Summary

The HR Business Partner – Sales will act as a strategic partner to the Sales Leadership team, driving people strategies that support revenue growth, market expansion, and sales capability development across the company. The role will focus on talent acquisition, performance management, sales capability building, productivity enhancement, and retention of high-performing sales talent.

Responsibilities

Strategic HR Business Partnering – Sales

• Partner with Sales Director and Regional Managers to align HR initiatives with sales growth objectives
• Support manpower planning aligned with territory expansion and distributor growth
• Drive sales productivity and performance improvement initiatives
• Support organizational restructuring, territory optimization, and sales force effectiveness programs
• Provide HR insights to support sales strategy execution

2. Sales Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

• Lead recruitment of sales roles including:
• Territory Sales Officers
• Area Sales Managers
• Key Account Managers
• Technical Sales Executives
• Ensure timely hiring aligned with market expansion plans
• Develop strong external talent pipelines within paints/building materials industry
• Manage onboarding programs to accelerate sales readiness

3. Sales Performance Management

• Drive performance management framework for sales teams
• Ensure alignment of KPIs with:
• Sales volume
• Revenue targets
• Market coverage
• Dealer productivity
• Support Sales Managers in performance reviews
• Manage Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) for underperformers
• Enable merit-based reward culture

4. Sales Capability & Learning

• Identify capability gaps within sales teams
• Drive structured sales capability programs such as:
• Territory management
• Dealer relationship management
• Product and technical knowledge
• Negotiation and selling skills
• Support leadership development for high-potential sales employees
• Implement induction programs for new sales hires

5. Incentive & Compensation Management

• Support design and rollout of sales incentive schemes
• Ensure timely and accurate sales incentive payouts
• Monitor incentive effectiveness and ROI
• Partner with Finance and Sales to align incentives with business priorities

6. Employee Engagement & Retention

• Drive engagement initiatives for field-based workforce
• Conduct stay interviews for key sales talent
• Analyze attrition trends and develop retention strategies
• Strengthen communication channels between field teams and leadership
• Support employee wellness and motivation programs

7. HR Operations & Lifecycle Management

• Oversee onboarding, confirmations, promotions, transfers, and exits
• Maintain HR records for sales employees
• Ensure compliance with HR policies across regions
• Support mobility and relocation requirements

8. Data Analytics & Reporting

• Track and analyze sales workforce metrics including:
• Attrition rate
• Vacancy rate
• Time-to-fill
• Sales productivity ratios
• Provide dashboards and HR analytics to Sales Leadership
• Identify workforce trends impacting sales performance

9. Culture & Leadership Alignment

• Promote performance-driven culture within sales teams
• Drive company values and ethical sales practices
• Support leadership alignment across regions
• Build accountability and ownership culture across sales teams

Education and Qualifications

• MBA / PGDM in Human Resources
• Familiarity with HRMS and sales performance tracking system

Requirements

• 8–12 years of HR experience
• Minimum 4–6 years supporting Sales or Commercial functions
• Experience in paints, FMCG, building materials, or distribution-driven industries preferred
• Strong understanding of sales structures and field workforce management

Characteristics

• Strong stakeholder management (Sales Leadership)
• Understanding of sales operations and market dynamics
• Workforce analytics and performance management
• Talent acquisition for high-volume sales roles
• Incentive and reward system understanding
• Commercial mindset
• High responsiveness and agility
• Strong influencing ability
• Data-driven decision-making (Excellent skills in MS Excel is mandatory)
• Strong communication and coaching skills
• Willingness to travel across regions to support field teams
• Ability to work with geographically dispersed sales workforce

Reporting To

Group Head – Human Resources (Dotted Line: Sales Director / Head of Sales)