Assistant Director, HR Specialist Centre (Performance Management & Talent Mgt)

Public Service Division; Singapore; On-site; SGD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency in Singapore is seeking an Assistant Director for Rewards & Recognition to lead strategic talent and performance management. The ideal candidate will shape talent strategies and manage performance metrics while fostering a high-performing culture. Candidates must have strong analytical abilities, stakeholder management skills, and a passion for developing people. This role offers continuous development opportunities and a 2-year contract initially.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to make sound judgements on talent and performance solutions.
• Experienced in collaborating with agency leaders to achieve talent management goals.
• Ability to leverage data and digital tools for decision making.

Responsibilities

• Drive the development of robust talent strategies, including succession planning.
• Lead the team in the management of talent pools across agencies.
• Develop and review recognition tools to measure the effectiveness of initiatives.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Analytical abilities

Performance management

Innovation

Job description

What the role is

The Public Service Division (PSD) aims to build a first-class Public Service for a successful and vibrant Singapore. We do this through public sector leadership development, capacity and capability building and the promotion of quality services at all levels of the Public Service. We are looking for outstanding candidates with the vision and passion to contribute to help shape Singapore.[Why Join Us]When you join PSD, you become part of a community that learns together and cares for one another. We look out for your well-being and partner you in your career growth. Being in the business of developing People and driving transformation makes our work deeply Purposeful. What you do will impact our public officers and agencies, and in turn make a difference to Singapore and Singaporeans.If you share our passion in reimagining Possibilities and pushing boundaries to shape a first-class Public Service, we welcome you to join us!You can also connect with us via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/public-service-division.|People, Our Pride| Service, Our Pledge | Integrity, Our Core | Excellence, Our Quest|

What you will be working on

The People and Culture Group (PCG) provides strategic and operational shared HR services to agencies under its care. PCG brings best and progressive practices to support agencies in building and fostering a high performing and engaged workforce to deliver on their organisational mission and strategic goals.

We are looking for an Assistant Director, (Rewards & Recognition).

As Assistant Director (Rewards & Recognition) in PSD, you will serve as a strategic partner to senior leadership in agencies supported by PCG, shaping the talent and performance strategies to build a high performing and engaged workforce with strong people management practices anchored on competencies. You will lead a small team to initiate, review and execute progressive performance and talent management practices and processes.

The scope of your role includes the following:

• Performance Management Excellence – Drive the development and delivery of progressive, competency-based performance management system and processes to recognise and reward officers fairly, while fostering a strong performance-driven culture anchoring on competencies. This includes shaping and managing employees’ sentiments and perceptions on rewards through change management and communications. Oversee the implementation of the end-to-end process of performance-related functions ensuring seamless execution from evaluation to the payment of performance-related components (such as performance bonus and merit increments) that directly impact officers' recognition.
• Strategic Talent Management – Drive the development and delivery of robust talent strategies that encompass comprehensive talent identification, talent development, succession planning, etc, ensuring agencies have the leadership pipeline needed for future success. Lead the team in the engagement and management of talent pools across agencies to support them with career plans and developmental opportunities. This includes the nomination of talent for PSLP, leadership and/ or functional milestone programmes, training sponsorships, talent attachment programmes, etc that accelerate their growth.
• Strategic Oversight and Continuous Improvement – Drive the development and regular reviews of recognition tools and key metrics to measure the effectiveness of talent and succession planning initiatives, providing insights on key risk areas and interventions that strengthen performance outcomes and talent pipeline readiness across agencies.

What we are looking for

Join us if you have a passion for the people business and possess the following competencies:

• Thinking Clearly and Making Sound Judgements – You consider stakeholder needs and long‑term implications when proposing talent and performance solutions, making sound judgements about different approaches by synthesizing data and understanding ground realities. You anticipate and prepare for complex queries from agency leaders when implementing performance and talent management initiatives.
• Working Effectively with Stakeholders – You reconcile different opinions and approaches to maintain constructive partnerships with agency leaders and HR teams, proactively identifying collaboration opportunities to advance common talent management goals. You manage critical talent and performance issues with patience, humility and timeliness across diverse organizational contexts.
• Innovation – You conceptualise and provide creative solutions and approaches to HR/business challenges and have the confidence and courage to push boundaries. You foster a culture of learning and trying new things, such as AI tools and streamlined processes.
• HR Policies, Processes & Legislation – You design, translate, and implement performance management and talent development policies and processes that are employee‑centric while considering organisational needs, relevant legislations and industry best practices across multiple agencies.
• Policy‑Ops‑Tech Excellence – You leverage data and digital tools as core enablers to optimise decision making in the performance management and talent development functions. You should have strong system competencies to navigate HR systems, optimise delivery and provide advice or feedback for stronger system performance and policy robustness.
• Stakeholder management – Can work effectively with and mobilise relevant stakeholders at different levels of the system for relevant input toward a common purpose and deliver impactful outcomes. Create and promote opportunities for collaboration across boundaries.

You will thrive in this role if you:

• Have a passion for developing people and building high-performing organizations
• Possess strong analytical abilities and can make sound, timely decisions in complex talent management scenarios
• Can work effectively across organizational boundaries and mobilise diverse stakeholders toward common talent management goals
• Have the confidence and courage to push boundaries in implementing innovative HR solutions

Your career development

As part of your continuous development, you will have access to learning and developmental opportunities that PSD provides as the central people agency. There could be opportunities for cross-functional projects to develop your competencies and enable you to contribute beyond the area of HR. There are structured opportunities for internal job rotations in Central HR or other PSD functions during your career with us. Applicants will typically be notified on whether they are shortlisted or not within 4 weeks of the closing date of the job posting. Successful candidates will be offered a 2-year contract in the first instance.

About Public Service Division

The Public Service Division (PSD) stewards a trusted Singapore Public Service for a successful and vibrant Singapore. Our 4 key roles include:

• Developing a flourishing and diverse workforce by supporting our public officers' continual growth of skills and creating meaningful careers.
• Developing a forward‑looking and inspiring community of leaders who are united, resilient, and anchored in public service values and ethos.
• Building future-ready public sector organisations by steering and supporting transformation of our organisations and catalysing innovations for organisations to work more effectively.
• Driving good governance, values and excellence to safeguard the integrity and reputation of the Public Service and uphold the trust of citizens.