Head - Placement & Career Services - EdTech

Role Overview: We are looking for a strategic and execution-focused Head - Placement & Career Services to lead career services, employer partnerships, and placement operations for a large online learner ecosystem. The role will be responsible for building strong corporate relationships, driving quality placement outcomes, strengthening learner employability, and establishing scalable placement processes and governance. Key Responsibilities: - Develop and execute the overall placement and career services strategy aligned with learner outcomes and organizational objectives. - Lead end-to-end placement operations, including employer engagement, job opportunities, candidate coordination, placement processes, and post-placement tracking. - Build and manage strategic relationships with CHROs, Talent Acquisition leaders, senior HR stakeholders, corporates, recruiters, and industry partners. - Develop and scale employer partnerships to increase the breadth, quality, and relevance of career opportunities available to learners. - Drive placement outcomes through structured employer outreach, hiring programs, recruitment partnerships, and strategic corporate engagements. - Identify industry and hiring trends to align employer partnerships and career programs with evolving market requirements. - Lead career-readiness and employability initiatives, including career coaching, resume development, interview preparation, mentoring, and job-readiness programs. - Establish and monitor placement KPIs, SLAs, dashboards, operating processes, and governance mechanisms. - Analyze placement and employer data to identify trends, improve conversion, and enhance learner outcomes. - Work closely with Academic, Product, Marketing, Technology, and Operations teams to integrate career services into the overall learner journey. - Develop scalable processes and technology-enabled solutions to improve employer engagement, learner participation, and placement operations. - Lead, mentor, and develop high-performing Career Services, Corporate Relations, and Placement teams. - Establish quality standards for employer partnerships and ensure a strong learner and employer experience throughout the placement lifecycle. - Represent the organization in strategic corporate and industry forums and build its reputation within the employer ecosystem. Requirements: - 12 - 15 years of experience in placements, career services, corporate relations, talent acquisition, employer partnerships, or related functions. - 7 - 9 years of experience in leadership roles managing placement, career services, corporate relations, or employer engagement teams. - Proven experience building and managing strong employer and recruiter networks and engaging senior HR/Talent Acquisition stakeholders. - Demonstrated experience driving placement programs, employer partnerships, recruitment outcomes, and career initiatives at scale. - Strong understanding of corporate hiring processes, employer expectations, talent acquisition practices, and employability trends. - Experience designing and implementing career-readiness and learner employability programs. - Strong experience in placement operations, performance tracking, dashboards, SLAs, governance, and process improvement. - Strong data-driven approach with the ability to analyze placement metrics and translate insights into actionable initiatives. - Experience working cross-functionally with academic, product, marketing, technology, and operations teams. - Experience in Higher Education, EdTech, Workforce Development, or a similar learner-focused ecosystem is preferred. - Strong leadership, negotiation, communication, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills. - MBA/PGDM or equivalent qualification preferred. - Exposure to placement and career platforms such as Superset, Unstop, FirstNaukri, LineupX, or similar platforms would be an advantage.