The posting
The Company Our Client is a Malaysian Talent Solutions company focused on making a positive difference in people’s lives. They seek to hire a mature candidate with in-depth knowledge and skills in HR as HR Head. The Role The successful candidate will own the whole people function ensuring that payroll and compliance stay accurate and on time, performance and pay decisions are made on a defensible basis, and the MD has someone in the room who can turn a headcount or org question into a plan. It is a working leadership role, not a purely strategic one. At this size the Head of HR still reviews payroll, still sits in on difficult employee conversations, and still manages a small team of 2 - 3 directly, while also being the person the MD turns to on pay bands, performance calibration, and whether the org structure still fits the business. Key Responsibilities 1. Performance Management Design and run the performance review cycle — goal-setting, mid-year check-ins, year-end ratings — and make sure it produces real differentiation, not a formality everyone rates the same. Train and coach line managers (most of whom have never formally managed performance before) on setting goals, giving feedback, and handling underperformance. Own the process for managing chronic underperformance or misconduct through to resolution, including documentation and, where necessary, exit. 2. Compensation & Benefits Maintain a pay structure that's simple enough for a 100-person company to administer but defensible against the market — bands, not a spreadsheet of one-off decisions. Run or commission periodic salary benchmarking and bring a clear recommendation to the MD for annual increments and bonus pool allocation. Own benefits administration (statutory contributions, insurance, leave) and renew/benchmark the benefits package on a regular cycle. Manage the HR budget, including headcount cost planning. 3. Team Leadership & HR Operations Lead the HR team (2–3 people), covering payroll coordination, employee records, onboarding/offboarding, and day-to-day queries. Personally review payroll and statutory submissions before they go out — at this size, one error is a same-week problem, not a next-quarter one. Keep policies, contracts and the employee handbook current with Malaysian employment law, and make sure the business actually follows them. Be the point of escalation for employee relations issues line managers can't resolve themselves. 4. Hiring & Workforce Planning Own the annual headcount plan with the MD and department heads, translating business plans into hiring, restructuring or redeployment decisions. Run or oversee recruitment for the business (directly for smaller/junior roles; alongside external search partners for senior or specialist ones). Keep the org chart honest — flag when a team has outgrown its structure or a role needs splitting, rather than waiting to be asked. 5. Advising the MD Act as the MD's sounding board on people decisions: promotions, pay exceptions, restructuring, difficult exits. Flag people risk early — a flight-risk in a critical role, a pay structure falling behind market, a manager who shouldn't be managing. Bring outside perspective on what HR practice actually looks like at the next stage of growth, so decisions aren't made purely on instinct. Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice Requirements Competencies • Has actually run performance management and comp & ben before — not just supported someone else running them. • Comfortable being hands-on: this role still touches payroll, policy detail and individual employee cases, it isn't purely advisory. • Sound, practical judgement — picks the right battles and doesn't turn every issue into a policy. • Confident enough to disagree with the MD on a people decision, and to do so with a clear rationale. • Organised and detail-tolerant; comfortable owning something as unglamorous as payroll accuracy. • Has managed a small team directly and can develop people, not just supervise tasks. Must-have: • Minimum 8–10 years of progressive HR experience, including direct, hands-on ownership of performance management and compensation & benefits. • At least 2–3 years managing a team, with direct reports of their own. • Working knowledge of Malaysian employment law, statutory contributions and payroll compliance. Also relevant: • Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field. • Experience in a company of about 50–200 employees where HR is a small team rather than a large function with specialist sub-teams. • HR certification (e.g. CIPD, SHRM) an advantage but not required in place of demonstrated experience.
