Director, Head of Talent & Culture Division, Southeast Asia

About the Division:

The Talent & Culture Division (TCD) is YCP's global people function, responsible for the full talent and people lifecycle across all regions and business divisions, from talent acquisition and onboarding through to development, performance management, and retention. The division encompasses Talent Management, Human Resources, and General Affairs, collectively covering the full scope of people operations across the firm.

TCD operates with a global mandate under the Group CHRO, with regional teams in Japan, Southeast Asia, India, and Europe, and coverage across the Americas. Each regional team is built around an HR Business Partner (HRBP) model, owning end-to-end talent management for the professionals within their region and working in close partnership with Regional CEOs and Business Unit Managers.

The division is in an active phase of strategic transformation, shifting from a predominantly recruitment- and process-focused function toward a full-spectrum HR partner model. Key initiatives underway include a firmwide Learning & Development architecture, the rollout of a Development Manager Program, and the build-out of a new Assignment Management function, underpinned by AI-driven, data-informed talent management and global HR system rollout.

Position Overview:

This senior leadership role owns Southeast Asia’s people strategy across the four core TCD pillars – Recruitment, Employee Experience, Assignment Management, and Labor & General Affairs – while partnering with Holdings leadership to localize global frameworks. Reporting to the Group CHRO and the Southeast Asia Regional Management, the role carries direct management responsibility for the Talent Management, Human Resources, and General Affairs teams in Southeast Asia cross 6 countries.

Southeast Asia is one of YCP's largest and most complex regions. SEA TCD is actively evolving away from a process-heavy, recruitment-centric model toward a genuine strategic HRBP function. The Head of SEA TCD will be at the center of this transformation, driving change internally and holding the business accountable to it.

We seek an experienced HR leader who combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution, deep knowledge of Southeast Asia employment practices, and a track record of HR transformation in a professional services or knowledge-intensive context. The ideal candidate is highly credible with senior stakeholders and can inspire and uplift a team that is capable but in need of direction and development.

Key Responsibilities:

1. HRBP Leadership & Business Partnering

• Serve as the primary HR Business Partner for all SEA-based divisions
• Build trusted, advisory-level relationships with the SEA Regional CEO, Business Unit Managers, and functional leaders
• Provide proactive, data-informed HR counsel on workforce planning, organizational design, employee engagement, and talent risk
• Act as key escalation point for employee relations matters, ensuring fair and compliant resolution under Southeast Asia labor laws
• Oversee overall HR and labor administration across the 6 SEA countries, including employment contracts, payroll and benefits, HR policies, work regulations, and statutory compliance, as well as periodic reviews of benefits programs
  
  
  

2. Talent Acquisition & Onboarding

• Oversee end-to-end recruitment across all seniority levels, from role design and sourcing through to offer and onboarding
• Drive recruiting process optimization, automation, and AI utilization
• Manage vendor and agency relationships supporting SEA-based talent acquisition
• Build succession pipeline and management capability within the SEA TCD team
  
  
  

3. Talent Development & Performance Management

• Champion the Performance Review and Development Manager (DM) Program in SEA, overseeing DM assignments, calibration, and review cycle execution
• Drive local L&D programs and coordinate SEA’s participation in firmwide initiatives
• Lead semi-annual performance review cycles, ensuring consistency, fairness, and developmental focus
  
  
  

4. Assignment Management & Organizational Effectiveness

• Lead rollout of Assignment Management capabilities in partnership with regional and global TCD leadership
• Drive organization design, workforce planning, and talent allocation discussions with business leaders
• Improve cross-functional coordination between business, delivery, and TCD
  
  
  

5. Team Leadership, Culture & Transformation

• Lead SEA TCD's transformation toward a culture-focused, HRBP-led function
• Lead, develop, and uplift the SEA TCD team; foster a proactive, data-driven, and business-oriented culture
• Represent SEA TCD in regional and global TCD initiatives
  
  
  

Candidate Profile:

Required Experience & Capabilities

• 12 years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3 years in a senior HRBP or HR leadership role
• Full HR lifecycle expertise: recruitment, onboarding, performance management, L&D, and employee relations
• Proven track record of HR transformation in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment
• Deep knowledge of Southeast Asia labor law, employment regulations, and HR compliance
• Strong stakeholder management skills; able to influence and build credibility at the executive level
• Proven people management capability: experience leading and developing an HR team
  
  
  

Target Background

We are particularly interested in candidates who combine:

• HR generalist / HRBP background in professional services, consulting, or a knowledge-intensive industry (management consulting, financial services, technology, etc.)
• Hands-on experience driving organizational change – restructuring, function redesign, or capability transformation, in a SEA operating context
  
  
  

Language Requirement

• Native-level English proficiency required, with the ability to communicate effectively with the global TCD team and corporate senior leadership
• Proficiency in an Asian language is a plus
  
  
  

Ideal Leadership Traits

• Strategic thinker with a bias for action: moves fluidly between vision-setting and hands-on execution
• Commercially minded: understands the business and earns trust as an advisor, not an administrator
• Strong coach and developer: invests in team growth and holds them to high standards
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and navigating organizational complexity
  
  
  

Why Join Us:

• Genuine transformation mandate at one of YCP's largest and most strategically important regions
• Direct-line access to SEA’s Regional Management and the Group CHRO
• Work at the intersection of consulting, technology, and people strategy
• Build and develop your own team with strong foundational talent and real room to grow
• TCD is a board-level priority and this role is central to YCP's next phase of growth