Mahesha Jayaratne
Summary
HUMAN RESOURCE ADVISOR
Overview
4
4
years of professional experience
Work History
Human Resource Advisor - Recruitment, Performance Management, and DEI
Merrithew International
04.2024 - Current
- Developed a comprehensive performance management structure that included targeted training programs for People Leaders and employees, focusing on goal setting, the rating criteria, and conducting one-on-one peformance discussions. Introduced a new performance evaluation form and created a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) form to facilitate employee development. Additionally, implemented metric-based reports for each department to ensure alignment with organizational goals, enhance accountability, and drive continuous improvement.
- Coached senior executives on effectively handling difficult conversations and managing employee engagement, focusing on how to address various employee behaviors and actions in the workplace. Provided guidance on compliance with employment legislation, equipping leaders to navigate complex employee relations issues while promoting fair and consistent practices. This comprehensive training empowered executives to foster a positive workplace culture, enhancing overall employee satisfaction and retention.
- Promoted and integrated DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives into the recruitment process, leading to a more inclusive and diverse talent pool. Implemented targeted outreach strategies and revised job descriptions to attract candidates from varied backgrounds. Developed partnerships with diverse organizations and participated in DEI-focused job fairs, which significantly broadened the candidate base.
Head of Human Resources, Talent, and Compliance
We Planet Earth
06.2020 - Current
- Designed and implemented recruitment strategies to expand our branches and improve retention by expanding our talent team and utilizing a variety of sourcing platforms to target specific roles. This approach enhanced our ability to attract high-quality candidates, ensured a better match for job requirements, and contributed to overall organizational growth and stability.
- Trained managers on key considerations for the interview process, helping them distinguish between essential and non-essential criteria for the role. Additionally, provided training for managers on how to conduct interviews effectively and the right questions to ask. Offered insights into current market trends to streamline candidate searches, ensuring a more efficient and effective recruitment process that accelerates the identification of the ideal candidate.
- Led DEI initiatives within recruitment programs, including hosting seminars, creating informative slide decks, and developing an Employee Resource Group Program. These efforts promoted diversity and inclusion, resulting in a more equitable hiring process and a workforce that better reflects the diverse community we serve. This focus on DEI also enhanced the organization's reputation and attractiveness to top talent.
Senior Recruitment Partner - Construction and Property
Altis Recruitment
01.2022 - 07.2023
- Advised construction client executives on their recruitment needs, educated them on construction labor market trends, and guided them in selecting the most suitable candidates. This approach ensures that hiring decisions are informed by current market insights, leading to more effective and timely recruitment outcomes.
- Trained all staff on sourcing platforms including Zoominfo, LinkedIn Recruiter, Monster, ZipRecruiter, and Indeed, significantly increasing the number of qualified candidates and expanding the candidate pipeline in our database. This enhanced the recruitment process by ensuring access to a diverse and comprehensive talent pool, leading to more successful hires.
- Actively expanded our candidate pipeline by proactively sourcing and sharing qualified candidates with clients, even without immediate job orders. This approach sparked client interest in our candidates, thereby expanding our business relationships and opening up new opportunities. This proactive strategy not only kept clients engaged but also positioned us as a trusted partner, ultimately driving growth and enhancing our market presence.
Education
Core Competencies & Technical Proficiencies
- Employee Relations & Compliance: Support managers in addressing employee relations issues (ER Cases), ensuring compliance with employment laws and HR policies while recommending effective solutions and corrective actions.
- Canadian Legislation Knowledge: ESA, CLC, OHSA, OHRC, AODA, EEA, LRA
- Performance Management: Created performance evaluation systems and training programs to enhance employee development and productivity.
- Project Management: Managed all special HR projects, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and compliance with regulations.
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: Spearheaded DEI initiatives and training programs to promote an inclusive workplace culture.
- Full Cycle Recruitment: Managed full-cycle recruitment, from sourcing and interviewing candidates to onboarding and integrating new hires into the organization.
- Sourcing Platforms: Zip Recruiter, Indeed, LinkedIn Recruiter, Monster, ZoomInfo
- ATS & HRIS: Tracker, Salesforce, Bamboo HR, ADP (Workforce)
Additional Experience
We Planet Earth - Human Resource Manager
OneClass - Student Recruiter
CMiC - Business Development Representative
Hays Recruitment - Account Manager
Key Achievements
We Planet Earth
Spearheaded the growth of WPE from 2 to 8 branches, expanding into Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary, Vancouver, Newfoundland, and Halifax, by expanding the HR department, increasing DEI initiatives, and implementing innovative recruitment strategies focused on inclusive sourcing platforms.
Featured in Altis Magazine as a top recruitment partner for various role levels, I leveraged my extensive experience to influence and train all account managers and recruitment partners on sourcing software that enhances their pipeline. This initiative improved sourcing efficiency and effectiveness, leading to a more robust candidate pool and faster placements.
Developed a comprehensive performance management structure, establishing a performance cycle that includes goal setting, ongoing monitoring and adjustments, follow-up meetings, performance evaluations, and one-on-one discussions. This initiative introduced critical components to the company's previously non-existent performance framework, fostering a culture of continuous feedback and improvement, which ultimately led to increased employee engagement and productivity.
Timeline
Human Resource Advisor - Recruitment, Performance Management, and DEI
Merrithew International
04.2024 - Current
Senior Recruitment Partner - Construction and Property
Altis Recruitment
01.2022 - 07.2023
Head of Human Resources, Talent, and Compliance
We Planet Earth
06.2020 - Current
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<ul><li>Company Overview: Group Company of PUIG, Spain</li><li>Team Leadership & Process Excellence: Organised the transformation of the Finance & Accounts function, establishing performance-driven goals, and embedding a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. Drove operational efficiency through process redesigns, SOP implementation and optimal resource deployment, leading to measurable improvements in turnaround time and accuracy.</li><li>Strategic Partnering with CXOs: Acted as a key advisor to the CEO, CFO, and other CXOs on business planning, pricing strategies, and business model pivots to support scale-up and profitability. Contributed to investor communications with data-backed insights to enhance stakeholder confidence and secure strategic funding.</li><li>Cross-Functional & Global Stakeholder Management: Functioned as the strategic finance business partner to cross-functional heads and the PUIG global finance team, aligning local execution with global financial strategies and compliance requirements.</li><li>ERP Transformation & System Automation: Led end-to-end ERP reimplementation to address system gaps, enforce role-based controls, and automate core finance processes—resulting in enhanced data accuracy, faster reporting and improved internal controls.</li><li>Costing, Inventory & Profitability Optimization: Designed and implemented plant-level costing models to ensure accurate COGS determination. Improved inventory management across pricing, consumption tracking, and aging analysis—enabling better working capital control and cost efficiency.</li><li>Manufacturing Finance & Statutory Compliance: Supervised end-to-end accounting for manufacturing operations and ensured full statutory compliance.</li><li>Financial Reporting, MIS & Profitability Analytics: Delivered accurate and timely monthly MIS reports, including P&L, Balance Sheet and KPI dashboards with deep-dive variance analysis across stores, business verticals, and geographies. Supported board-level decision-making through insightful presentations on financial health and business performance.</li><li>Budgeting, Forecasting & Business Planning: Led the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) and rolling forecasts, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and market dynamics. Monitored key financial metrics to enable business decisions and proactive cost management.</li><li>Statutory, Internal & Tax Audit Management: Finalized standalone and consolidated financials under Ind AS and IFRS, ensured timely group reporting and compliance with international standards. Delivered clean and timely closures of statutory, tax, and internal audits in coordination with Big 4 auditors. Strengthened audit readiness through pre-audit diagnostics and rectification of recurring control gaps.</li><li>Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management: Ensured end-to-end compliance which includes ROC, RBI, FEMA, Income Tax, GST, Transfer Pricing, DTAA, and Customs. Reviewed cross-border contracts and transactions to ensure arm’s length pricing, accurate TDS application, and proper documentation under Transfer Pricing regulations.</li><li>Commercial Negotiation & Contract Governance: Led commercial negotiations and structured deals with vendors and franchisees. Reviewed key business contracts to ensure financial viability, risk protection, and compliance with regulatory standards.</li><li>Treasury & External Commercial Borrowing (ECB): Managed fund planning and liquidity management including ECB drawdowns, bank negotiations, and interest optimization. Improved working capital cycles through proactive cash flow forecasting and receivables control.</li><li>Internal Controls & Governance Framework: Led organization-wide reviews of internal control systems, identified process gaps, and redesigned or implemented over 40 SOPs and IFCs. Established a governance structure for financial discipline, risk mitigation, and policy compliance across departments.</li></ul> at Kama Ayurveda Pvt. Ltd. & PUIG India Pvt. Ltd.<ul><li>Company Overview: Group Company of PUIG, Spain</li><li>Team Leadership & Process Excellence: Organised the transformation of the Finance & Accounts function, establishing performance-driven goals, and embedding a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. Drove operational efficiency through process redesigns, SOP implementation and optimal resource deployment, leading to measurable improvements in turnaround time and accuracy.</li><li>Strategic Partnering with CXOs: Acted as a key advisor to the CEO, CFO, and other CXOs on business planning, pricing strategies, and business model pivots to support scale-up and profitability. Contributed to investor communications with data-backed insights to enhance stakeholder confidence and secure strategic funding.</li><li>Cross-Functional & Global Stakeholder Management: Functioned as the strategic finance business partner to cross-functional heads and the PUIG global finance team, aligning local execution with global financial strategies and compliance requirements.</li><li>ERP Transformation & System Automation: Led end-to-end ERP reimplementation to address system gaps, enforce role-based controls, and automate core finance processes—resulting in enhanced data accuracy, faster reporting and improved internal controls.</li><li>Costing, Inventory & Profitability Optimization: Designed and implemented plant-level costing models to ensure accurate COGS determination. Improved inventory management across pricing, consumption tracking, and aging analysis—enabling better working capital control and cost efficiency.</li><li>Manufacturing Finance & Statutory Compliance: Supervised end-to-end accounting for manufacturing operations and ensured full statutory compliance.</li><li>Financial Reporting, MIS & Profitability Analytics: Delivered accurate and timely monthly MIS reports, including P&L, Balance Sheet and KPI dashboards with deep-dive variance analysis across stores, business verticals, and geographies. Supported board-level decision-making through insightful presentations on financial health and business performance.</li><li>Budgeting, Forecasting & Business Planning: Led the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) and rolling forecasts, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and market dynamics. Monitored key financial metrics to enable business decisions and proactive cost management.</li><li>Statutory, Internal & Tax Audit Management: Finalized standalone and consolidated financials under Ind AS and IFRS, ensured timely group reporting and compliance with international standards. Delivered clean and timely closures of statutory, tax, and internal audits in coordination with Big 4 auditors. Strengthened audit readiness through pre-audit diagnostics and rectification of recurring control gaps.</li><li>Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management: Ensured end-to-end compliance which includes ROC, RBI, FEMA, Income Tax, GST, Transfer Pricing, DTAA, and Customs. Reviewed cross-border contracts and transactions to ensure arm’s length pricing, accurate TDS application, and proper documentation under Transfer Pricing regulations.</li><li>Commercial Negotiation & Contract Governance: Led commercial negotiations and structured deals with vendors and franchisees. Reviewed key business contracts to ensure financial viability, risk protection, and compliance with regulatory standards.</li><li>Treasury & External Commercial Borrowing (ECB): Managed fund planning and liquidity management including ECB drawdowns, bank negotiations, and interest optimization. Improved working capital cycles through proactive cash flow forecasting and receivables control.</li><li>Internal Controls & Governance Framework: Led organization-wide reviews of internal control systems, identified process gaps, and redesigned or implemented over 40 SOPs and IFCs. Established a governance structure for financial discipline, risk mitigation, and policy compliance across departments.</li></ul> at Kama Ayurveda Pvt. Ltd. & PUIG India Pvt. Ltd.
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