Placement Officer

Training & Placement Officer (TPO) NIAT (NxtWave of Innovation in Advanced Technologies)

About NIAT

NIAT is a 4-year campus programme built by NxtWave, spread across 20+ campuses in 28 states, with 8,000+ students per cohort. Students clock 1,200+ hours of hands-on coding per year, earn a BITS Pilani BSc and Woolf MSc, and get access to 400+ paid internships starting Year 1 (1.92 Cr+ in total stipends paid out so far). The curriculum is refreshed every semester based on insights from 3,000+ hiring companies.

The TPO role sits at the center of turning this pipeline of trained talent into real placement outcomes.

About the Role

We're hiring an experienced Training & Placement Officer to own end-to-end placement outcomes for NIAT students. This is not an entry-level or generalist HR role we need someone who has already run a placement cell inside a college and knows the machinery of it: which companies to approach, how to negotiate CTC and role fitment, how to manage a placement season calendar, and how to keep offer-to-joining ratios healthy.

You'll be evaluated on one thing above all: how many students get placed, and at what quality of offer.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive end-to-end campus placements for NIAT students — sourcing recruiters, scheduling drives, and closing offers.
• Build and maintain a strong network of hiring companies (product companies, IT services, startups, GCCs) relevant to NIAT's tech-focused student profile.
• Own the placement calendar — plan pre-placement talks, drives, and follow-ups across the academic year in sync with semester and internship timelines.
• Negotiate role fitment, CTC bands, and hiring volumes with recruiters to maximize both placement percentage and offer quality.
• Track and report placement metrics (offers made, offers accepted, CTC distribution, sector-wise placements) to leadership.
• Coordinate closely with the curriculum and training teams to align student skill readiness with what recruiters are actually hiring for.
• Manage the paid internship-to-full-time-offer pipeline, given NIAT's Year-1-onward internship model.
• Handle recruiter relationship management post-placement to drive repeat hiring — NIAT already sees 60%+ repeat hiring, and this needs to be actively protected and grown.
• Guide students through interview readiness, resume building, and offer negotiation.
• Represent NIAT at industry events, hiring partner meetings, and recruiter forums to build the college's employer brand.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Minimum 6+ years of experience working as a TPO (Training & Placement Officer) in a college/university setting — this is non-negotiable. We are not looking for corporate HR/TA professionals without direct campus placement cell experience.
• Demonstrated track record of running placement drives and hitting placement targets in a prior institution.
• Existing network of recruiters/companies that hire from campuses (this is a strong plus, not just a "nice to have").
• Strong negotiation skills — comfortable pushing back on recruiters for better CTC/role fitment, not just filling seats.
• Experience managing placement data/reporting (offer numbers, CTC bands, sector splits).
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent in HR/Management preferred but not mandatory if placement track record is strong.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills — you'll be dealing with recruiters, students, and internal leadership simultaneously.

What Success Looks Like in This Role

• High percentage of NIAT students placed within target timelines.
• Strong average CTC and offer quality across placed students.
• Growing pool of repeat-hiring recruiters.
• A tight, predictable placement calendar with minimal last-minute scrambling.