Program Manager, TA Business Operations

Overview

Program Manager, TA Business Operations serves as the operating backbone of Ciena's global Talent Acquisition function, keeping programmes, projects and commitments on track across North America, EMEA, APAC and India. This individual contributor role partners with the Senior Director, Talent Acquisition & HRBP, EMEA.

What you'll do

• Lead end-to-end delivery of cross-functional Talent Acquisition initiatives, including process redesign, organisational changes and systems rollouts, with defined owners, milestones and risk logs.
• Drive accountability across HR Technology, Learning and Development, HR Data, Compliance, Legal, recruiting managers and other cross-functional partners by tracking commitments, escalating slippage early and proposing a course of action.
• Own the global Talent Acquisition operating cadence, including recurring reviews, dashboard readouts, action tracking, follow-through, and a single source of truth for initiatives, owners and deadlines.
• Partner with the Senior Director as a constructive thought partner by pressure-testing plans, identifying blind spots, preparing briefing materials, talking points and pre-reads, and representing the Senior Director in select forums.
• Govern the Talent Acquisition reporting framework with stakeholders, ensuring hiring volume, time-to-fill, pipeline health, offer acceptance, diversity and recruiter productivity metrics are consistently defined, reviewed and applied to business decisions.
• Partner with Compliance and Legal to align recruiting practices with applicable employment policies, right-to-work requirements and screening obligations across operating geographies.
• Optimise Talent Acquisition operations by monitoring vendor performance and budget spend, recommending renewal, consolidation and cost actions, and resolving process friction.
• Define requirements and outcome measures for recruiting technology, automation and AI-enabled tools.

What you'll need

• 8+ years in business operations, programme or project management, or chief-of-staff-type roles.
• Track record of managing an operating cadence for a senior leader or function, including reviews, reporting and follow-through without repeated direction.
• Demonstrated management of senior stakeholders across regions and time zones, including driving accountability without formal authority.
• Application of workforce and recruiting data, including dashboards, post-implementation reviews and funnel metrics, to inform decisions.
• Written and verbal English communication experience, including preparation of materials for executive or board-level audiences.

Nice to have

• Recruiting or HR domain experience.
• Project or programme management credential, including PMP, PgMP, Six Sigma or equivalent experience.

Details

• Location: Gurugram.
• Systems administration experience is not required.