabilities, and fostering a high-performance culture. The ideal candidate will bring strong expertise in strategic HR business partnering, organization design, talent management, employee relations, workforce planning, and change management, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive people initiatives across a dynamic, multi-business environment. Responsibilities Key Responsibilities 1. Strategic HR Business Partnering Partner with senior leadership to understand business objectives and translate them into effective people strategies. Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders on organizational priorities, workforce challenges, talent decisions, and people-related matters. Drive the HR agenda across assigned business units, ensuring alignment between business goals and HR initiatives. Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to support leadership decisions on people, productivity, and organizational effectiveness. Build strong stakeholder relationships and influence leadership decisions through effective HR consulting. 2. Organization Design & Workforce Planning Lead workforce planning initiatives aligned with business growth, organizational requirements, and resource optimization. Partner with leadership on organization structure, role design, spans and layers, and workforce productivity. Support business restructuring, organizational transitions, and change management initiatives. Monitor workforce trends, attrition, hiring requirements, and talent costs to support business planning. Collaborate with Talent Acquisition and business leaders to ensure critical talent requirements are addressed. 3. Talent Management & Leadership Development Drive talent reviews, succession planning, and leadership pipeline development for critical roles. Partner with leaders to identify high-potential talent, capability gaps, and development opportunities. Facilitate performance management, goal-setting, talent calibration, and appraisal processes. Support leadership development, employee capability building, and career progression initiatives. Strengthen talent retention through career conversations, engagement interventions, and targeted development plans. 4. Employee Engagement & Culture Drive employee engagement initiatives that strengthen organizational culture, employee experience, and retention. Partner with leaders to identify engagement concerns and develop actionable improvement plans. Monitor employee feedback, engagement trends, and attrition indicators to proactively address people challenges. Champion diversity, equity, inclusion, collaboration, and a culture of accountability and performance. Drive initiatives that enhance employee experience across key moments in the employee lifecycle. 5. Employee Relations & Performance Management Provide guidance to managers on employee relations, conflict resolution, performance concerns, and disciplinary matters. Ensure fair, consistent, and policy-aligned handling of employee issues in collaboration with relevant HR teams. Support performance improvement plans, sensitive employee conversations, and workplace concerns. Identify emerging employee relations risks and recommend appropriate interventions. Ensure adherence to organizational policies and applicable employment regulations. 6. Compensation, Rewards & HR Governance Partner with Compensation & Benefits teams on compensation reviews, promotions, retention, and rewards decisions. Support annual appraisal cycles, salary planning, and performance-linked compensation processes. Ensure consistency and fairness in people decisions while balancing business needs and internal equity. Monitor HR policies, processes, and governance requirements across assigned business units. Collaborate with HR Operations and specialist teams to improve process efficiency and employee service delivery. 7. Change Management & Business Transformation Lead people-related change management initiatives arising from business transformation, restructuring, or operating model changes. Support leaders in communicating organizational changes and managing employee transitions. Build organizational readiness and help teams navigate change with minimal disruption. Identify cultural and capability implications of business changes and develop appropriate interventions. 8. HR Analytics & Business Insights Monitor key people metrics, including attrition, headcount, workforce costs, engagement, internal mobility, and talent retention. Develop periodic HR dashboards and management reports to support strategic decision-making. Identify workforce trends and potential risks through data analysis and stakeholder discussions. Recommend interventions to improve employee productivity, retention, and organizational effectiveness. Qualifications Required Skills & Qualifications MBA/PGDM in Human Resources or a related discipline from a recognized institution. Significant experience in HR Business Partnering, preferably within media, advertising, marketing, digital, consulting, or other fast-paced service-oriented organizations. Strong experience partnering with senior business leaders and managing complex stakeholder relationships. Demonstrated expertise in workforce planning, organization design, talent management, performance management, and employee engagement. Strong understanding of compensation processes, employee relations, HR policies, and employment compliance. Experience driving organizational change, leadership development, and talent retention initiatives. Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and influencing skills. Ability to manage multiple priorities and operate effectively in a dynamic, matrixed organization. Additional information Preferred Experience Experience supporting central or corporate functions across multiple business units. Exposure to large, multi-business or matrixed organizations. Experience using HR analytics, dashboards, and workforce planning tools. Ability to balance strategic HR partnership with operational execution and governance.