Role Overview:
We have an exciting opportunity for someone to join us as a Lead HR Shared Services to work in a truly global environment to lead and continuously enhance payroll execution and HR shared services operations, ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely delivery while building scalable processes, governance, and capabilities to support the regional organization. The role will report to the Regional HR Director – Asia & Africa and will manage one direct report supporting HR operations and shared services. The role provides long term development potential for someone eager to demonstrate their skills and experience in the fast-paced soft commodities environment.
Volcafe Ltd is one of the world’s leading international green coffee trading companies, operating in over 20 countries globally. Our expertise spans green coffee procurement and preparation, sustainability, blending, quality control, risk management and export as well as importing and distribution. We supply the world’s major coffee roasters and retail distributors with their green coffee requirements, with significant strategic growth ambitions for the future. We are part of ED&F Man Commodities, a world leading trader of agricultural products including coffee, sugar, molasses and animal feed.
Volcafe works across the whole green coffee supply chain to make coffee business better, together with our partners and employees. We have built and operate sustainable coffee supply chains across all our origins, addressing key economic, social and environmental issues in coffee farming communities. Our Volcafe Way farmer support programme engages with thousands of coffee farmers and provides a holistic response to the challenges they face.
This role can be based in Bangalore or Hyderabad, India, and will primarily support the Asia and East Africa markets for Volcafe, while also providing support to other regions as required.
Key Accountabilities:
HR Operations & Service Delivery
- Lead and manage end-to-end HR Shared Services operations across Asia and East Africa countries, ensuring consistent service delivery and compliance
- Oversee the complete employee lifecycle including onboarding, employee data management, internal movements, and offboarding
- Support employees in HR systems usage, including performance management, leave management, and learning platforms
- Collaborate with HRBPs, Finance, IT, and global stakeholders for end to end HR operations
Payroll, Benefits & Vendor Management
- Responsible for executing the monthly payroll cycle for the Asian and East African entities. Ensure that the right people are getting paid the right salaries each month.
- Coordinate with payroll vendors to ensure accurate payroll inputs, benefits administration, and statutory compliance across regions.
- Ensure alignment between HR operations and payroll processes for accuracy and timeliness
HR Systems & Data Governance
- Act as the custodian of HR systems (Oracle, HRM Portal, My Career), ensuring data accuracy, user access governance, and workflow efficiency
- Ensure data integrity, confidentiality, and audit readiness across all HR records and systems
- Generate and analyze HR reports, MIS, dashboards, and headcount data to support decision-making
Employee Lifecycle Administration
- Manage onboarding processes including background checks, documentation, HR system setup, and new hire communication/orientation
- Prepare and manage HR documentation such as employment contracts, amendments, confirmation letters, and exit-related documents
- Oversee employee offboarding, including system deactivation, exit clearance, asset recovery, and compliance adherence
Compliance, Risk & Audit
- Support internal, external, and statutory audits, ensuring proper documentation and compliance
- Identify operational risks and implement controls and escalation mechanisms
Process Excellence & Transformation
- Drive process standardization, automation, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency
- Manage SOP documentation for HR processes
- Build scalable and consistent shared services processes across regions
Projects & Capability Building
- Support and execute HR projects including HR Operations related training & development initiatives
Skills and Experience
- 10 + years of experience in HR Operations / Shared Services / HR Generalist roles, with exposure to multi-country environments
- Strong experience in payroll coordination and vendor management, ideally across multiple geographies
- Proven track record of managing end-to-end employee lifecycle processes
- Experience working with HRIS platforms (preferably Oracle Fusion or similar systems)
- Exposure to shared services or COE models in a global or regional setup
- Strong understanding of HR operations, payroll processes, and statutory compliance across different countries
- Expertise in HR data management, reporting, and MIS/dashboarding
- Knowledge of process improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, or similar is a plus)
- Ability to manage audits, controls, and data governance frameworks
- Strong stakeholder management across geographies and functions
- High attention to detail with a focus on accuracy and compliance
- Ability to operate in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and evolving environment
- Problem-solving mindset with a focus on process efficiency and scalability
- Strong communication skills with the ability to influence and collaborate
We recognise that talent comes in many forms, and we value potential just as much as experience. If this role excites you but you don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply.
We provide a fast-paced, stimulating and truly global environment, which will stretch your abilities and channel your talents. We also offer competitive salary and benefits combined with outstanding career development opportunities in one of the global leaders in soft commodity trading.
Our values define who we are. They are the fundamental beliefs that determine our actions and guide our behaviour. They influence the way we communicate and collaborate, and define the way we engage with our clients, partners, and communities. Our values are underpinned by a set of essential behaviours, which form part of our performance management approach. Delivering on our objectives is very much about ‘what’ we do, but these essential behaviours also provide a guide and measure for ‘how’ we do things. Our performance essentials are Take Initiative, Self‐Management, Deliver Results and Collaboration.
We are committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive and diverse work environment where all employees are treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment and are focussed on actively building and developing diverse teams. All qualified applicants will receive equal treatment without regard to race, colour, sex, gender, age, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, marital or civil partner status, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment (identity, gender expression), genetic information or any characteristic protected by local law.
