Manager, People Partner

About the Team: 

Being the People Department of South China Morning Post, our People Partners (PP), Compensation & Benefits (C&B), Operations, and Talent Development & Engagement (TD&E) teams, develop and drive people strategies to acquire, develop and retain employees. We motivate our employees to live our values in a dynamic and diverse workplace, develop our talents for our leadership pipeline, with the objective of continually making SCMP a Great Place To Work.

Purpose of the Position:

This role is designed for a proactive and independent People Partner who will act as a key strategic consultant to their designated stakeholder group. The core purpose of the role is to:

• Serve as the primary HR ‘go-to’ person and advisor for Department Heads on all people-related matters.
• Drive business success by developing and executing HR initiatives that attract, develop, and retain high-performing talent.
• Oversee the full employee lifecycle, including recruitment, talent management, engagement, workforce planning, and employee relations, ensuring full alignment with strategic objectives.

In this role, you will: 

• Act as a Strategic Partner:
  • Build deep, trusted relationships with department heads and managers to understand their business objectives and people challenges.
  • Translate business strategy into a people strategy, driving initiatives around organizational design, manpower planning, and budgeting in partnership with the Finance team.
  • Provide expert coaching and counsel to leaders on all people-related matters, including complex employee relations issues.
  • Partner with the wider People Team to tackle complex employee relations cases and cross-functional projects, ensuring a consistent and equitable approach across the organization.
• Champion the Full Talent Lifecycle:
  • Own the end-to-end talent acquisition strategy for your groups, ensuring we attract and hire top-notch talent while providing an exceptional candidate experience.
  • Lead our core talent and performance cycles, including goal setting, performance reviews, and talent calibration, ensuring fairness and a focus on continuous growth.
  • Facilitate talent reviews and succession planning discussions, partnering with leaders to build robust talent pipelines and development plans for key individuals.
• Drive HR Excellence & Improvement:
  • Take initiative to identify and lead process improvements across our People programs.
  • Collaborate with the broader People Team on cross-functional projects, from performance management enhancements to new engagement programs.
  • Keep a pulse on market intelligence and best practices to ensure our HR strategies remain competitive and effective.
• Cultivate Culture & Engagement:
  • Work with managers and employees to improve work relationships, build morale, and increase productivity and retention.
  • Analyze engagement feedback and people-data to identify trends and co-create solutions that enhance the employee experience.
  • Serve as a culture champion, embedding our values and ensuring HR policies are understood and applied consistently.

Skills and Experience that will lead to success:

• Experience: 5-8 years of progressive HR experience, ideally as a People Business Partner supporting technology, product, or other fast-paced commercial teams.
• Mindset: A true problem-solver. You are proactive, think on your feet, and are driven to find solutions and make improvements. You operate with a high degree of autonomy and a strong sense of ownership, backed by the professional judgment to know when to leverage the team's collective expertise.
• Expertise: Deep knowledge across the HR spectrum, with particular strengths in talent acquisition (especially tech recruitment), performance management, and employee relations. A solid understanding of Hong Kong employment law is essential.
• Business Acumen: You are commercially minded and curious. You enjoy using data to derive insights, tell a story, and help leaders make informed decisions.
• Communication Skills: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills. You build credibility with ease, present your ideas with confidence, and can influence stakeholders at all levels. Fluency in English is a must; Chinese is a plus.
• Project Management: You are organized, detail-oriented, and capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously without compromising quality.

Work location will be at Causeway Bay office.

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