People & Culture Director, APAC

The People and Culture Director will service and Octagon Marketing across APAC.

Octagon

Octagon is a global creative agency, with a speciality in sport and entertainment partnerships. With over 800 team members around the world, we work with brands to create big ideas that fans love and want to engage in, because it’s built-in and around their passion.

Where others see complexity we see possibility, and we believe in pushing authenticity, creativity, and longevity to do great things in the industry that lead the market.

So, if you have passion and a desire to work with, grow and support some of the leading talent in the industry we’d love to hear from you.

What we are looking for

You are a passionate People and Culture practitioner who is a self-starter and thrives in a fast-moving, highly energetic environment. You are a leader who is eager to make a positive impact within our organisations, and who demonstrates a creative and solution-orientated mindset. You will work with the senior leadership team along with other business leads bringing strong People and Culture council and practices to our teams. Within Octagon, you will manage and mentor an HR Generalist based in Singapore.

In this position, you will be responsible for overall project management of HR programs including, but not limited to, overall People and Culture strategy, deployment of our values, DEI strategy, career development/performance management, compensation, benefits, and talent acquisition.

What you’ll be doing

• Provide People and Culture partnership, support and strategic counsel Octagon brand leaders in the region, designing and implementing creative, best-in-class strategies, initiatives, and solutions for the people within our businesses
• Be a driver of the culture building-on Octagon’s position as a leader in providing exciting, dynamic, diverse and rewarding places of work
• Review existing, and redefine People and Culture processes for areas of improvement to drive operational efficiency – and be at the forefront in driving any identified changes
• Build credible, trusted relationships with senior leaders and managers across all markets within the region to understand and align people initiatives with their business needs, challenges, and business objectives
• Oversee all employee relations/movements in a manner that balances compliance with employment practice and employee goodwill to mitigate risk
• Understand the Octagon’s agency model and competitor agency landscape to be able to identify and suggest key talent, or key talent attributes, that will fit and build the agency culture
• In partnership with in-market HR (where applicable), oversee and ensure full compliance with all People and Culture policies, and legal requirements within APAC market regulations, with a focus on Australia and Singapore but with peripheral knowledge and awareness of Japan and Korea where appropriate
• Take ownership and process manage the performance review process across the two brands
• Manage and provide leadership to direct reports at various professional levels. Act as a strong role model, providing mentorship and support for growth, ensuring clear goals and objectives are established and achieved
• Program and process, oversight of employee retention and development initiatives
• Develop and maintain a regional compensation strategy that ensures a competitive reward structure and internal and external market equity
• In collaboration with in-market HR (where applicable), oversight and responsibility for accurate payroll-related actions (hires, terms, increases, promotion, department transfers, leaves, etc.)
• Overall responsibility for the recruitment and onboarding of permanent and freelance talent, working closely with recruiters and resource managers where appropriate and in-market HR (where applicable)
• Partner closely with Global HR leads on initiatives, policies, procedures and requirements
• Create and maintain an environment of equal employment opportunity, diversity, and competitive advantage in support of Octagon's diversity and inclusion strategic plans

If you can do all that, you have what it takes. It might help if you have

• 10 years of human resources experience preferably within either the entertainment, sports sponsorship or event marketing industries or 5+ years in a management/leadership role
• Proven track record of being able to build relationships and establish trust with senior leaders and managers
• Required qualities include demonstrated leadership skills, the ability to be fluid and adaptable to our company’s changing priorities and needs, the desire and ability to quickly establish relationships within the organization, attention to detail, highly organized, and the ability to work collaboratively as a team member
• Expert knowledge of Asia Pacific markets employment labor law and experience handling employee relations in collaboration with market HR where appropriate
• You are an expert communicator; you are confident, articulate, possess professional speaking abilities (and experience), and are an empathic listener and persuasive speaker
• Varied experience in developing strategies for HR initiatives spanning traditional HR through to talent acquisition and employee branding programs
• A team player with the willingness to pitch in when needed on various initiatives and projects

Octagon is proud to be Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability or protected veteran status.