Rakesh Kumar

Heading the Talent Acquisition in the Market Area Middle East & Africa with key strategic priorities such as Talent Attraction, Gender Diversity & Inclusion, Localisation, Leadership Hiring. Ensuring seamless and compliant recruitment process to offer great recruitment experience to candidates, hiring managers and recruiters. Empowering people with technology enabled solutions and partnering with global talent acquisition and business function.

Global Recruitment – Middle East & Africa, Southeast Asia & Oceania Background Verification – Extended background check using third party and ensuring 100% ABC checks. Offer and Onboarding – Centralized offer and onboarding process for global geographical location to provide standard and seamless onboarding experience and higher offer to joining ration. TA Reporting & Analytics – Using Success Factor, Tableau, PowerBI and excel delivering meaningful insight which helps in reducing recruitment timelines and increasing gender diversity and recruitment experience. Recruiter’s performance management and Capability Development – Using Realtime access of performance data, workload review and strong business continuity process, created sustainable model of team performance with increase in any hiring volume. Time to time role play and upskilling help greater accuracy and high performing team culture. Cost Optimization through non-conventional approach – Using various non-conventional approach optimized the cost in the recruitment and one of the most productive team in the whole company. Global Internal Mobility – Promoting culture of job rotation and internal mobility through pushing internal job marketing and guiding employees with the appropriate counselling and feedback to make them placed in potential succession. Recruitment Technology Implementation – Cloud based world class technology enhancement, testing, rollout and implementation using training and communication to the organization. Technology adoption which is powered by AI.

Talent Pipelining: Critical Role Analysis: Identified and defined necessary skills and competencies for critical roles. Database Mining: Leveraged past applications to identify potential external hires. Platform Identification: Identified relevant platforms and social networks for critical roles. Relationship Building: Collaborated with hiring managers and employees. Targeted Sourcing: Developed sourcing strategies based on successful past sources and trends. Talent Engagement: Sought out and engaged talent for critical roles, capturing their details for ongoing communication. Talent Pool Management: Tracked internal and external candidates in the talent pool database. Talent Acquisition Partnering: Alignment with Business Objectives: Aligned sourcing goals with business objectives through intake calls with hiring managers. Hiring Manager Engagement: Facilitated hiring manager involvement in the recruitment process. Feedback Management: Collected and provided feedback from hiring managers and candidates. Candidate Engagement: Maintained engagement with candidates through quality content and updates. Recruiting Governance: Activity Auditing: Ensured compliance with recruitment processes and standards. Dashboard Reporting: Prepared dashboards on requisition aging, time to fill, KPIs, SLAs, and hires in progress. Performance Tracking: Developed dashboards covering recruiter performance, candidate conversion rates, engagement levels, and hiring manager satisfaction. Knowledge Sharing: Provided coaching and training to recruiters and hiring managers on trends and best practices.

Region SPOC for Global Internal Mobility: • Regional Point of Contact: Led a team and managed day-to-day Talent Acquisition Operations Delivery across more than 5 countries. Documentation & Process Compliance: • Stakeholder Meeting Compliance: Ensured compliance with weekly and monthly meetings with internal and external stakeholders (Managers and Teams), capturing Minutes of Meetings (MoM) at regional, GSSC, and global levels. • Real-Time Tracker Updates: Maintained and updated all work-related trackers in real-time, ensuring closure of follow-up actions on all work-in-progress items. • Error-Free Operations: Adhered to the Checker & Maker process to ensure error-free operations. • Incident Reporting & Correction: Reported incidents and ensured appropriate course corrections. Coordination & Teamwork: • Business Continuity Program: Complied with designed Ways of Working, including standardized folders and email formats to ensure business continuity. • Process Improvements & Knowledge Sharing: Implemented new process improvements, facilitated knowledge sharing, and conducted team calibrations to ensure foolproof backups for all sourcing and coordination tasks. • Team Mentoring & Motivation: Mentored and motivated team members to achieve their career objectives and goals. • Task Delegation: Delegated tasks based on skills and availability to ensure efficient and effective delivery.

Internal Mobility (Hiring): • End-to-End Internal Mobility Management: Oversaw the entire internal mobility and hiring process, from understanding requirements to successful closure. Salary Setting & Offer Process: • Compensation & Benefits Structuring: Set competitive salaries and benefits based on interview feedback and hiring inputs, adhering to regional salary guidelines. • Offer Management: Drove the offer process using accurate templates and inputs, ensuring zero errors and seamless execution. External Sourcing & Talent Mapping: • Talent Network Development: Developed and maintained a robust network of contacts to identify and source qualified leads for current and future positions. • Innovative Recruitment Strategies: Researched and implemented innovative online recruitment strategies to attract top talent. • Job Board Management: Maintained and updated external job boards (Career page, LinkedIn, Local Job Board) as needed. • Candidate Tracking: Utilized ITM/SuccessFactors to track and update candidate status and interactions, ensuring a streamlined recruitment process. Projects & Workshops: • Dialog Action Planning: Facilitated action planning sessions to enhance team performance and drive results. • Employer Branding Initiatives: Led initiatives to strengthen the company's employer brand and attract top talent. • HR Tools UAT: Conducted user acceptance testing for HR tools like SuccessFactors (ATS) and HRMS SAP P06, PA20, ensuring effective implementation. • Cross-Region Training: Organized and delivered training sessions across regions to enhance skills and knowledge. LinkedIn Talent Solutions Best Practices: Attended a comprehensive session covering: • Advanced search techniques (Conceptual, Boolean, Implicit, Indirect) • Strategies for engaging passive talent • Best practices for LinkedIn messaging • Talent pipeline development • Effective job posting strategies on LinkedIn

Strategic Workforce Planning & Talent Acquisition – • Collaborated with department heads to assess human resource needs and develop strategic staffing plans within budget constraints. • Led talent sourcing and recruitment efforts through job portals, networking sites, social media, employee referrals, and recruitment agencies, utilizing the iCIMS applicant tracking system. • Achieved cost-effective hiring of 50 resources, contributing to significant cost savings. Candidate Engagement & Offer Management – • Educated candidates on the interview process, company culture, and job specifics. Coordinated interviews with hiring managers and conducted HR assessments to evaluate key skills. • Managed offer negotiations, approvals, and professional reference checks, ensuring alignment with company and industry benchmarks. Onboarding & Induction – • Oversaw onboarding processes, including the completion of documentation, logistical arrangements, and system access for new hires. • Organized induction and orientation programs to familiarize new recruits with company culture and operations and sent welcome communications to new employees. HR Reporting & Administration – • Compiled and presented monthly HR reports and dashboards, covering new hires, confirmations, appraisals, transfers, promotions, separations, attrition, education, and training. • Developed organizational charts and departmental working relations documentation, prepared headcount and attrition reports for finance and payroll, and executed salary benchmarking to ensure competitive compensation packages. Vendor and Resource Management – • Processed invoices for contractors and vendors, coordinating with finance for payments. • Consolidated leave and attendance data, including shift and deputation allowances, for financial processing.

Recruitment / Hiring • Talent Acquisition for IT Projects & Support Division: Successfully managed the recruitment process for over 20 positions per month, focusing on IT infrastructure management, services, and support functions including HR, Facility & Admin, IT, Finance, and Supply Chain Management. • End-to-End Recruitment: Oversaw the entire recruitment lifecycle, ensuring timely and efficient hiring within the target turnaround time (TAT). Responsibilities included sourcing, screening, arranging interviews, conducting HR rounds, generating offers, and ensuring candidates were onboarded within the specified timeframe. • Recruitment Management Software Administration: Administered the Hire Craft recruitment management software, optimizing its use to streamline the hiring process. • MIS Reporting: Prepared and presented daily, weekly, and monthly Management Information System (MIS) reports for upper management review, providing insights into recruitment metrics and performance. Post Recruitment • Onboarding Coordination: Ensured the completion of all joining formalities and provided initial briefings to new hires, facilitating a smooth transition into the organization. • New Joiners Reporting: Compiled and submitted New Joiners Reports to the Payroll Department, ensuring accurate and timely processing of new employee information.

Client & Stakeholder Management - • Requirement Gathering: Collaborated with clients and stakeholders to gather and finalize job requirements, ensuring alignment and agreement on the job specifications. • Client Relationship Management: Managed relationships with clients, conducted follow-ups on payments, and ensured timely clearance of dues. Recruitment Process Management - • Comprehensive Recruitment Solutions: Managed the entire recruitment process, including sourcing, screening, reference checking, presenting candidates, conducting and scheduling interviews, collecting and delivering feedback, negotiating terms, and extending verbal offers. • Candidate Engagement: Engaged with successful candidates throughout the recruitment process to ensure smooth transitions and successful conversions. • Database Management: Maintained an organized and up-to-date database of the recruitment process, ensuring accurate records and efficient retrieval of information. Reporting & Monitoring - • Reporting: Created and maintained daily, weekly, and monthly reports to monitor recruitment activities and performance metrics. Training Program Support - • Content Preparation: Collated and prepared content for PowerPoint presentations to support training programs, enhancing the effectiveness of training sessions.